Poor Dan Brown

Imagine being Dan Brown (author of The Da Vinci Code). Yes, the money is very, very good—but according to Jeff Trachtenberg of the Wall Street Journal, there is a heavy ... [Link]

Lifting the Veil on The New York Times

Here’s one that everyone missed—– Clark Hoyt, the New York Times public editor — charged with asking the tough questions on behalf of Times readers – opened the door just ... [Link]

The Maestro Speaks

A lot of ink has been spilled on Alan Greenspan’s memoir, The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World (Penguin). The official publication date was Monday, September 17, but ... [Link]

Ebbut’s Dont’s for Husbands and Wives

Every week a list of bestsellers for the Waterstone’s chain of bookstores in the UK is delivered to my inbox. I usually give it a quick skim, to see what’s ... [Link]

Sea Around Us

What is the bestselling book published by a university press? (It’s rare that a university press publication will make one of the major bestseller lists.) A 2005 Princeton University Press ... [Link]

Dangerous Book To Buy

In the Sunday New York Times Week In Review, Charles McGrath, the former editor of the NY Times Book Review, looks at the popularity of the Iggulden brothers’ Dangerous Book ... [Link]

Great Big Glorious Book for Girls

It was a response to the hugely successful Dangerous Book for Boys, growing from an article-length spoof version for girls to a 304-page book that is currently number 66 on ... [Link]

Vampires and the Women Who Love Them

Blood-suckers are all the rage.In my articles on the Romance and Science Fiction & Fantasy categories, I noted the popularity of vampires. We see them not only in published fiction ... [Link]

Gardening Bestsellers

In my article on the slumping gardening books category, I noted that in 2006 not a single gardening title appeared on any of the major bestseller lists tracked by Bowker ... [Link]

Professor Bush

There was a fascinating article by Ted Widmer in the Sunday New York Times Magazine on George Bush, the current president’s great-great-great-grandfather’s first cousin. It turns out that this 19th ... [Link]

Bestseller Ideas

In this week’s interview, Dean Rotbart and Michael Drew discuss the likelihood of a book idea becoming a publishing success. In their discussion, they reveal how to identify whether your idea is bestseller material. Do you really have a sure-fire idea for a bestseller? Hear what they have to say . . . .

The Lessons of Harry Potter: A Beneath the Cover Podcast

Michael R. Drew discusses what all authors - even those writing non-fiction - can learn from the phenomenal success of the Harry Potter Series. More