Dan Brown's 'The Lost Symbol' Sells A Million Copies

NEW YORK — Dan Brown does it again, on paper and on the screen.

Doubleday announced Wednesday that "The Lost Symbol," Brown's first novel since "The Da Vinci Code," has already sold more than 1 million copies after being on sale for one day in the United States, Canada and Britain. That total includes preorders for the book, which has been at or near the top of Amazon.com for months.

An additional 600,000 hardcover copies have been ordered, bringing the total print run to 5.6 million copies. "The Lost Symbol" came out Tuesday.

Brown's book was well short of the all-time debut, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," which in its first day sold more than 8 million copies in the U.S. alone.

Doubleday initially said the sales were for hardcover alone, but spokeswoman Suzanne Herz said the number also includes the digital edition, which Doubleday released at the same time despite industry concerns that the standard $9.99 e-book price might hurt sales for the more expensive hardcover.

Thrillers have been especially popular as e-books and no thriller writer is hotter than Dan Brown. Since coming out, "The Lost Symbol" has been the top seller on Amazon.com's overall list and on its list for books downloaded on Amazon's e-reader, the Kindle. On Amazon's list for top thrillers and mystery novels, the Kindle edition was No. 1 as of Wednesday afternoon, followed by the hardcover.

"The big surprise was that, despite sustained, strong physical books sales, yesterday (Tuesday) we saw the Kindle edition outsell hardcover editions on the book's release day," said Amazon.com spokesman Andrew Herdener, adding that the calculation did not include preorders.

Herz also declined to offer a breakdown between hardcover and e-book sales. Sony spokesman Kyle Austin also would not provide numbers, but said "The Lost Symbol" set a single day record for e-book sales, selling more than 10 times the amount of any other e-release Tuesday.

E-book sales are quickly growing, although believed to be just 1 percent to 2 percent of the overall market.

Comments

[Nyland8]

05:48 PM on 09/18/2009

Well ... let's see how long he can keep this one from going to paperback. The DaVinci Code was only available in hardcover for ... how many months? 38 ? 40 ? Or did it just seem that long ?? And then long after they should have released a paperback, they issued a deluxe, "collector­'s edition" hardcover - just to wring out a few more silver Diocletian­s. It was probably printed on vellum - sacrificia­l lambskin, no doubt - with a three-key escutcheon plate to lock in all the cryptic goodness.

C'mon, Dan. Throw us poor folks a bone. Have a paperback out by the Feast of the Consumptio­n ... or whatever that Catholic holiday is called.

[levoyageur]

01:28 PM on 09/18/2009

I enjoyed reading the da vinci. i will have to stop by barnes and noble tonight and buy this book.

[cliffhammond]

11:23 PM on 09/17/2009

Mine arrived by mail yesterday. But first I'm going to finish one by Donna Leon. I guess, I'd better hurry so I can get in on the reviews and counter-re­views. Is is me or does Dan Brown look like Putin to the rest of you?

[Jeff Cunningham]

10:57 PM on 09/17/2009

In his next, currently untitled, novel, Dan Brown will chronicle Robert Langdon's greatest adventure yet ... as he travels the globe searching for President Obama's birth certificat­e.

In case anyone's wondering, I'm joking. It would make a good parody book.

[cliffhammond]

11:37 PM on 09/17/2009

The trail leads from Kenya to Indonesia where he discovers that Obama's mother is a CIA operative doing assignment­s in Kenya, Indonesia and in Pakistan and Afghanista­n, where the Mujaheddin are cranking it up against the Russians. She gets her son Barry a job right out of Columbia with a CIA front company, Business Internatio­nal Magazine, writing analytical economic articles used as disinforma­tion and to get The Company in the door in hot spots in Europe, Central Asia and the Far East. In fact, Barry does so well, he is recruited by Neoliberal elements in the Company to move to Chicago where he is instructed to penetrate the Dailey political machine. He is so successful in the penetratio­n he is joined by Mossads number two agent in the U.S. and they team up for runs at elected office....­......

[VegasWolf]

11:00 AM on 09/18/2009

Be a short story. It's in the state building in Hawaii, haven't they mentioned that to you in Sunday school yet?

[huffposeur]

04:19 PM on 09/17/2009

he's a hack with a svengali for a wife. you'd be better off reading sinclair lewis's IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE or ayn rand's ATLAS SHRUGGED or robert penn warren's ALL THE KING'S MEN

[BARRISTER]

06:10 AM on 09/18/2009

Your remark is both rude and baseless. I know Mr. & Mrs. Brown. They are two of the kindest, lovliest human beings anyone could ever meet. They are very intelligen­t, compassion­ate and caring people. Mr. & Mrs. Brown are neither "hacks" nor "svengalis­" as you so insensitiv­ely proclaim. Are you aware of the depth of work which they put into the writing of a book? The research and fact checking etc.? Are you aware of the kind and generous things they do on a daily basis, all the while insisting on anonymity, for the needy in this coubtry? Have you ever spoken to either of them? Why are you so bitter towards people you do not know? What is the factual basis for your remarks?

If you do not know someone, you should NOT make such personal comments about them.

You are wrong. Very wrong. You ought to consider an apology to the Browns.

[washlib]

03:14 PM on 09/17/2009

i'll wait for the improved writing edition, the CLIFF NOTES.

Dan Brown is a hack and a terrible writer.

[dinglebe]

10:08 AM on 09/17/2009

I'll read it but I won't buy it. He's not that good a writer, really.

[BryanTheRegOps]

08:18 AM on 09/17/2009

I've been waiting for this book for over a year. Buying it this Saturday and reading it over the weekend.

[Eric James]

06:10 AM on 09/17/2009

Dan Brown's sales could probably be better, if it wasn't for the fact he is being out-writte­n by the GOP.

[BryanTheRegOps]

08:17 AM on 09/17/2009

What?

[levoyageur]

01:27 PM on 09/18/2009

must u bring politics to everything­.. this is about book sales.. take a break

[KIVPossum]

04:37 AM on 09/17/2009

Seems like Brown is doing like King, Grisham, and Sparks (all of whom I enjoy) - writing the same book over again.

Enjoyed Da Vinci and can't wait to read this one.

[apoyo]

01:47 AM on 09/17/2009

Goes to show there IS a sucker born every minute.

[Midnightbreeze]

12:40 AM on 09/17/2009

Just don't pay list price. Every major supermarke­t gives you a free credit-car­d like thingy that gives you the lower price on everything­. With that I got the book at 40% off. That's cheaper than amazon after factoring the shipping.

[Phenlandia]

12:47 AM on 09/17/2009

Wait a month and you can get it for 3.50 from Better World Books. Free shipping, too.

[Steamboater]

12:32 AM on 09/17/2009

I hated "The Da Vinci Code" but this new one got an excellent review in the NY Times so I'm looking forward to reading it. I don't buy novels that much but get them from the library. Novels you read once and that's it. Most books I purchase are non-fictio­n.

[Phenlandia]

12:43 AM on 09/17/2009

The New York Times only gives positive reviews to corporate American books with big advertisin­g campaigns (cough). Anybody else, they'll at least be snippy about if not sadistical­ly cruel for no reason. They'll slam formulaic genre work as crass, but praise it to the skies if it's a bestseller­. They do the exact same thing with literary/a­rt writing. As for film...if it's not from Hollywood, didn't cost a billion dollars, and didn't have a happy predictabl­e ending (and a huge promo budget - cough), it's terrible.

[Steamboater]

12:46 AM on 09/17/2009

You misread the NY Times. They've given horrible reviews to many corporate American books. What you're saying comes from a political motivation and has nothing to do with the truth.

[rissole]

10:22 PM on 09/16/2009

I hear the Catholic Church has ordered 500 copies.

[Steamboater]

12:32 AM on 09/17/2009

To burn?

[PaxMundis]

11:03 AM on 09/20/2009

Probably not. This one has nothing to do with the Catholic Church.

[Whitley2009]

09:48 PM on 09/16/2009

I'm a novelist, and I'm rushing to the bookstore to buy a copy of his new book. I think Dan Brown is a superlativ­e author.

[Phenlandia]

12:44 AM on 09/17/2009

Words like superlativ­e are superfluou­s.

[napasonoma]

01:31 AM on 09/17/2009

Get over yourself.

[cliffhammond]

11:26 PM on 09/17/2009

No they're not; they're superlativ­e.