James Patterson Creates "Self Destructing" Book To Market Latest Thriller

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With between 600,000 and a million books being published or self-published just in America each year, it is getting increasingly hard for writers to get their books noticed. Most stick to old-fashioned tactics like book tours that allow them to connect with their existing readers and attract new ones. However, there are a few that pull some brilliant marketing stunts to get their publications noticed.

The latest one making headlines is none other than world-famous best-selling author James Patterson. To publicize his latest release Private Vegas, the writer who is known for his heart-stopping thrillers teamed up with advertising agency Mother New York, and came up with a radical idea - creating a book that has a built-in clock counting down from 24 hours. Once the time is up, the book self destructs. This means that the reader has to either finish it in the allotted time or live his/her life in perpetual suspense.

Of course, since this is a marketing ploy, not all the books are that exciting - just one physical book that costs an astounding $294,038 USD. Why would someone pay that much for a book that will disappear? For the experience say the writer and his creative team. That's because the price includes a first-class ticket to an undisclosed location, two nights’ stay in a luxury hotel, a pair of 14-karat gold-plated binoculars to read the book from a distance, and a five-course dinner with the author. Though details of how the book will blow-up are sketchy, the promotional video does suggest that a bomb squad may be needed.

For those that did not have excess cash laying around, the author offered codes for 1,000 e-books that also featured the countdown clock. Though their experience was not as dramatic, the readers definitely got their share of adrenaline rush - that's because in addition to the clock counting down, they were able to monitor the progress of the other e-readers and even sabotage their efforts by stealing their time!

While the physical book is still up for grabs, the e-book codes were immediately snatched up Patterson fans. And in case you are wondering, the $294,038 USD price for the experience does have a special significance - it was the exact cost of the marketing campaign!

Whether this gimmick will help sell more copies of Private Vegas, which was released to bookstores on January 26th, remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure - Patterson has definitely upped the ante for book marketing campaigns!

Resources: pfsk.com,qz.com,adweek.com,mothernework.com

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368 Comments
  • trinityabout 8 years
    wow I want to read it
    • Disgustabout 8 years
      That is so cool
      • nhgtabout 8 years
        all I can say is wow!!!!
        • kjover 8 years
          wierd cool
          • AJover 8 years
            Cool
            • ctkfckover 8 years
              lots of fun stuff to read
              • owesome30
                owesome30over 8 years
                that would be really cool to buy and it would explode at the end it is so cool
                • kyva5
                  kyva5over 8 years
                  This marketing campaign does make me want to buy this book. This campaign makes the book seem so exciting! The fact that you have only 24 hours to read the book or it explodes, is, just, wow! It makes so much suspense when reading the last page with 3 seconds left. I bet a lot of people would want to have dinner with their favorite author, James Patterson. You have to pay a LOT of money, though. That's what Patterson is doing when marketing this book.
                  • alkn5
                    alkn5over 8 years
                    It would be really awesome to read a book like that. But it would be scary knowing that it would explode in less than a day. If there were a malfunction you would be in danger, but that's why the bomb squad is there. If i could I would read the book. The exploding one.
                    • jordanhpatterso
                      jordanhpattersoover 8 years
                      the book is Da bomb literally