So You Want To Be a New York Times Bestseller - 3 Tips to Make it Happen

One in a Thousand

Every aspiring writer knows that getting your story featured in the NYT bestseller list is one of the greatest honors any book could achieve, but getting your foot in the door can seem more like climbing Mount Everest than publishing a book. Getting on the NYT list is a huge bragging right for authors because of how difficult it is to even be considered for it.

To get an idea of what level of difficulty you're looking at, a study showed that out of 100,000 hardcover books published each year between 2008 and 2016, less than 500 of them made the list. Worse, while publishers are eager to slap “New York Times Bestseller” stickers on each book that appears on the list’s 15 slots, a quarter of those only make a cameo appearance, briefly grabbing a spot at the bottom of the list before dropping off into oblivion after a week.

Overall, only about 37 percent of the chosen books manage to stay on the list for more than four weeks, while even fewer - about 8 percent - snag the No. one spot.

Looking at that, It probably would be easier to climb Mount Everest.

However, that doesn't mean it's hopeless to try. We do know some things that can help make it happen.

How To Get on the List

Despite the romantic notions people would like to believe about the list - that it's judged based on it's literary value, or through it's contribution to the cut throat world of books - in the end, the best seller list is based on what it says on the tin. Sales.

While no one is completely sure about what the judging criteria for the list is exactly, we do know that it is based off of the weekly sales reports and work samples collected from independent and chain bookstores by the “News Survey” department of the NYT. However, no one outside the company - and few within the company itself - knows who works in the department or which stores the reports are taken from to prevent any wiley cheaters from getting ideas.

Despite the process being a super hush-hush, we also know that the list seems to require authors to sell between 1,000 to 10,000 copies in a week, depending on the book's genre and the season the sale is taking place.

This may seem like an outrageous demand for new authors, but that's what makes this list so appealing. It's hard, and that's what makes it valuable.

If you want a chance at the list, you've got to have grit and determination to make it happen. If you're dedicated enough, then the following tips might just take you to the top of the chart.

1) Get Your Sales Up Up Up

Book sales are the biggest aspect of getting on the NYT bestseller list - for obvious reasons - but it’s the velocity of the sales that is the real key in getting noticed. You need to get those sales up to sky high levels within a week - which means you need to put some strategy into the sales.

Build a Fanbase

One tip author's who've made the list have recommended is to begin marketing your book months ahead of time before the release. Making the effort to put together a social media page and begin advertising your book's release can make all the difference. Book sales are often best within the first week of release, so many authors have told their social media followers, "If you're going to buy my book, do it now. This is the time." to varying results.

Regardless of it gets you on the list, advertising your book will get it noticed. That's the whole point, right?

Pay attention to Timing and Genre

One key factor to consider when your building your marketing campaign is what book you're releasing and when you want to release it.

Season and genre are big factors that determine your standing on the NYT list. The list has different criteria for both.

The general rule of thumb when it comes to genre is for an author to sell a minimum of 6,000 in fiction, or 7,500 in non-fiction. However, if it's a time of year when sales are naturally higher - Christmas, valentines, etc. - then those numbers are likely going to go up. Maybe double.

For example, while a fiction book might need to sell 5,000 copies during February, during the holiday season you might need to sell 10,000 of the same book.

A helpful tip to note is that fiction sales almost always peak within the first two to six weeks, while nonfiction usually peaks within the first 15. Research when your book will sell best, then figure out what the likely requirement will be for that season.

It's not an easy and foolproof method - but it's at least a start.

2) Diversified Sales

However, it’s not enough just to sell over 10,000 books in a week and call it a day. NYT also requires that your sales be spread across America using a plethora of retailers such as Amazon, B&N bookstores, Books-a-Million, independent bookstores, etc. Sales must be dispersed, rather than concentrated – so no buying your book in bulk off Amazon and calling it a day. That’s cheating, and they know it.

3) No self-publishers

While NYT do feature ebooks, they’re not known for choosing self-publishers. If you want a shot at the list, it’s best to go through a traditional publisher – not Amazon.

Last Tip: Don’t Worry Too much about the List - and Don’t Try to Rig it

While the whole selection process is based on sales - and always will be - the judges don't want authors to focus on making their book a big cash grab.

One of the reasons the judging process is so hush-hush is because the judges want writers to focus on writing a story that is true to them instead of trying to impress list makers. They want the book to make legitimate contributions to the literary community - otherwise, what's the point of the whole process?

So don't worry too much about the list. Most authors who've made it onto the list said that they focused on creating a story they felt was genuine and would resonate with the community and put the idea of making it to NYT on the back burner. Making a good, well written story will do you much more good than focusing on sales numbers and nebulous judging criteria.