Editing Pynchon?

[Mark Kohut]

A publisher would usually like both (frontlist bestsellerdom and backlist sales until the copyright expires)a--and, usually backlist starts higher and stays higher if the book sold well upfront.

"usually".

--- On Wed, 8/5/09, Robert Mahnke <rpmahnke at gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Robert Mahnke <rpmahnke at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: Editing Pynchon?
> To: "Chris Broderick" <elsuperfantastico at yahoo.com>, pynchon-l at waste.org
> Date: Wednesday, August 5, 2009, 1:26 PM
> Someone tell me if I'm wrong, but I
> would have thought that Pynchon's
> value to his publisher is that, whether or not they are
> bestsellers in
> the short run, his books are likely to stay in print for a
> long time.
> Likewise, the release of a new Pynchon novel probably spurs
> sales of
> the old ones.
> 
> On 8/5/09, Chris Broderick <elsuperfantastico at yahoo.com>
> wrote:
> > Nushra sez:
> >
> > So when they published AGTD they thought they had a
> best seller? That's silly.
> >
> > So I say:
> >
> > Not really, as far as literary fiction goes. 
> Pynchon's books sell quite well, and the publication of a
> new one is a big event in publishing circles.  They may
> not sell at Da Vinci Code levels (or for that matter,
> self-help crap like the Secret, which leaves most fiction in
> the dust, sales wise), but as far as the publishing industry
> is concerned, Agin'TD was a bestseller.  As was
> expected.
> >
> >  Chris
> >
> >
> > "A good laugh is the best pesticide."
> > -Vladimir Nabokov
> >
> >
> >
> >
> 
>