The Ins and Outs of the Bestseller

What does it mean to write a “bestseller”? At one time, the meaning of “bestseller” was abundantly clear: enough copies of the book sold in a single week to put it on one of the “big” bestseller lists: The New York Times, USA Today, or The Wall Street Journal. How many copies are “enough”? No one responsible for compiling any of the three lists will say exactly, but the common perception in publishing is that for all three lists, the number is well into the thousands.

In a week.

Compare this to the reality that the vast majority of published books, whether self or traditionally published, sell under 2,000 copies over the lifetime of the book. Put in those terms, the notion of writing a “bestseller” becomes daunting for most authors, from those just starting out all the way to experienced authors writing their third book, fourth book, or more.

The “bestselling” game changed significantly when Amazon came into the picture. Amazon posts a ranking for every book on its site, in categories specified by the publisher (whether the publisher is an individual author self-publishing their book or a traditional publishing house). Ranking starts as soon as a single copy is sold, and rankings update depending on copies sold of both the book in question and other books in the same category. Amazon’s algorithms update these rankings hourly.

As part of the process of adding a book to Amazon for sale, publishers specify a set number of categories for the book. When specifying categories, most publishers think long and hard about where to place that particular book. The more niche the category, the more likely the book is to rise in the rankings. Generalized categories such as “Business Books” or “Thrillers” are more competitive, simply because more books are placed by their publishers in such categories—but rising in rank in these generalized categories also carries more clout. For maximum effectiveness in the rankings, most publishers aim for a combination of niche and generalized categories.

If your book rises to a high ranking—even for an hour—in a niche category on Amazon, does that make you a “bestselling author”? Opinions about this are strong on both sides. Purists say only the big lists matter. Authors whose books are selling well, particularly online, beg to differ.

Regardless, it’s important to note that “bestselling” status is often short-lived, whether its lifespan is an hour or a week. Nonetheless, once an author has achieved “bestselling” status, the author can use that label to further their career and sell their books to a wider audience.

So how do you become a bestselling author?

• Write a quality book. Readers are smart, and their time is limited. No one wants to waste time reading a book that is not well written and professionally edited.
• Keep the audience in mind. No book is for every reader. When writing your book, consider who it will appeal to. Writing for yourself is an admirable personal goal, but writing for a specific audience is vital if you want to sell significant copies.
• Create an appealing book package. This includes the cover design, interior design, marketing materials, and all other elements that give the book a professional, polished appearance.
• Work with marketing and technical professionals. If marketing and sales, and/or nuts-and-bolts technical aspects (such as file uploads to sites like Amazon) are not in your skill set, hire professionals to handle these aspects of the job.
  If it sounds intimidating, we’re here to help. Mark Graham Communications’ ghostwriters and editors can help create professional, audience-centric content for your book. Once the content is complete, our marketing and technical teams can assist with the production aspects that are vital to generating a bestseller in any category.

Interested? Please get in touch. We’d love to talk with you about your bestselling dreams!