What Makes A Book A Bestseller?

What exactly does it mean to be a bestselling author? And how much does it really matter? Books are traditionally considered bestsellers when they meet one of three unofficial requirements: 

1. Placement on the New York Times bestseller list; 

2. Placement on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list; or 

3. Placement on the USA Today bestseller list.

And, if we’re being honest, the highest prestige comes from making the illustrious New York Times list.

So what does it take to get on a bestseller list? 

The number of sold books required to achieve bestseller status is indefinable. The necessary sales number is relative to the performance of other books competing in the market the same week. Books on the very same bestseller list can have drastically different sales counts. 

It’s also important to note that bestseller lists only reflect velocity of sales—not overall success of a book. A title could be a “tortoise seller,” moving eight hundred books per week for an entire year but never making any of the lists.

Not all sales are reported to the lists, either. Each list has its own way of determining quantity, usually through a catalog of sales reported to them by selected bookstores, and none of the lists are comprehensive. In fact, sales through specialty stores and Christian bookstores are usually not collected, and for some authors, those can provide the majority of their sales.

How important are bestseller lists?

In some ways, bestseller status is becoming less relevant in the era of ebooks, apps, and digital downloads. Can a free ebook downloaded 100,000 times in a week be considered a bestseller? Not according to the New York Times, but it certainly must have been one of the most-read books of the week. In the long run, that will matter a lot more.

The Times only recently started including ebook sales on their list, and ebook sales for advice books, how-to books, children’s books, and graphic books are not captured at all. Although ebooks only account for about five percent of overall book sales right now, that number is sure to rise. Maybe? 

The Times list is also backlogged by several weeks. Sales for the week ending March 6th won’t appear in the print edition of the Times until March 21st. In our digital world, trends can rise and fall quickly; sometimes what was selling three weeks ago has no bearing on today.

Amazon, on the other hand, updates its list hourly, and the site separates free ebook lists from paid. This likely reflects actual popularity a little more closely than the Times list, but being an “Amazon bestseller” doesn’t exactly have the same ring to it. But will it eventually? Or are bestseller lists on their way out the door?

Ready to curl up with a new book?

Our advice? Don’t read a book solely because it's on a bestseller list. Ask people working in your local indie bookstore for book recommendations. Ask fellow shoppers who are typically book lovers. Ask your co-workers. Ask your neighbors - have you read a good book lately?

What do you think? Is a book worthy of reading just because it’s on a bestseller list? Share your thoughts - leave a comment.