Tips for Writers
Bestselling Books and Bestseller Lists
By Jerry D. Simmons | May 25th, 2010 | 2 Comments » (Click to add yours!)
Kate Gosselin is an author and star of a cable TV series Kate Plus Eight. She has used her stardom to become a bestselling author. The 35-year-old mom’s first two books, “Multiple Blessings” and “Eight Little Faces,” both climbed to number five on the New York Times’ list; “Multiple Blessings” sold 523,000 copies in 2009.
Her latest book isn’t exactly flying off the shelves. Since its release, “I Just Want You to Know: Letters to My Kids on Love, Faith, and Family” has sold just over 10,000 copies, according to national book sales tracker Bookscan. The non-fiction title debuted at #11 on the New York Times’ non-fiction bestseller list, and at #103 on USA Today’s bestsellers chart. Its Amazon.com rank was #862. This is in spite of Gosselin’s relentless promotion on TV and radio.
Jim Milliot, business and news director of book-industry magazine Publishers Weekly, tells UsMagazine.com that the numbers “nowhere near a blockbuster” and “not that impressive.” Could “I Just Want You to Know” end up selling 500,000 copies in the long run? Not likely, Milliot tells UsMagazine.com, explaining that the lion’s share of book sales typically occur “in the first month or two of publication.” He adds that Gosselin will have “a very tough time getting to 50,000, let alone 100,000…I think it will be a disappointment in the end.”
The real question for authors and book lovers alike is: how does a book that sold only “a little more than 10,000 copies,” end up on national bestseller lists? For information on how a book becomes a bestselling title, read my article explaining how the system works. Click here.
Tags: Book Marketing, Book Publishing, Book Sales, Booksellers, Hybrid Publishing Model, Self-Published Author, Self-Publishing
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