If your novel doesn't hit any bestseller lists, it's unlikely you'll earn out your advance.
If your book hasn't hit a bestseller list, or at least come close, any press release about it is only headed in one direction: right into the trash can.
Not exact matches
The reason is that Headstrong just had the huge honor of
hitting the New York Times monthly
bestseller list which is only 10 books that are top in the month and this is in the science category,
not the advice category where you normally find health books.
He does
not accept clients who «just want to
hit the
bestseller list.»
If you
hit a
bestseller list, that's just gravy —
not the goal.
Which leaves bookstores: but bookstores won't order and stock your book unless you're selling a lot of copies and
hitting bestseller lists.
If you just want to
hit the
bestseller lists, I'm
not interested.
In that instance, just like in the gaming of Kindle Unlimited, the goal isn't to gain readers, it's to
hit something important to the writer — like a
bestseller list or a certain percentage of a prize pool.
I didn't start getting them until I
hit the Kobo Writing Life
bestsellers lists with a new release, but they're
not totally unavailable for self - publishers.
But with indie publishing running so much of the industry now, the playing field is really evened out and a lot of the big mojo that used to
hit the
bestseller lists is being seen in fiction — which often doesn't report to these
lists, or authors are selling lots of copies of all of their books, as opposed to one, singular title.
You're
not trying to
hit the
bestseller lists.
Let's be clear about this, by «
bestseller» we don't mean a book that
hits the top of the free downloads
list or a book that reaches the # 1 spot in a category for a few hours or maybe, even a couple of days.
Credit where due, though, while
not nearly as humble as Richard Nash's candid take on Cursor's shortcomings, Godin does a nice job of offering highlights, and lowlights, of each of The Domino Project's books at Squidoo, including the interesting explanation of his disappointment in We Are All Weird: «This one
hit the
bestseller list the first day (I think it went to # 9 overall) but it ultimately disappointed me.
The traditional publishing industry no longer seems to want to «nurture» /» guide» new authors and accompany them on a long and hopefully successful career; instead, they want writers who will
hit the «
bestseller»
list with their very first novel and sell more than 20 000 copies in a flash (I may be exaggerating with the numbers but I don't think I'm that far off!).
-LSB-...] The Creative Penn — «How To
Hit The USA Today
Bestseller List As A Single Author With Ad Stacking» Again, another article that isn't solely talking about Facebook Ads but talks about the use of multiple outlets to during a promotion period to sell books.
To wrap up my year, I was on the cover of The Wall Street Journal and in The Times, The Chicago Tribune, Forbes, and a host of others at the top of the year, have sold nearly a million books now (
not counting my co-authored tomes), released my co-authored novel with Clive Cussler in Sept. and
hit # 2 on the NYT
Bestseller List with it, sold foreign rights to Germany, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic, have a half dozen name production companies nosing around JET and my Assassin series, have a wonderful agent who has forgotten more than I'll ever know about the biz, and have generally had a nice run of it.
Le Carré is nearly 80, but like his compatriot P.D. James, his age hasn't affected the quality of his work, which continues to garner top - notch reviews and
hit bestseller lists.
Rowling's new book, which many thought would be one of the year's biggest
hits, debuted at No. 2 on the New York Times
bestseller list, a triumph for nearly any author, but
not for Rowling.
However, bookstores won't buy your book until you
hit bestseller lists or make a big stink in the media.
In a convincing post at The Bookseller, Scott Pack, publisher of The Friday Project, an imprint of HarperCollins, notes that the lack of e-book sales integration into the UK
bestseller lists cases a «whole host of problems,»
not the least of which is that it might undermine a books ability to
hit the
list.
I'm
not hitting any major
bestseller lists, but I'm supporting my family and living my dream.
I want my book to
hit the NYTimes
Bestseller list because it deserved it,
not because I paid my way in.
Matthew: Those books have won a slew of awards, all of them have
hit the New York Times
Bestseller list, and they've been translated into dozens of languages, but like most authors you struggled at the beginning of your writing career to make a name for yourself, didn't you?
McWilliams wasn't the first person to prove that how - to prose about computers could be lively and entertaining rather than dry and technical, but his self - published books
hit bestseller lists, attracted attention from the mainstream press, and converted doubters such as William F, Buckley.
It isn't going to be
hitting shops for at least a couple of weeks, but that hasn't stopped the new Kindle, announced earlier this week, becoming the number one selling gadget in the Amazon.co.uk
Bestsellers list in the UK, and number 2 in the US... Read more
Author Gia Blue
hit number twenty three on the overall Amazon Kindle
Bestsellers list with a short erotic story and continues to self - pub what she calls her «smut» since she feels publishers won't touch it but... readers love it.
But there's been no one huge book promotion
hit — no,
not even an appearance on «Oprah» — that can guarantee an author will sell a specific number of books on a given day, or that the number of books sold will be enough to catapult the book to the
bestseller lists.
Only then did he
hit the NYTimes
bestseller list and capture the attention of NY publishing (which he turned down), agents (which he did
not), and Hollywood (with whom he landed with a very nice deal).
If you sign on with a publisher and expect to
hit a
bestseller list right away, it can happen, but chances are it won't.
A great writer or a good book doesn't necessarily translate to
hitting a
bestseller list.
Now, after an algorithm shift, those free downloads don't help your paid ranking as much, so unless you
hit the top of the free
list with a massive number of downloads (probably at least 20,000), it won't place your book very high on the paid
bestseller lists.
But I can guarantee this: unless you're an author who has already
hit a major
bestseller list and / or your book is the most important book being published by that traditional publishing house's imprint and / or you got paid an advance of $ 50,000 or more (in small genres like sf or westerns) or $ 100,000 or more (in larger genres like romance and mystery), your book will
not get a single title ad.
And since we have it on good authority that cheaters never
hit the
bestsellers lists, we won't cover those services in this series.
It's hard
not to when you hear about the latest seven - figure book deal or read about an indie author
hitting the
bestseller lists or selling their film rights.
Mainstream - pubbed novelists whose books don't
hit the NYT
bestseller list will find their books removed from first - string brick and mortar store shelves within 4 months (usually less), and then those authors are in the same boat as their self - published brethren who never opted for brick and mortar distribution at all.
You can hire someone to do that for you, but I'm
not convinced they're as invested as an editor of a house who wants to see a book
hit the NYT
bestseller list.
I certainly wouldn't have had two books reach # 1 one on the main Amazon
list, or have a book
hit the top 10 on the Wall Street Journal
bestseller list.