Remember earlier this week, when a well-placed movie trailer turned Watchmen into a hit 22 years after the first installment of the graphic novel appeared in comic book shops? Here’s another example of how the right message, at the right time, to the right audience can lead to spetacular results.
Back in the 1980s, when Ken Grimwood published Replay, a novel about a man living his life over and over again, it quickly developed a cult following, as readers who ordinarily wouldn’t be caught dead with science fiction warmed to the book’s philosophical themes. Two weeks ago, Brad Meltzer went on NPR to talk about Replay for a segment of “You Must Read This,” and the underground hit immediately became a top-ten bestseller at Amazon.com. Presumably, as all the people who bought the book on Meltzer’s recommendation have read it and told their friends how amazing it is, the word continues to spread, even though the demand has been heavy enough to deplete the online retailer’s supply: As of early this morning, Replay is still in the overall top 100, and would be the biggest-selling fantasy novel if it weren’t for Stephenie Meyer.