Why "Fifty Shades of Grey" Is So Successful

Posted: May 21, 2012 9:51 AM
3 Comments
Related Categories: Beyond the Book

If you're intrigued by the success of E.L. James's "Fifty Shades of Grey" trilogy (currently at #1, 2 and 3 in the NY Times bestseller lists), you might be interested in this Publishers Weekly article which puts the series into the context of the wider book market:

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I don't know if this is relevant but a few weeks ago Tom Bergaron(?) mentioned Fifty Shades of Grey on Dancing with the Stars. It was in response to one of the judges emoting about a dancer. Maybe it was popular then and that is how Tom knew about it. Just thought I would throw that in the mix.

# Posted By Jojo | 5/21/12 1:14 PM

I am glad you posted this article. My friends and I were just discussing this over the past weekend. While I do like some books in the romance genre, I read a couple reviews of this book and didn't find it appealing to my personal tastes at all. I had the same reaction though - why is this particular book so popular as I know there are many out there with similar themes. But right book at the right time, and being caught in the social media wave explains a lot.

# Posted By B.G. Watkins | 5/22/12 12:05 PM

My 22 year old daughter is reading it now. She said "It's so bad, but I can't stop reading it!" It's funny...she said the same thing about the Twilight series. I think there are a lot of books that benefit from pop culture word of mouth. I think quite a few people buy books "in the news" and probably don't even read them. But every time a book sells, it means more money for the publishing houses to buy actual good books so I can't complain.

# Posted By Kathleen Phillips | 5/24/12 9:23 AM

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