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Frontlist | Andrew Cuomo entered best sellers list by selling11,800 copies

Frontlist | Andrew Cuomo entered best sellers list by selling11,800 copies
on Oct 23, 2020

ALBANY – New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's book on his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic sold more than 11,800 copies since its release last week, enough to land a coveted spot on The New York Times Best Sellers list.

The book, American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic, debuted as the No. 7 best seller on the Times' combined print and e-book nonfiction list and No. 8 on the hardcover nonfiction list for the week ending Oct. 17.

The 11,800 books includes only print books in the U.S., not audio or e-books, according to NPD BookScan, which tracks most book sellers. The book was released Oct. 13.

The book's debut far outpaced the debut of Cuomo's previous memoir, All Things Possible, which sold just 948 copies in the week following its October 2014 release.

As of Oct. 9 of this year, All Things Possible had sold a total of 3,800 copies total, according to NPD BookScan. Cuomo's tax records showed he was paid an advance of $783,000 by publisher Harper Collins for that boo, which worked out to about $206 per book sold.

Cuomo's new book was published by Crown, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

He has declined to say how much he is being paid, instead noting it will be on his state-mandated financial disclosure form that will be released next year. But best-selling sales figures could draw a bigger payout for the governor: Book contracts generally pay authors an advance payment before paying out royalties once the publisher earns the advance back.

Cuomo, who has faced repeated questions about whether it is appropriate to sell a book while the pandemic is still ongoing, has said he will donate a portion of his proceeds to COVID-19 relief, though he has not said how much or to which charities.

The Democratic governor has been promoting his new book with a series of television interviews and virtual events in recent weeks, appearing on a variety of national shows and even a private webinar with more than 400 employees of top law firm Skadden Arps, which bought each participant a copy of the book.

In a virtual event last week, Cuomo was interviewed by Bravo television personality Andy Cohen, who had previously traveled to the state Capitol to push for gestational surrogacy legislation. At a different event, Cuomo was interviewed by Larry Wilmore.

On Oct. 27, Cuomo is scheduled to be interviewed by actor Billy Crystal at another online book event hosted by the 92nd Street YMCA. Tickets are $45 and include a copy of Cuomo's book.

Cuomo's promotional tour — which has come while New York has seen an increase in COVID-19 cases, though it still fares better than most other states — has drawn criticism from President Donald Trump, a Republican whom Cuomo repeatedly knocks throughout the book.

Governor Cuomo has shown tremendously poor leadership skills in running N.Y., Trump posted Monday on Twitter. Bad time for him to be writing and promoting a book, especially since he has done such a poor job with Covid and Crime. So many unnecessary deaths.

More than 25,000 New York residents have died of COVID-19, with the vast majority of those deaths coming during a major spike in March and April that has since cooled.

Cuomo responded by calling Trump America's No. 1 super-spreader.

C'mon Donald — you didn't read my book, everyone knows you don't read, Cuomo posted on Twitter. There are lessons to learn & you still haven't.