Marketing is such a hard job, and publishing is such a brutally competitive business, it’s nice to see the hard work, patience and willingness to learn at Alfred A. Knopf, where they faced many challenges with the new Christ the Lord book by Anne Rice, who first earned success writing about sexy vampires. I’d like to give them recognition for taking a chance with something different and being patient with the people who don’t like it.

WSJ: After the Vampire: Knopf Learns to Sell A New Anne Rice by Jeffrey A. Tachtenberg (subscription required)

But the book is enjoying a good run on best-seller lists, and some of the credit goes to efforts by Knopf that date back almost a year. Knopf’s marketers not only had to prepare readers for Ms. Rice’s about-face, but they also had to wade into the complexities of publishing a book that imagines the early years of Christ’s life. In addition, they had to find their way in religious publishing, which has its own infrastructure….

To help get the buzz going, the publisher gave away 4,000 advance copies — with a letter from Ms. Rice — to traditional retailers, distributors and bloggers. But Knopf also focused on blogs, newsletters, and radio and TV stations aimed at a Christian audience….

But not everyone wanted Knopf’s business. The Rev. Harry Grile, publisher of Liguori Publications, declined to run an ad … "I don’t accept ads for products with which I’m uncomfortable."