how bestseller lists work (and fail)

[answerinprogress]

You can learn more about the weird world of book publishing in the related video 🤓

[YJCHI]

I want to publish a book titled “Wurst Cellars” featuring pictures of cellars that store sausages and get it on the best seller’s list.

[TeodorLojewski]

When I'll be writing books, I'll be labeling them "worst sellers" because satire is great.

[INNERLMNT]

"If everybody is super, nobody is." - Syndrome, _The Incredibles_

[naastyaaaaaaaaa]

The main reason is this: the categories are ofter very specific (say, not just 'fantasy books', but 'fantasy heist books with an anthropomorphic animal main character and elements of grimdark' - I'm exaggerating), so there are relatively few books that get into each category. Which means that it's easy to become a best seller since there's barely any competition (basically, it's easier to sell best if you're one of 4 books rather than a 1000).

[GaryOPostle]

The New York Times bestseller list is actually a curated list, they claim it’s based on some sales but it’s functionally impossible to know if someone’s paid to be on there or just put their friend on there

[theray]

i always just assumed that not as many books were actually bestsellers, you just probably only see “bestsellers” because they’re popular, but this makes more sense

[FootLettuce]

The way the text is edited behind your chin like that at the beginning 😂

[PowerOf]

I remember being confused in middle school that my diary of a wimpy kid book that had only officially released that day was already enough of a "new york times bestseller" that it was printed presumably weeks before to say that

[ohzenn]

And that’s why I ignore basically all claims that any corporation makes ever

[genericplantlife]

It feels like every book is a best seller because the ones that sell poorly you will probably never hear about or see in your local bookstore unless you rummage the back shelves or bargain bins. Remeber, there are thousands upon thousands of paperback romance novels with barely clothed people on the cover that don't have that bestseller label.

[davidguthary]

Fun fact: the New York Times changed their bestseller system because of Harry Potter. Each of the first three books debuted on the list and never left. By the end of 1999, the top three spots had all been Harry Potter for several months, and with the fourth book on the horizon, people started complaining that the popularity of Harry Potter was unfairly preventing other books from getting on the list.

As a result, the New York Times started a second list exclusively for children's books, and these books would no longer be eligible for the main list. The children's list debuted in 2000, with the top four spots being the first four Harry Potter books.

[SarahRenaeClark]

Further to this, on Amazon people find categories with low sales and claim their book fits that category (even if it’s entirely irrelevant) so they can climb to the bestseller list within that category in the first few days.

Then they’ll parade that “Amazon Bestseller” label forever. Without clarifying it’s in a weird niche topic that doesn’t even match their book.

[mattc]

I wish this included another scandalous moment of ripping a book in half

[chessbergen]

Almost every video from this channel takes some question I thought of at 3-4am and forgot about, and answers it, making me suddenly intrigued to know the answer to a question i thought of before but never answered, amazing stuff

[LeifLovebug]

Graeber time!!! "Debt: the first 5000 years" is so gooood!

[anneoever]

The number of copies sold to be a best seller also varies from label to label. Usually it is around 10, 000 copies sold, but this can be as low as 1, 000 or as high as 100, 000.
Interestingly, in the Netherlands these bestselling rules are similar while only 24 million people speak Dutch compared to 400 million English speakers (>1 billion if second language included).

[Hamachingo]

Wait until you hear about record labels buying copies to get their unknown artist to number 1 the first week

[omgitsbees]

I really appreciate this clip, this is actually something i've wondered about but was too lazy to find the answer on my own.

[CodingItWrong]

A friend of mine published a book and offered it to friends on launch day for $1 and asked them to buy as many copies as possible to get it onto the best seller list