Marley and Me
Friday, December 09, 2005
Behind the Bestsellers
Marley & Me has risen to #5 on Publishers Weekly's Nonfiction Bestseller List. And the magazine, which is the bible of the publishing industry, this week featured my book in its Behind the Bestsellers column. Wrote PW:
"Woof--this dog is hot. Morrow's MARLEY AND ME, published October 18,
started out with a first printing of 50,000 copies and is now up to
400,000. Good reviews, solid media coverage and a successful
seven-city tour were some of the ingredients that gave the book some
bark. The publisher helped build the buzz with lots of advance copies,
doo-dads like stuffed animals, Frisbees and special tissue boxes, plus
appearances at all the regional shows. Beyond that, word of mouth has
really been building at both chains and independents. Morrow plans to
send Grogan on a spring tour."
Successful media tour? Uh, did no one tell Publishers Weekly about me arriving in South Florida just in time to get hammered (and my signing canceled) by Hurricane Wilma? About the hotel windows blowing out and my rental car getting squashed by a tree? Did no one mention Atlantic City, where I showed up but the books didn't? Or being marooned in Cleveland, killing time? Actually, yes, the book tour went off pretty much without a hitch, or maybe more accurately without many hitches unrelated to weather. And I'm ready to head back out again. But it will be coming a lot sooner than spring. With Marley & Me now at #3 on the Barnes and Noble Store Nonfiction List and #5 at both the Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly lists, and about to go to #5 on The New York Times Bestseller List a week from Sunday, my publisher is anxious to get me back out on the road.
My next tour will probably begin in late January or early February. If you're interested in coming out to meet me, you can check the "upcoming events" link in my opening note on the home page. Or here it is: http://www.harpercollins.com/authorevents.asp?ACT=AuthorEvents&EAuthorID=29441 HarperCollins keeps the site up to date and it shows every city I will be in. I'd love to say hi to you in person.
Meanwhile, back on the home front, I woke up this morning to eight inches of white fluff covering the hillsides outside my window. The temperature here in eastern Pennsylvania was in the low 20s, making for perfect powder, and, with school canceled, the kids were suited up and outside on their snowboards before I had even finished my first cup of coffee. My friends in Florida, where Jenny and I lived for 12 years and where much of Marley & Me takes place, ask me if I miss the year-round balmy temperatures. Sometimes, usually around late February when I've had enough of the cold. But I'll take a fresh snowfall any day. I even (and this may sound warped and perverse) enjoy shoveling the stuff.
posted by John Grogan at 8:45 PM
 
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Many thanks for providing the life and times of Marley. I could not wait to get home every day and read about Marley's next adventure!
I have since shared several Marley stories with my family....yes, don't tell, but they will each get Marley's book for Christmas.
Meow...we love Marley!
The Whippy Curly Tails in the Toasty South,
Blackie, Tanner, Miss S, Happy Cat, Belle & MC.