King's manuscript for Carrie was given to Thompson in November 1973. Seeing potential in the novel in light of recent horror novels such as Rosemary's Baby (1967), Thompson convinced Lee Barker, executive editor of Doubleday, to accept the novel. In 1973, after much revision, advanced copies of Carrie were sent to salesmen to secure an advance.[34] Eventually, the novel was approved for an advance of $1500.[35] Thompson convinced Doubleday to boost the advance to $2500, moderately high for a debut novel at the time,[36] and it was announced to King via telegram.[37] With a print run of 30,000 copies, the hardback edition of Carrie was ultimately published on April 5, 1974.[36] Although Carrie was marketed as an "occult" novel, trade reviewers at the time of release called it a horror novel.[38]
On May 3, 1974, Carrie was received by the publishing company New English Library and was read overnight by president Bob Tanner. Tanner sent a copy to the parent company, New American Library, which then offered Doubleday $400,000 for rights to mass-market paperback publication of Carrie,[39] of which King received $200,000.[40] New English Library published Carrie in May 1974,[41] and New American Library published Carrie under its Signet Books imprint in April 1975. With the goal of persuading the reader to buy the book, New American Library designed the novel to be "double-covered". The original cover of the paperback edition did not feature the title or the author's name; it consisted of the face of a girl in front of a silhouette. Behind the cover was a two-page picture of New England on fire, with the title and author's name on the far right. New American Library planned for the girl's silhouette to be scored to allow the reader to see the burning New England picture. The printers refused to produce the technique, and the edition was published without the scoring.[42][43] Since initial publication, Carrie has remained in continual print and has been published throughout Europe.[44]
