Hitting the NYT Bestseller List

I think as writers, we tend to fixate heavily on the writing. Well, duh! right? But for Indie Authors, and even those with Agents and Publishers, getting something written is only half the battle. There is still marketing and sales. Otherwise, your book just falls into the void of the many other books hitting the shelves.

We hear a lot about Bestseller Lists -- most notable is the New York Times Bestseller List. Wouldn't it be dreamy to have something you wrote hit that list and be referenced as "New York Times Bestselling Author [your name] and then have your book be mentioned EVERYWHERE? Yeah -- a writer's dream. Or one of them anyway. But how does a book really get on those lists? That's actually a very good question and the answer just might surprise you. It's not something that magically happens because your book goes viral and sells tons of books. It requires a lot of deliberate work and effort.

I won't lie, reading up on how to hit the New York Times Bestseller List shocked me to my core. One of the requirements is selling 5,000 to 10,000 books in ONE WEEK! Let's see, how many relatives do I have with disposable cash that might love me enough to fill their trunks with copies of my books? Ah, if only it were that simple. Unfortunately, the sales also have to be nationwide. So my family bulk buying would be all for naught since they all live in a big clump where yelling from one window to another to share news of their days with each other is commonplace. Wait, I confess, that last part is a bit of an exaggeration. Actually, it's an outright fabrication. They do live in close proximity, but it's miles and towns apart rather than spitting distance. But hey, that's what writers do, correct? We take creative license with things. Oh, and double whammy? It has to be bookstore sales anyway. Well pooh. Guess that lets my family off the hook. But, the weight of all those books in their trunks sure could have come in handy this winter when roads get icy. Just saying.

Since I'm an Indie Author, finding out that books must be traditionally published and sold in bookstores nationwide shot down the dream of any of my currently published books hitting the New York Times Bestseller List. (sigh)

But, if you happen to meet the criteria above, the next step is no small feat either. You need to do pre-orders, and all sales need to go through qualifying bookstores. The tricky part? The list of bookstores is a carefully guarded secret. So, it's like throwing darts into pitch-black darkness and hoping to hit a bullseye that you can't see and have no idea which direction to throw.

And yet, as daunting as it might sound, authors accomplish getting on this list every day, so clearly it is doable, even if it is hard work and requires strategic planning. You can read more about this blog author's take on the New York Times Bestseller List here:

Now that the New York Times Bestseller List was ruled out as an option for me, I wondered what other lists are out there and how would a person get on them. I did some digging.

That's when I found this article:

I found there are indeed several other lists: Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Publisher's Weekly. But it turns out that with all of them, even though there are sales number requirements to meet, none of them actually measure what are actually bestsellers. What? Yeah, there is something called a Nielsen BookScan that actually measures and ranks books by actual sales. The New York Times won a lawsuit filed against them by William Blatty, author of The Exorcist, because it was found "the list did not purport to be an objective compilation of information but instead was an editorial product." In other words, the New York Times Bestseller List is just an elitists editorial list of books the New York Times are drawn to and meet their criteria that sets those up to get on their radar to be CONSIDERED for the list. Sadly, just because you meet the criteria does not insure you make the list. So, basically it is nothing more than a popularity contest. Ugh! Knowing that, you have to start by asking yourself what your end game really is about getting on the list. What is your why?

The article explains that there are two reasons to get on the list. 1) To sell books; 2) to gain authority with a book so that you upscale other avenues of your business. Interesting explanations and examples of those scenarios are given in more detail in the article.

I'll be honest, the more I read up on bestseller lists, the more disillusioned I became about even worrying about making a list. But certainly, each author should research for themselves and see what meets their needs and the path forward they have in mind. It might all work out for you and be the greatest thing to ever happen.

For me, I'm just going to focus on writing and enjoying the creative process, and continue to be an Indie Author.

If you want to check out what I have done, you can check out my Amazon Author profiles: