We’ve all seen them. #1 Best Seller, Best Selling Book of the Year, Best Books For Children, Best of the Best, or my all-time favorite ‘Modern Day Classic’ – that just sets my teeth on edge – but that’s a blog for another time.
Let’s explore some of the popular best seller lists.
The New York Times Best Seller List holds a lot of clout and for good reason. They’ve got a lot of history and are trusted to give a relatively unbiased list.
School Library Journal has a best seller list that is hand picked by librarians and teachers throughout the country, and is generally a good resource. I mean really, who has a better handle on what kids really want to read?
Bookmarks Magazine has been around for 20 years, and is a great resource for books for all ages. Their magazine is presented in an organized manner, they read reviews of hundreds of books and search for those little gems that don’t have an advertising budget of millions. They are a trusted resource within the literary world.
The Horn Book was established in 1924 in order to highlight the best in children’s literature. 100 years later they are still one of the most distinguished resources for children’s and young adult literature in the world.
Independent Book Stores are a great source of best selling books. They know what the public is actually buying. Walk into those independent book sellers and ask them what are the most popular children’s books they have. They will be able to tell you instantly what kids like the best!
Barnes and Noble selects its own best sellers. What makes them unique is that they have books available for the public to see and select off the shelves. Their data is more reliable than any on-line seller as to what is actually popular and not influenced by irresponsible and lavish advertising. And who doesn’t want to spend hours in a bookstore full of books from floor to ceiling?
Almost every newspaper in every major city has a book list of their own such as USA Today, LA Times, and many others. While those may be generated and influenced by online sellers they generally have an intelligent list.
However, beware the online booksellers “#1 Best Seller” banners. Most consumers will see that and assume it must be a great book. Let’s take an honest look at what’s going on.
- Authors and publishers are allowed to select categories for their books when they post them online. Often the algorithm’s of the online seller will also select categories based on the title or author description of the book – which can also be misleading. There are many authors that have learned that they can receive that best seller banner by listing their book in an obscure category that has nothing to do with their content. Here’s an example: A book about a pet fish with a #1 Best Seller banner in the category ‘Salsa Dancing’ is a waving red flag. Even a category of ‘Oceanography’ doesn’t apply unless it’s a book that has facts about the ocean. This is misleading the public into buying something they aren’t searching for, however the public rarely looks at the category of the best selling designation. They simply buy the book. It must be great right? It’s a bestseller….. not necessarily. Be certain you choose categories that represent what you are selling. You don’t want that book returned and you don’t want consumers to remember that your advertising effort was dishonest when they previously purchased your books.
- If, in every search you make for children’s books, the same book appears no matter the search parameters, you can bet thousands upon thousands of dollars are being spent to push that book into a prominent position. Don’t get me wrong, advertising is a good thing, but when it’s obvious that when the fish book is appearing when you type in a search for a children’s book about outer-space you can bet your bottom dollar that its popularity is artificial.
- The reviews. If a book has hundreds of reviews that are basically the same or if you search the author’s social media pages and find that they are paying people to put up good reviews by asking them to buy the book, put up a good review and then they reimburse them for the cost of the book, again this is artificial and misleading the public to buy a book that may or may not be very good.
In their defense, on-line booksellers are beginning to crack down on these practices, however they aren’t yet consistent in their enforcement, and it seems that those that spend the most money buying ads are the least monitored. This is understandable when the company is making millions of dollars with their advertising branch. Why look a gift horse in the mouth?
As a consumer, you need to be aware. As an author, don’t aspire to be dishonest in order to generate sales. If you have a good product and you take a realistic look at what you will make after COGS (cost of goods sold) you can make good decisions about how to market. On-line sales are important but find other avenues in which to sell, like local stores and gift shops, up your public visibility by doing local events such as library author events, street fairs, and school visits. Save your advertising money to participate in large book fairs and festivals around the nation. This gives your books visibility to hundreds of thousands of your target consumers at one time and you can often share a booth with a friend to alleviate the expense!
Very few authors become best sellers overnight. Most never do, but many make a decent living doing what they love if they have a realistic view of the competition, market, appeal of their content,are honest in their marketing, and make a concerted effort to get out there and meet the public.