Now a post on the business aspect of writing. The Wall Street Journal recently did a piece on novels that come out in paperback first, rather than hardcover. It profiled the success of “One Day,” a novel by David Nicholls originally released as a “paperback original.” (And now, it seems, a soon-to-be-movie starring Anne Hathaway.) Jim is also mentioned in the piece.
A few years ago, to help build writer Jim Shepard’s fan base, Knopf’s Mr. Fisketjon decided to publish a paperback-original collection of Mr. Shepard’s short stories to coincide with the hardcover publication of his new novel. “We brought out his subsequent short-story collection in hardcover and it did well because Jim had found new readers with the paperback,” said Mr. Fisketjon, adding that he’s now trying the same strategy with another author.
You can read the piece by clicking here. I believe that the piece refers to Love and Hydrogen, Jim’s short story collection that was released alongside his novel, Project X.
Jim Shepard 