M&D Deep Duck Read (it is supposed to be). The publishing of it and an inside tidbit, maybe, & chance.

[Mark Kohut]

I was in corporate publishing when Mason & Dixon was published. I
worked for a sister
company of Holt mainly (and a little for Holt), the publisher of Mason & Dixon.
 (There are stories around of the friendship between the Head of Holt,
Michael Naumann, and Pynchon)


Anyway, the book was published hard. A large printing was announced. I
do not remember what it was but maybe 100,000 copies?
Mike, Matthew, Bueller, anyone, anyone? (Announced printings  are a
publishing positional lie, used to show relative commitment to the
different books, and to signal the 'aggressiveness' of the selling and
attention--the publisher's commitment to spend marketing money to
promote the sell-through. So, M & D had that, was very well 'advanced"
('advanced' meaning the orders taken before publication) based on
Pynchon's name and above and shared advertising dollars for featured
displays (therefore stores needing high quantities to make all those
displays, etc.). Obviously no tour, but a full court press to all
reviewing media at the time. (Although, as with Against the Day, most
of the reviewers'/readers' copies were only sent out a couple-three
weeks before pub day, the official day before which reviewers were
asked not to run their reviews. [see Walter Kirn's largely and rare
negative review in SLATE in which he outlines how little time
reviewers had, therefore how many reviews had to be just
'impressionistic".])


Although, surely, the final first printing, unknown to me, was less
than the 'announced' printing--always is, the book sold well : "Re
Thomas Pynchon's new novel, Mason & Dixon. He told me how
"brilliantly" it was selling -- at the time (mid-May), it was the
fourth-best-selling novel in America behind Mary Higgins Clark, John
Grisham and Danielle Steele". To be a #4 bestseller in Mid-May is to
reflect sales from its first week (at most two) on sale [getting to
that interesting fact]. However, it did not have 'legs' to match its
advance and sales tailed off noticeably. Many copies of that first
printing were ultimately returned which is why many First Editions
have shown up on sale tables and online to the present day.


Now, a little known insider story (which is in the Plist archives but
everything old is new again as that movie has it). 'Big' books, such
as M & D was, are shipped in a nationally orchestrated way so that all
bookstores will get the book at around the same time. Because of
delivery windows, that day is set as a Tuesday of pub week.  Stores
usually have to agree not to sell actual copies until that Tuesday,
Publication Day. This is the day advertising and store displays can
start. (Reviews can start usually the Sunday before, kickstarting the
demand.) Store displays and advertising are planned months in advance,
of course, which is what makes what happens next quite interesting.


The 'original' publication day for M &D was Tuesday April 15, 1997.
Stores had already set merchandising plans when, late in the game, as
late as FEb--March if memory serves, all stores were told that the new
pub day was Wednesday 30 April 1997 (historical pub. date of Mason &
Dixon).---
"Don't you mean the 29th, that Tuesday?"  I asked a Holt colleague.
"No, the 30th"... Corporate stores were upset, Holt and its sales team
took flak. Why? was the question asked. Word was the decision came
right from the Top. But Naumann would surely not change the pub date
without a reason, surely from Melanie and Tom. I got no answer from
Holt colleagues when I enquired. Now all major publishers can usually
meet their long-planned laydown date because they have huge ongoing
printing contracts and can shuffle the printing orders if necessary.
Now, given the special paper, binding and size of Mason & Dixon, it is
possible that this special printing ran into a unique production
problem not solved by moving it into a standard printing order. If so,
and it lost two weeks, it should still have had an April 29th, 1997
pub day.


Until I, by happenstance, learned it was, almost surely, a heart-kept
Pynchon secret homage (as in the secrets in that early M & D table
metaphor). Richard Farina had died
on April 30, 1966.
-
Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l