HarperCollins Hurting Atticus Finch More Than Robert Ewell Ever Dreamed
Greed is everywhere, but somehow it comes as a surprise to many when it rears it's ugly head in the rarefied world of book publishing and literature. Although marketing efforts have made valiant attempts to shape public perception regarding two recent stories, they have proven unsuccessful.
Go Set A Watchman, promoted as a new novel by acclaimed author Harper Lee who penned To Kill A Mockingbird, was published last month. There was a steady crescendo in media coverage prior to the launch because Lee had approved release of Watchman in 2011, having published no works since the publication of Mockingbird in 1960. Billed as a second novel that takes place several years after the events in To Kill A Mockingbird, the work has come under scrutiny that included a legal issue regarding Lee's current mental capacity as well as controversy surrounding the book's classification as a 'second novel' or a 'first draft' never meant for publication. Although still circling at the top of The New York Times Bestseller list, one independent bookstore is offering refunds to their customers who purchased the book "because of the marketing of the book."
Theodore Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, published 46 books, many of them children's classics, before his death in 1991. The publishing world was excited when an unfinished manuscript of "What Pet Should I Get," including full text and drawings, was discovered in 2013 by his wife and secretary. Likely written between 1958 and 1962, the book was published last month and is breaking sales records. Many of the sketches were not full drawings and had to have colors added by Random House Art Director Cathy Goldsmith, who worked with Geisel on several books. Geisel published 16 books prior to 1958 and 26 others after 1962. He never completed What Pet Should I Get because, I assume, he decided not to publish it. However, on July 28, 2015, it became available wherever books are sold.
The market for fully realized novels and completed children's books is larger than the market for first drafts of famous novels or for unfinished manuscripts. With full understanding of the issues, the marketing arms of Random House (Geisel) and HarperCollins (Lee) chose greed over good. To act with character over cash, they would have promoted these works for what they are: a Lee first draft of a classic American novel; and for Geisel, an unfinished idea offering a glimpse into the prolific mind of a beloved children's author.
