Kennedy Memoir Already a Bestseller Even Before September Release

2 years ago

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Sen. Ted Kennedy's $8 million memoir, "True Compass," is being rushed for release on Sept. 14. The publisher, Hachette Book Group, plans to send 1.5 million copies to bookstores. According to pre-release orders by online booksellers, the Kennedy book is already a bestseller.

"True Compass" was originally slated for publication in 2010. Hachette moved up the release date to this October after Kennedy was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer. Three weeks ago, the publisher decided to again move up publication to mid-September. The manuscript was only just completed "earlier this summer," a spokesman for Hachette told the New York Post.

The publisher is keeping the book under strict embargo until the release date. All that is known of the subject matter comes from the publisher's Web site: "In this landmark autobiography, five years in the making, Senator Edward M. Kennedy tells his extraordinary personal story -- of his legendary family, politics, and fifty years at the center of national events." A leather-bound, limited edition is being sold online by the publisher for a whopping $1,000. It features the author's electronic ink signature and rare family photos not included in the standard edition, and will be sent out in October.

Kennedy received an estimated advance of $8 million for the book in November 2007. The Post's analysis of book advances shows that Kennedy's payment is about the same as that received by Hillary Clinton and Tony Blair, but much less than the estimated $12 million Bill Clinton received for his memoir.

Hachette will have to sell 685,000 copies of Kennedy's book to break even, the paper estimates. But with pre-orders this week putting the book on the bestseller lists on Web sites Amazon (#9) and Barnes and Noble (#3), it seems the publisher will profit nicely.

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Filed Under: Ted Kennedy, Culture

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