The contest between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is over. Clinton is the winner.
According to Nielsen BookScan, Clinton’s “Hard Choices” has sold 270,000 copies since publication on June 1, 2014.
Trump’s “Crippled America” has sold 239,000 copies since its publication last November 2015.
These are each the last hardcover books by both presidential candidates, and each book has run its sales cycle in hardcover.
What’s interesting is that sources tell me Trump was paid a $5 million advance for his book, and it has not earned back that money.
More surprising: When Trump’s book was retitled and reissued in paperback on July 1st, it was a bust. “Great Again” has sold 16,275 copies in trade (oversize) paperback.
“Crippled America” was published by Simon & Schuster’s little known right wing political imprint. I’m told that the staff there wasn’t too keen on it, and thought the $5 million was way out of line. But CBS’s Les Moonves, who oversees S&S, thought it would work given that Trump was running for president.
“Les okayed the advance and guaranteed he wouldn’t hold it against them if it didn’t,” says a source. “Crippled America” has not nearly as well as Trump’s nearly 30 year old “Art of the Deal,” his first book, which was about him getting the better of business associates. That seems to be much more interesting to readers than Trump’s ideas about the presidency. Hmmm…
chart courtesy of SoundScan/BookScan
