Hit or Miss

I have wondered for a long time why some books hit big, and others that come out at the same time, get similar reviews, are similar types of books, just miss.

One that comes to mind is The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl and Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code. I remember reading reviews of both when selecting books from the library's collection and thought they both sounded interesting twists on standard thrillers. They got similar reviews as well - ok but not glowing. So I bought them both, and really, The Dante Club was the one I remembered more from the reviews. But for some reason it was The DaVinci Code that took off and took off huge.

Richard North Patterson and James Patterson started off about the same time - again I remember noting the similarity in name and the fact that they were well-reviewed additions to the thriller genre. I bought both and marveled to see that while they both are best selling authors, James Patterson is crazy popular.

So what is that magical difference? Nowadays, it is often the marketing side, getting onto Oprah, etc. But back when the above examples occurred, each were similarly mild blips on the publishing scene, yet one in each became an overwhelming success. It comes down to word of mouth and having a theme or topic that just hits the public at just the right time. AT that point, success builds on success, it gets into the press and that just pushes it all into overdrive.

A recent example is the "The Girl Who" series. These titles have taken off like crazy - as anyone waiting on the waiting lists for them well knows. I am not sure why they are more popular than other mystery series as I have read equally good stories and series that don't see this kind of popularity. But wow, they are huge. Again - the pattern seems to have been word of mouth leading to heavy press coverage leading to monster success.

There are tons of examples - and I would love to hear yours. Share them so maybe we can start a bit of word of mouth magic. Here's mine - I dare you to read Small Change, by J. Belinda Yandell and explain why it or the author never saw the success of Richard Evans, Robert Waller, or Nicholas Sparks. Good luck finding it, no one in the system even has it anymore, but check the reviews at Amazon - if you are really interested, I can lend you my copy.

Fads vs Staple

We are all familiar with passing fads, those must have things that fade quickly. Pet Rocks or Parachute Pants come to mind. There are those things we think will be a passing craze that seem to linger to become, astonishingly, a staple - saggy pants come to mind on that. Who would think that Marky Mark would have set off a craze that is still with us today.

There doesn't seem to be a discernable reason for one to fade as a fad, and another to stay with us as a staple of life. A fad hits the public's interest at just the right moment, capturing the interest of consumers, pundits and journalists. But what makes it last? What ensures the enduring popularity making it a standard? If there was a way of predicting, marketers and investors would have a much easier time of it.

The idea of fads and staples has been on my mind for a while. Today I came across this video about Mexican Pointy Boots (really you have to stay for the whole video), and combined with a call from Barnes and Noble, it got me wondering why eBooks are showing significant signs of becoming a staple, this time. We librarians see eBooks as just a new format in our array of offerings, a great addition to the Large Print, audiobook, paperback, hardback choices intended to meet the varying needs of our community - that this time around is actually showing signs of staple-dom.

This time? You might well ask. eBooks are not new. I can remember back some 10 or so years when working at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, having the Assistant Director, Gladys Maharam, - a true visionary of library service - demonstrating this new gizmo that would allow people to read a book electronically. She saw such a future for them that she had invested in purchasing several, plus the books. She was sure that everyone would be as excited as she was, would understand the potential, and electronic versions of books would be, well, a staple. I guess you realize that it didn't. Didn't even show up as a fad. No one was interested, and nothing came of it - back then.

Fast forward to the present, and suddenly eBooks are the thing. Not a fad, and not the death of the printed book - but something comfortably in between - a staple. Everything has its golden moment - the trick is making the evaluation: fad or staple? The science is making the right evaluation and know where to invest and where to just enjoy the fleeting craze.

Book: Trendwatching: don't be fooled by the next investment fad, mania, or bubble, by Ron Insana
Audiobook: Microtrends: the small forces behind tomorrow's big changes, by Mark Penn.