Peter Hildick Smith News Today

The second day of the U.S. book show discussed acquiring, auctioning, marketing, and promoting a bestselling book.

James Daunt, Barnes & Noble CEO, to Deliver State of Bookselling Keynote at U.S. Book Show

She is Americas biggest selling author - and often controversial and anti-woke. Yet Colleen Hoover, 42, of Saltillo, Texas, has none of the fame of similarly successful authors.

Colleen Hoover from Texas has sold more books this year than James Patterson and John Grisham. The bestseller lists fails to capture the size of her audience.

Her newest work, "It Starts With Us" — a continuation of "It Ends With Us" — is out today. It'll probably sell as well as everything else she does. But Hoover herself says, “I read other people’s books, and I’m so envious. I’m thinking, ‘Oh, my God, these are so much better, why are mine selling the way they are?’”

Colleen Hoover has shifted more tomes this year than Dr Seuss. In the process, she has challenged conventional wisdom about what makes a bestseller.

With legions of devoted fans and a knack for high-voltage emotional drama, Hoover has sold more than 20 million books. And she’s done it her way.

Even if the Jan. 6 attack will not become a unifying moment for the country.

Most books are sold online, where it’s impossible to replicate the experience of browsing in a brick-and-mortar store. Book-discovery apps aim to change that.