James Patterson has built a publishing juggernaut. His publishing success all started with Little, Brown publishing Along Came a Spider in February 1993. In this episode we look at how he marketed his breakout hit. From cover design to targeted TV advertising, Patterson brought his expertise as CEO of a major advertising firm to book publishing.

Listen to Episode 7 to hear the begining of the story.

Bibliography

Along Came a Spider (1993) by James Patterson:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/along-came-a-spider-james-patterson/1100307468?ean=9780316693646

The Bridges of Madison County (1992) by Robert James Waller:
https://www.amazon.com/Bridges-Madison-County-Robert-Waller/dp/0446364495

The Client (1993) by John Grisham:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/72156/the-client-by-john-grisham/

Jurassic Park (1990) by Michael Crichton: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/jurassic-park-michael-crichton/1100400615

Marketing James Patterson (2002) Harvard Business School case by John Deighton: https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/505029-PDF-ENG

James Patterson by James Patterson (2022) by James Patterson:
https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/james-patterson/james-patterson-by-james-patterson/9780316397537/

“The James Patterson Business” (2002) by Jeff Zaleski, Publishers Weekly:

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20021104/21533-the-james-patterson-business.html

People Discussed

00:15 | James Patterson – Best-selling thriller author; also covered in Episode 7
01:16 | Bill Clinton – 42nd U.S. President; co-author with Patterson
13:21 | Robert Gottlieb – Famed book editor, former editor-in-chief at Knopf, covered in Episode 5
16:00 | John Grisham – Legal-thriller novelist, author of The Client
16:30 | Michael Crichton - Scientific thriller writer, author of Jurassic Park, covered in Episode 6
17:47 | John Deighton – Harvard Business School professor; author of the HBS case on Patterson
21:20 | Burt Manning – Former CEO of J. Walter Thompson
22:31 | Jeff Zaleski – Publishers Weekly journalist; wrote “The James Patterson Business” article