James Comey’s new tell-all book, A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership, has had quite a good week. The former FBI director has been on a media blitz, and the title has sold more than 600,000 copies across all formats, according to the New York Times.
This is quite a success. To put it into context, here are a few other comparable statistics:
- Hillary Clinton’s What Happened sold 300,000 copies in its first week.
- Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury sold 200,000 copies, according to NPD BookScan. (It should be said that this metric only represents about 85% of all hardcover sales–and Wolff’s book sold out quickly because the publisher wasn’t prepared for its success.)
The question remains: Will A Higher Loyalty sell better over time than Fire and Fury? Though Comey’s book seems to be in the lead now, this is likely because Flatiron Books–his publisher–was more prepared for its success. Wolff’s book sold out within hours, and his publisher, Henry Holt, had to order emergency reprints to meet demand.
Currently, Fire and Fury has sold more than 2 million copies, but it has been available for over three months now. With 600,000 copies of A Higher Loyalty sold already, it’s quite likely it could eclipse that statistic.
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