Megachurch pastor and author Joel Osteen's new book will have a first printing of 3 million when it is released Oct. 15 by Free Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.

The first printing of Become a Better You: Seven Keys for Finding Peace From the Inside Out recently increased from 2 million because of interest in the book, Free Press Publisher Martha Levin said.

“As we began to have discussions with each of our accounts regarding what quantities they wanted to have on hand the day the book goes on sale, it became clear that we needed to print more than 2 million to accommodate our customers' needs,” said Levin, who noted that the 3 million copies is the highest for a hardcover book in Simon & Schuster history.

According to marketing material for the book, Become a Better You “will inspire and motivate people to live a life filled with victory, hope and purpose. This book helps readers look outside themselves to become better spouses and parents, better colleagues, better community leaders, better friends, better encouragers, and find that God has good things in store for them.”

Published in 2004, Osteen's first book, Your Best Life Now (WarnerFaith, now Hachette Book Group USA's FaithWords division), has sold more than 4 million copies and is still on best-seller lists.

Osteen, though, signed a book deal last year with Free Press, which publishing insiders called one of the richest for a nonfiction book and could bring the author more than $10 million, according to The New York Times.

Free Press will publish Become a Better You simultaneously in Spanish-language and audio editions.

• Prev
• Next