A few days ago, I wound up in conversation with another publishing insider wondering why no new book had really “hit” in terms of making lists or selling copies in a huge, splashy way. Well, looks like we have our answer, as Diane Setterfield’s THE THIRTEENTH TALE is currently #1 on the Wall Street Journal list, #5 on the USA Today list, #1 on Publishers Weekly‘s list, and oh yeah, #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, too.
When comparing/contrasting the big fall debut racehorses, I tipped Setterfield’s debut as the likely breakout. Why? Because its gothic-tinged story and book-related theme has the most surface appeal to a mass audience of women, who are more likely to buy books than men (which is a generalization without statistical data to back it up, but it’s still true.) It’s going to be big with book clubs; it had massive pre-pub support that’s paying off just like it did for Little, Brown last year with THE HISTORIAN.
The question, of course, is how long THE THIRTEENTH TALE will remain either in the top spot or high on the list, what with all the big fall books due out in a seeming avalanche. But I believe in only one lucky bet, not two, so that’s prognostication I won’t engage in…