Thursday, July 7, 2011

Grisham's Lean Mean Book-Selling Machine

John Grisham was once a simple would-be author. After he was a not-necessarily-simple lawyer.  When his first book A Time to Kill was published with a measly 5,000 copy run Grisham bought one thousand copies by his own self.  He couldn't give them away!  Okay, he actually said it was difficult to do so.   Grisham "hauled them in the trunk of my car and peddled them at libraries, garden clubs, grocery stores, coffee shops and a handful of bookstores."  This was back in 1989 before Starbucks was ubiquitous.  Garden Clubs!  Coffee Shops!  The man was thinking outside the box.  Or outside the trunk.  Ha!  Who knew the publishing juggernaut that is Mr. John Grisham had such humble beginnings.  Not I.

Source:  Dedication to Bobby Moak in Ford County: Stories by John Grisham

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