Madison Commencement
Bengals hold off season activites
Missing in American Memorial
Book Nook provides readers with insights into the world of books. Vick Mickunas takes you into the center of the publishing world with the latest book buzz, book reviews, and exclusive chats with authors..Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2007 > July > 30 > Entry
dead?… or ALIVE!
We have all done it—you open the newspaper and see the obituary of somebody who used to be famous and think; gosh, I thought that person died ages ago?
One never knows. Have you ever played the game DEAD?…or ALIVE! You name somebody who used to be famous and then try to guess if they are still walking the planet. You will be amazed at who still lives and who left us long ago. Ah, to be famous one moment, a trivia question the next.
In the world of publishing the concept of death is somewhat arbitrary. An article in today’s edition of the New York Times reminded me of just how arbitrary literary mortality can be. The author Robert Ludlum died some years ago. A person browsing in a bookstore would have a hard time knowing it. The Ludlum book machine just keeps on cranking out the new books.
A few years ago I was talking to a publicist and she asked me if I was interested in reading the latest book by Robert Ludlum. I asked her if he was available for an interview? After a moment of stunned silence, she said: “but, Robert Ludlum is dead.”
Who knew?
If you watch much TV you have seen the flashy commercials for new books by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the cult of Scientology. Viewers who don’t know any better might think that Mr. Hubbard is busy writing books. The reality: he died years ago.
In regard to Ludlum; he was all for it. The article in the NY Times explains: “Robert Ludlum died six years ago, but that has done nothing to slow the release of books published under the name of the actor-turned-novelist who specialized in thrillers built on a foundation of paranoia.
Twelve Ludlum books have been released since his death, with a 13th due out in September. The business is deployed now as a kind of film studio, presenting books completed by others or new ones written using his name.
Since early 2006 there have been three alone: “Robert Ludlum’s The Moscow Vector,” the sixth in the “Covert-One” series of paperback originals; “The Bancroft Strategy,” and “Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Betrayal,” by Eric Van Lustbader.
Mr. Ludlum did not want to be forgotten or leave behind only an enormous backlist that started with “The Scarlatti Inheritance” in 1971. He had little reason to worry: he is now a brand extended far into his afterlife.
“This goes back to 1990 or ’91 when Bob had quadruple bypass,” said Henry Morrison, the agent for Mr. Ludlum. “One day we were talking about what would happen when he was gone. He said, ‘I don’t want my name to disappear. I’ve spent 30 years writing books and building an audience.’ ”
Ludlum didn’t invent this type of marketing: “His estate has borrowed from the examples of V.C. Andrews, dead since 1986 but selling well thanks to novels in her name written by an uncredited author; Ernest Hemingway, whose estates issued several books after his suicide; and Tom Clancy and Clive Cussler (both quite alive) who diverted from their skin of solo thrillers to create series written in conjunction with, or solely by, others.
“People expect something from a Robert Ludlum book, and if we can publish Ludlum books for the next 50 years and satisfy readers, we will,” said Jeffrey Weiner, the executor of Mr. Ludlum’s estate. The estate’s post-mortem publishing game plan is reminiscent of licensing and other deals for dead stars like Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Babe Ruth, and the film industry’s comfort with familiar franchises.”
There is one thing that you can count on: Ludlum’s name will always be twice as large on the cover as the name of his “co-author.” His name on the cover translates into sales, be he dead, or alive.
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: clearing the cobwebs
Comments
By Philip Swan
August 6, 2007 6:31 PM | Link to this
These “co-authored publications” have sort of a downside to them - after Ludlum died, his hardcover publisher continued to publish Ludlum novels with no mention on the dust-jacket copy that Ludlum was dead - I think the fear was that all the co-authored books would lead potential buyer/readers to assume Ludlum hadn’t written the book they were holding.By Martha
July 31, 2007 5:03 PM | Link to this
The people at the Abbey Pub have what they call the “Dead Book”. It’s basically a death pool, predictions of famous people who will die in a calendar year.Extra points are given for younger people. I watch amusedly from the sidelines, but find it a bit creepy to participate. They are dead serious about it. Big money for the winner. How ‘bout them apples?