"New York Times Bestselling Author."
That's the dream, right? The validation. The credential that proves you made it. The badge of honor that separates real authors from amateurs.
Except it's mostly bullshit.
Bestseller lists aren't what you think they are. They don't measure what you think they measure. And hitting one doesn't mean what you think it means.
Let me explain how bestseller lists actually work, why they're misleading, and why obsessing over them is a waste of your time and energy.
How Bestseller Lists Actually Work
You think bestseller lists rank books by total sales, right? Most copies sold = highest ranking?
Wrong.
The New York Times Bestseller List
What you think it measures: Total book sales nationwide.
What it actually measures: Sales from a secret selection of bookstores, chains, and online retailers during a specific week, with various adjustments and editorial discretion applied.
The New York Times doesn't publish their methodology. They don't reveal which stores they track. They adjust numbers based on suspected bulk buying. They use editorial judgment to decide what makes the list.
This means:
• You can sell 10,000 copies in a week and not make the list
• Someone else can sell 5,000 copies and make the list
• The difference is where and when those sales happened
• Bulk purchases get discounted or removed entirely
• The NYT can essentially decide who makes the list
It's not transparent. It's not purely sales-based. It's a curated editorial product as much as a sales ranking.
USA Today Bestseller List
What it measures: Total sales from all formats (hardcover, paperback, ebook) combined, tracked through NPD BookScan.
The catch: BookScan only captures about 70-85% of physical book sales and doesn't track all online retailers accurately. Ebooks are tracked differently. The data is incomplete.
To hit the list: You typically need 5,000-10,000+ sales in a single week, depending on what else is releasing that week.
Amazon Bestseller Lists
What it measures: Sales rankings updated hourly based on recent sales velocity.
The catch: Amazon has thousands of category bestseller lists. You can be "#1 Bestseller in Historical Romance > Victorian Era > Scotland" by selling 20 copies in a day.
Every self-published author claiming "Amazon Bestseller" status usually hit #1 in some obscure subcategory for a few hours. It's meaningless.
Even hitting the main Amazon Top 100 means you sold maybe 200-500 copies that day. Good sales, but not the blockbuster success "bestseller" implies.
Publisher's Weekly Bestseller List
What it measures: Similar to NYT but with different methodology and reporting stores.
The catch: Also uses editorial discretion. Also doesn't publish exact methodology. Also can be gamed.
The Gaming Problem
Bestseller lists can be manipulated. And they are, regularly.
Tactic #1: Strategic Timing
Publishers delay release dates to avoid weeks when major releases compete for list spots. They coordinate to hit quiet weeks when fewer copies needed to make the list.
This is why you see clusters of big releases followed by quiet weeks. Publishers are playing list chess.
Tactic #2: Bulk Buying
Companies, speakers, or authors themselves buy thousands of copies of their own book to artificially inflate sales during the tracking period.
They buy from specific retailers known to report to the tracking services. They split purchases across multiple transactions to avoid detection. They coordinate "buy bombs" where groups buy at the same time.
The NYT tries to catch and discount these, but people keep finding workarounds.
Tactic #3: Retailer Partnerships
Some authors or publishers cut deals with retailers to place books prominently or offer steep discounts during the tracking week, juicing sales temporarily.
The book hits the list for one week, then sales crater. But they got their "bestseller" credential.
Tactic #4: Pre-Order Manipulation
Amazon's list counts pre-orders. So authors drive pre-orders through marketing blitzes, bonuses, and limited-time offers. All those pre-orders hit at once on release day, spiking the ranking.
Then sales drop off a cliff because everyone who was going to buy already did.
What Bestseller Lists Don't Tell You
Even when list placement is legitimate, it doesn't tell you what you think it does.
They Don't Tell You About Returns
Bookstores can return unsold books to publishers. A book that "sold" 10,000 copies to stores might have 4,000 returned six months later.
The bestseller list counts the initial sale to stores, not actual sales to readers. The author eventually pays back royalties on returned books, but the list placement sticks.
They Don't Tell You About Profitability
You can hit a bestseller list and lose money.
If you spent $50,000 on a marketing blitz to sell 8,000 books at $5 profit each, you made $40,000 in revenue but lost $10,000 overall.
But you can still call yourself a "bestselling author" while being in the red.
They Don't Tell You About Sustainability
Many bestseller list books are one-week wonders. They spike, make the list, then disappear.
The book that sells 1,000 copies per week for a year (52,000 total) might never hit a bestseller list but earns far more money and has a healthier, more sustainable sales trajectory than the book that sold 10,000 copies in week one and 100 per week thereafter.
They Don't Tell You About Deep Discounting
Some books hit lists by being heavily discounted. Selling 10,000 copies at $0.99 gets you on the list but earns you $3,500 in royalties.
Meanwhile, someone selling 3,000 copies at $4.99 earns $10,500 and doesn't make the list.
Who's actually more successful?
The "Bestseller" Credential Is Meaningless
Walk into any bookstore. Count how many books say "New York Times Bestseller" or "USA Today Bestseller" on the cover.
Hundreds. Maybe thousands over time.
The credential is everywhere because:
• It persists forever—hit the list once 10 years ago, call yourself a bestseller forever
• It can be gamed with enough money
• Amazon "bestseller" status is laughably easy to get
• There are dozens of different lists to choose from
When everyone's a bestseller, nobody is.
What Actually Happens When You Hit a List
Let's say you legitimately hit the NYT bestseller list. What changes?
Short term:
• Sales bump for 1-2 weeks as media mentions the list placement
• Bookstores might give you better placement
• Your publisher is happy
• You get the credential for marketing
Long term:
• Not much, unless you can repeat it with multiple books
• One-hit wonders fade quickly
• Readers don't actually care about list placement—they care if the book is good
• Your next book still has to sell on its own merits
The credential helps with traditional publishing deals and speaking engagements. It might help with mainstream media coverage. But it doesn't guarantee sustainable success.
The Amazon Bestseller Scam
Special mention for the worst offender: Amazon "bestseller" claims.
Amazon has over 10,000 category bestseller lists. You can be #1 in "Kindle Store > Teen & Young Adult > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Myths & Legends > Arthurian" by selling 15 copies in a day.
Unscrupulous authors and marketers exploit this:
• They pick obscure categories with low competition
• They drive sales to hit #1 for a few hours
• They screenshot the "#1 Bestseller" badge
• They use it in marketing forever: "Amazon Bestselling Author!"
Technically true. Completely misleading.
When you see "Amazon Bestseller," ask: bestseller in what category? For how long? How many copies did that actually represent?
Usually the answers are: obscure subcategory, three hours, 20 copies.
The "Free" Bestseller Trick
Even worse: authors make their book free for a day, get thousands of downloads (because it's free), hit the free bestseller list, then market themselves as "bestselling authors."
You didn't sell anything. You gave away a product. That's not a bestseller—that's a giveaway.
Why Publishers Care (And Why You Shouldn't)
Traditional publishers care deeply about bestseller lists because:
• It validates their investment and acquisition decisions
• It impresses their corporate bosses
• It generates media coverage
• It helps them sell future books by that author
• It's a metric they can point to in meetings
But as an author, especially an independent author, you should care about:
• Total sales across your entire catalog
• Profitability after expenses
• Reader engagement and reviews
• Sustainable, consistent income
• Building a career, not chasing a one-week spike
A book that sells 500 copies per month for five years (30,000 total) is far more valuable to your career than a book that sells 10,000 copies in week one and 50 per month thereafter (13,000 total over five years).
But only the second book might hit a bestseller list.
The Obsession Problem
Writers obsess over hitting bestseller lists. They structure their entire launch strategy around it. They spend thousands trying to game the system.
And for what?
So they can put "bestseller" on their cover and in their bio. So they can feel validated. So they can prove to themselves and others that they "made it."
Meanwhile, they ignore:
• Whether the book is actually good
• Whether readers are connecting with it
• Whether it's profitable
• Whether their career is sustainable
• Whether they're building a loyal readership
Chasing list placement is chasing vanity metrics. It feels important but doesn't actually build your career.
What Actually Matters
Stop worrying about lists. Focus on metrics that actually indicate success:
Total earnings. How much money did you make after expenses? That's the only number that pays bills.
Read-through rate. What percentage of readers who finish Book 1 buy Book 2? High read-through means you're building fans, not just making one-time sales.
Reviews and ratings. Are readers actually enjoying your book? Good reviews drive more sales than list placement ever will.
Mailing list growth. Are readers signing up to hear about your next book? That's sustainable audience building.
Backlist sales. Are your old books still selling? Backlist income is the foundation of a writing career.
Consistent output. Are you publishing regularly? Productivity beats one-hit wonders every time.
The Books That Never Make the Lists
You know what books rarely hit bestseller lists?
Midlist books that quietly sell 3,000-5,000 copies per year, every year, for a decade. Books with dedicated readerships that don't generate hype but generate steady income.
Genre series that sell consistently to loyal readers. Books that word-of-mouth keeps alive long after publication.
These books don't make headlines. They don't give you bragging rights. They don't impress people at parties.
But they build careers. They pay mortgages. They let writers quit day jobs and write full-time.
Meanwhile, the bestseller list book from five years ago that spiked once and died? The author is back to their day job, still trading on that one week of glory.
If You're Going to Chase a List, Do It Right
If you're determined to hit a bestseller list despite everything I've said, at least do it intelligently:
Have a big publisher backing you. They know how to work the system. They have the marketing budget and retail relationships. Indies rarely hit major lists without massive spending.
Have multiple books ready. One book hitting a list means nothing if you can't capitalize with more books. Have a series or backlist ready to capture those new readers.
Budget realistically. Hitting a list costs $20,000-$100,000+ in marketing and promotional spending. Make sure the ROI makes sense.
Don't game it. Bulk buying and manipulation tactics can get you banned from Amazon or investigated by publishers. It's not worth the risk.
Focus on the right list. USA Today is easier to hit than NYT. Amazon category bestseller is meaningless. Pick your battles.
The Bottom Line
Bestseller lists are marketing tools, not objective measures of quality or success.
They're manipulated, gamed, and curated. They measure sales during arbitrary time windows using opaque methodologies. They don't account for returns, profitability, or sustainability.
Hitting a list can help your career, especially in traditional publishing. But it's not the goal. It's not validation. It's not proof you've "made it."
Real success is:
• Making enough money from your books to support yourself
• Building a loyal readership that buys everything you publish
• Creating work you're proud of
• Sustaining your career over decades, not weeks
None of that requires hitting a bestseller list. And hitting a bestseller list doesn't guarantee any of it.
Stop chasing validation from lists that don't measure what matters. Start building a real career based on good books, loyal readers, and sustainable income.
That's success. The rest is just noise.
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