The story is action-packed, and the action layered on the deeper questions, I think, is a compelling combination, too. Gale believes that the books’ overall drawing power lies in a premise he calls “brilliant.” In Shusterman’s view, “I think it’s the authenticity of the characters as real people in extraordinary circumstances that grabs readers. UnStrung reveals a part of Lev’s background that we hadn’t known, and it ties both books together.”Īs a result of the trail blazed by Unwind, Chanda says initial orders for UnWholly were seven times higher than those of its predecessor. Since Unwind’s e-book sales have been strong, we thought this platform would be especially appealing to his readers. “It would give fans of Unwind something to read before UnWholly was available, and it would introduce new readers to the world Neal has created.

“Since there was a five-year gap between Unwind and UnWholly, we thought the e-original short story would serve several purposes,” Gale says. One of the marketing features was an e-original short story by Shusterman called UnStrung, which was released July 24. To keep the fire burning, the core of S&S’s marketing campaign for the series was to make sure that all accounts and blogs “were familiar with the first book and the reach it had” while they awaited a second installment, according to Chanda. That buzz has added a lot of fuel to the fire.” It’s appeared on 30 state lists now and some international lists as well.

Two,” he adds, “ Unwind began popping up on state recommended reading lists. “One, Neal is a tireless promoter – he speaks, reads, and signs in schools nearly 18 weeks out of the year,” Chanda says. Solid support from trade accounts, promotion and marketing efforts, and enthusiastic word-of-mouth from teachers, librarians, and teens, put Unwind on an upward trajectory that has yet to level off.īut Chanda points to two other key factors in Unwind’s success. “It sold well initially, and everyone was pleased with the numbers, but it was not an instant bestseller,” Chanda says. Five years ago the first printing for Unwind was 20,000 copies, and to date it has sold more than 350,000 copies. What gave UnWholly such a healthy out-of-the-gate push? According to Justin Chanda, v-p and publisher of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, the build to this point has been strong and steady. Its sales have remained strong because of word of mouth and because now that dystopian novels are so popular, more people are discovering them.” “Actually, we didn't know that Neal wanted to write sequels to Unwind,” says v-p and editorial director David Gale.

Not bad for the sequel that almost never was.

The unwind series