We’re not at Hogwarts anymore, kids. As J.K. Rowling prepares to release her first non-Harry Potter book, The Casual Vacancy, on Thursday, her publisher, Little, Brown, has announced more than one million pre-orders and a two million book print run for the highly anticipated title.

Her first adult novel is poised for a record-setting debut. "It's one of the biggest releases of the 21st century. I think 99.9 percent of us (in the industry) are predicting it will go straight to number one," commented Philip Stone, charts editor at The Bookseller magazine, to The Telegraph.

Patricia Bostelman, VP Marketing, Barnes & Noble, told USA Today that The Casual Vacancy could be the biggest book of the year. "We're very optimistic about this book. She's a gifted storyteller and very skilled at creating characters and creating worlds.”

Whether Rowling can cross over from the magical realm of Harry Potter — conquering the young adult book market, selling 450 million books and earning almost $900 million, not to mention movie and ancillary sales — to an adult novelist, is the next million dollar question.Continue reading...

The era of the anonymous reader is upon us.You can’t tell a book by its cover anymore as so many people are replacing old-fashioned books with electronic readers, Kindles, and the much anticipated Apple iPad available this coming Saturday.
 
The advent of the e-book brings a new chapter to powers of observation traditionally embraced by print book readers – at the beach, on the subway, on a plane – and on the proverbial coffee table: It’s no longer possible to see what others are reading, nor to publically display your own literary preferences.

The element of free advertising is gone – and the residual bump publishers achieved from book cover sales is a thing of the past. In bookstores, still the primary place of book sales, covers remain a crucial tool. “If you have already passed that hurdle of having a customer be attracted to the cover, and then they pick up the book, an enormous battle has been won,” according to Patricia Bostelman, VP, Marketing at Barnes & Noble.Continue reading...