There Are Book Parties, Then There Are…

Book parties. You and I might throw a book launch party -- at our local book store or wine shop or church or whatever would fit our book. We might have punch or a cake with our cover on it. Maybe a band or background music. We’d invite friends and sell books.

Then there’s Dan Brown’s book party.

That’s a horse of a different color, as they say in Emerald City.

Wanna know how to party like Dan Brown? You might want to read the Los Angeles Times article recapping his party.

He and a few hundred of his friends celebrated at Gotham Hall in New York on the day of The Lost Symbol’s release.

Symbols from the book's cover were projected high on the walls. Catering staff wore bright white George Washington-style wigs. "Lost Symbol" cocktails were offered in oversized martini glasses, followed by champagne for toasting. Delicious finger snacks came by. A White House cake was on display, then sliced up for dessert.

In addition to a few hundred of his friends, there were some others there.

… Random House's biggest bigwigs -- Knopf-Doubleday Publisher Sonny Mehta and Random House CEO Markus Dohle -- were there, getting thanked by Brown from the stage.

Carolyn Kellogg, who wrote the article, likened the event to the Oscars. Brown cracked jokes and thanked everyone.

What he said, mostly, was thank you. He thanked everyone in the food chain of his book, from his wife, Blythe, to his agent to the audiobook crew and the production staff.

Kellogg noted that his talk and book launch had more in common with the Oscars and the movie industry than just his long thank yous.

… the concern is that he's the only guy who's in the running. The movie industry couldn't survive on Meryl Streep alone; the publishing industry might benefit from nurturing more of its own demi-stars to fill out the program.

Nurturing authors other than the obvious best-sellers? Not a new concept. It’s something we’ve discussed before here on Straight From Hel. I love that Dan Brown has another mega-seller out. I want there to be sales of books. I love books. I love reading. I bought The Lost Symbol. I want to read different kinds of books. I can live without celebrity regurgitations and political tell-alls. I don’t want to live without authors whose series I love but who are in danger of being dropped because they’re mid-list, or new authors who must sell a mind-boggling number of books their first time out or they won’t get a second chance, or friends who’ve written beautiful but quiet books but don’t have a platform that will net them thousands of sales.

I’m with Kellogg. I hope the publishing industry nurtures authors who are not mega-stars. Dan Brown wasn’t a star until he became one. I hope the publishing industry keeps looking for new stars. There are lots of them out there working to be discovered.