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Posted on April 1, 2006 by Jason Petrina | Posted under Reference and Education
Books Bestsellers: What is a Bestseller?
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There are actually several bestseller lists and surprisingly, these lists don't always contain the same books. There are actually more than 3 dozen bestsellers lists at the current time. Traditionally, there weren't so many lists. The first bestseller list was published in 1895 in a monthly column of a literary magazine. Although that list and magazine are no longer published, another list was introduced in 1912 by Publishers Weekly and has been continuously published ever since. The New York Times Book Review began publishing its list of best selling book sin 1942 and is now one of the most famous book publishing lists. One of the key points to keep in mind regarding bestsellers lists is that each list may report on how a book is performing nationally or in a particular segment of the market. For example, a list may report how well a book is selling in independent bookstores on a national level or in chain stores. Even more surprising is the fact that there is currently no list that tracks every single book sold in the country. To do so would require figuring such a mound of data that it would be quite laborious. The national lists actually draw a sample of actual sales data and then extrapolate total national sales from that information. As previously mentioned, the New York Times list, is the most well known of all the bestseller lists. The Times receives reports from thousands of bookstores as well as wholesalers that include newsstands, supermarkets, department stores and gift shops. The calculations are then based on the number of units sold. So, price doesn't figure into the calculations at all. Some regional lists report data that has been collected from survey samples in their particular regions; such as Los Angeles or Chicago. Both Amazon and Barnes & Noble report their own bestsellers list; however, this data is based on the number of transactions that are conducted on their websites and at national stores. Another factor that can affect the bestsellers list is whether the categories are separated or not. Most bestseller lists actually separate paperbacks and hardcover books. In addition, categories may be separated, such as fiction and non-fiction, self-help, children's, romance, etc. Various bestseller lists handle the matter completely differently. USA Today; for example, does not make any separations whatsoever. That list contains the top 150 books, regardless of category or cover type. Some lists may separate paperback and hardcover but lump the genre categories together. With this method, a romance novel could be competing with a self-help book as long as they were both paperback. So, in essence, a best-seller list will tell you how well a particular book may be competing with other books of its genre or category; but typically might not reveal how many actual copies of that book have sold. There is not really a threshold that will guarantee a book's entry to a bestseller's list. It really all depends on what the competition is doing that week. Studies do indicate; however, that a book on the bestsellers list will generally average about 3500 sales per week. All in all, the book you pick up with a bestseller sticker may very well have only sold a few thousand copies. About The Author: Jason Petrina is the Editor and Publisher of Article Click. For more FREE articles for your ezine and websites visit - www.articleclick.com |
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