Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol selling well on Amazon Kindle
Dan Brown’s new novel, The Lost Symbol, was released on Sept. 15 after five years in the making. And it’s already selling well, as most people expected it to. However, something few people expected was to see the Kindle edition of The Lost Symbol sell in greater numbers than the hardback edition on Amazon. Which is exactly what appears to happening at the moment.
Love him or hate him, and I know many who think he’s an untalented hack who struck lucky writing for the uneducated and easily fooled out there, Dan Brown is a publishing phenomenon.
The Da Vinci Code, with its central plot that maintains Jesus and Mary Magdalene had children and there are descendants of the couple alive and well (and being protected) today, caused controversy upon release. Then it was turned into a film, as was the other Robert Langdon novel, Angels and Demons.
The Lost Symbol is the follow-up to The Da Vinci Code and is now available to buy from a number of different places. Many people buy their books from Amazon these days, particularly titles they pre-order and are eager to get their hands on on the day of release. And sales of The Lost Symbol are proving that point.
However, as first noted by Kindle Nation Daily, the Kindle edition is currently (at the time of writing) outselling the hardback version. This being despite the hardback version having been available to pre-order for about six months.
There is a difference in price, with Amazon subsidizing the Kindle edition so it’s only $9.99 compared to the $16.17 being asked for the hardback edition. There’s also the fact that the Kindle edition was always going to see an instant surge in interest due to its instant delivery. But still, this has to count as a shock to anyone watching the way the book publishing industry is evolving.
While the Amazon Kindle and eBook readers in general are indeed becoming more popular – and eBooks themselves thanks to the ability to read them on the iPhone and iPod Touch – I never expected to see one outsell a hard copy of a much-anticipated title this quickly.
I doubt this trend will continue, because Brown’s other books have sold millions to a mainstream audience thanks to their mass appeal. But book publishers should maybe take note of this event, especially as Random House were against even releasing an eBook version of The Lost Symbol for a long time.
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September 17th, 2009
I think the trend will continue. For big name authors, I’m not sure it is the best thing. For unknowns, online is a good way to try to get your stuff into some hands. Do you think “Dorthe and the Dwarf” at http://www.dudeangus.com would be read by anyone if not for the internet?
I like the Kindle and Amazon as well. Great service, great company (which is why their stock is doing so well).