An eight-year-old book just doubled its weekly sales

Dear Aloha Friends,

Last month, I went to the movie theater to see You Can See Everything, the new documentary about Elizabeth Holmes co-directed by Lance Oppenheim and Nathan Fielder. The filmmakers follow the Theranos founder and her family in the weeks before she reports to federal prison. That premise alone was enough to get me to the theater, but I’d also heard there was a turn in the second act and that I should go in knowing as little as possible. I’ll pass along the same advice.

Apparently, plenty of other people got that advice, too. The film opened to $15.6 million in North America, the biggest documentary debut in more than two decades. It brought in $45 million in its first two weeks.

But the numbers that really caught my attention? Book sales, of course!

Perhaps you remember Bad Blood, John Carreyrou’s 2018 book about the rise and fall of Theranos? According to reports by Publishers Weekly, paperback sales of Carreyou’s book doubled the week the documentary opened on October 16, compared to the previous week. At the time of this writing, year-to-date sales are up 55 percent over 2025.

After years of news coverage, podcasts, and even a Hulu series, there were still people coming to the Theranos story for the first time. And some of them walked out of the theater wanting to know more. Eight years after publication, Carreyrou’s book was there to answer their questions.

And when media outlets are looking to join in the conversation about the hottest new documentary, who might they clamor to call for an interview? My guess is the person who literally wrote the book on Theranos is at the top of their lists.

I love this example because it’s easy to think about book marketing as something you do around launch. One of the advantages of writing nonfiction is that your subject can come back into the conversation years later, for reasons that might have very little to do with you or your book.

For example, say you wrote a leadership book about how to make it easier for employees to speak up. A high-profile story about a company that ignored internal warnings could give you an opening to share what leaders can do when someone brings them bad news. If you wrote a parenting book about kids and technology, a local school district’s new phone policy could be a reason to pitch a practical piece on how families can handle the transition. If you wrote a book about regional history, the anniversary of a landmark event could give your local paper a reason to run an excerpt.

My recommendation is to consider your book’s “relevance triggers.” Begin with three things that could get people talking about your subject again. Put the dates you know on your calendar, like anniversaries, conferences, and documentary premieres. For the things you can’t schedule, like a viral story or a policy debate, set news alerts. Follow that with a short media pitch, an excerpt from your book, and a couple of social posts you could easily adapt. While you’re at it, check that your retailer listings are accurate, your website makes the book easy to buy, and you know how quickly you can get more copies if demand picks up.

If you’re having trouble coming up with your three, hit reply and tell me a little about your nonfiction book. I’d be happy to offer a few ideas.

Oh, and if you saw You Can See Everything, I’d love to hear what you thought. What a wild three hours!

Beth

CTO, Acquisitions & Author Branding