Prince Harry tell-all autobiography ‘Spare’ sold out faster, just in the month of January achieving more than 3.2 million copies worldwide and 1.6 million copies in the U.S. alone, within the week of publication.
The controversial ‘Spare’ must have landed in the market at the right time, or rather the marketing strategy for the memoir was a debonair.
Harry had hinted of what to be expected in his autobiography days before the official release.
It appears the plan had been for Harry to do a small number of key interviews with the CBS News program 60 Minutes and also with Britain’s ITV, a few days before Spare hit bookstore shelves.
The Duke Sussex dropped bombshells on the royal family members, starting with his father and brother, King Charles III, and Prince William respectively.
This had prepared the audience with great eagerness giving a cliff hanger that kept the suspense alive and active to the day of publication.
It came hot on the heels of a leak in the Guardian, which broke the news of Harry’s allegation in the book of a physical altercation with his brother, Prince William
The allegations might have been a smart way to keep readers on the hook to get the first landing copies.
Media’s early peek at Spare gave memoir extra time in the spotlight even if that wasn’t planned.
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Despite the publisher’s efforts to keep the book secure, many journalists were able to get hold of it on Thursday, after word got out that the Spanish edition had been put on sale early in some bookshops.
The next 36 hours saw wall-to-wall coverage of Spare as news outlets digested and distributed the revelations contained in its 416 pages.
Most industry figures doubted that sales will be harmed by the leaks.
“This probably won’t make any difference – they’re likely going to sell the same number of books,”
“If anything, they might sell more because they’ve got an additional week of coverage.” says Edward Coram James, reputation management expert and CEO of digital marketing agency Go Up.
Spare is already on its second printing after a first run of 2 million, according to Penguin Random House. Excerpts from the book leaked days before publication, in part after Spanish-language versions were mistakenly placed on bookstore shelves in Spain ahead of the official release date.
Harry revealed explosive claims in the book about his relationship with his father, King Charles III, and his brother, Prince William, and even details how he lost his virginity and killed 25 people in Afghanistan during his time in the army.
