How to Get on the New York Times Bestseller List

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Do you want to know how to get on the New York Times bestseller list?

if so…you may have a common aspiration to become a bestselling author. prestige, title and credibility are super tempting…

You are reading: Amazon books ny times best sellers

but landing on the nyt bestseller list involves a lot more than just writing and publishing a book and hoping it gets there.

Actually, there are some misconceptions about “new york times best selling author” status to begin with, but more on that later.

These dreams of yours are amazing. elevated, but right on point. the amount of impact being a bestselling author can have is impressive.

for example, our student anita oommen not only wrote and published a bestseller, but the impact was immediate on those closest to her: her children, who wrote and published their own books.

You can learn more about Anita’s story here.

Here’s how to get on the New York Times bestseller list:

Understand what the nyt bestseller list is looking for
Get fast and diverse sales
Establish a great authoring platform
have a list of orders before your release
earn money for talking on wholesale book purchases

If you want to skip directly to these steps, click here.

if not, stick around so you can gain a greater understanding of what it really means and what it really takes to make the new york times best seller list.

because it could affect your path to get there…

why do authors want to appear on the new york times bestseller list?

publishing on the new york times bestseller list is traditionally considered the gold standard in publishing. While there are many notable bestseller lists in the publishing world (for example, the wall street journal bestseller list for business-themed books), the new york times bestseller list, which is published weekly since 1931, it is the oldest and most prestigious list.

In that sense, getting your work listed is a big deal—but there are “rules” that prevent many ridiculously large authors from reaching this status.

Getting listed often not only raises your profile as an established author, it can also offer you many more opportunities.

These are some of the benefits of becoming a nyt bestselling author:

earn future writing contracts with established printers
wider industry recognition
establish you as a major thought leader and expert
provide higher sales particularly if you are a lesser known writer
lend a good amount of bragging rights.

best-seller lists are evolving

Perhaps the most important thing to understand about the New York Times bestseller list is that it is an ever-evolving list.

It always has been and, as historical and more recent trends seem to suggest, it probably always will be. To be fair, it’s not all about the times.

It was only in 1995 that the Los Angeles Times began counting paperbacks on its bestseller list again.

Further back in time, in 1961, the chicago tribune most infamously denied that certain best-selling books it deemed “sewers written by dirty-fingered authors for dirty-minded readers” ever appeared on its bestseller list .

Historically, several genres and classic works of literature have not appeared on the New York Times bestseller list. the recent explosion of e-books (the times started counting them in 2010), self-published books and audio books have also contributed to a more changing list.

How do best-seller lists work?

the new york times best sellers list is made up of several lists divided into different categories, such as fiction and non-fiction, hardcover, paperback, ebooks, audiobooks, and various genres of books.

For you, the aspiring writer whose goal is to get on their bestseller list, probably the most important thing to know is what’s worth writing about if you want your work to get on the list.

again, the new york times does not consider multiple categories for its bestseller list. a helpful article posted on their site about their various scoring guidelines and methods clarifies the matter.

This is what those guidelines establish:

“Categories not actively tracked at this time include: permanent vendors, required classroom reading, textbooks, test prep and reference guides, e-books available exclusively from a single vendor, journals, workbooks, calorie counters, shopping guides, newspapers, and crossword puzzles.”

Cookbooks, contrary to popular belief, are included, as are religion, spirituality, and faith books.

the nyt’s bestseller “list” is not a true measure of bestseller status

It may sound counterintuitive and it remains controversial to say so, but it’s true nonetheless: The New York Times Best Sellers list does not represent a true Best Sellers list, that is, when actual total sales are counted.

What constitutes “bestseller” status has been the decades-long battle (legal, political, commercial, and otherwise) between eras, various authors, and book publishers.

Like any traditional guardian, the times have their set of rules, standards and procedures. as such, they hold the “keys” as to “who” gets in… and who gets left out (even if they deserve it).

it’s best to think of the new york times bestseller status as subjective in nature. A book that becomes a New York Times bestseller doesn’t necessarily have to sell millions of copies, or hundreds of thousands, for that matter. While book sales meet the subjective criteria used by the Times, it is a specific type of “book sale” that counts for New York Times bestseller status.

Furthermore, given the explosion of online sales and the decline in the number of traditional bookstores (and consequently bookstore sales), the sales methodology behind how books are counted has influenced which books appear or not in the list. ready.

as explained in a recent article on how to become a bestselling author and how to get on a bestseller list, it is claimed that the new york times in particular, when counting books for bestseller status of sales, consider:

books that were sold in a very specific time period: times do not record cumulative sales. hence the bible, the best-selling book of all time, does not appear on the list. Books like Don Quixote and A Tale of Two Cities, beloved classics around the world that have sold millions over the years, will also not appear. dan brown’s davinci code will, however, appear, as it did for several years between 2003 and 2006.
books sold in very specific places: certain book sales are ” weighted” more favorably depending on where they originate. wholesale sales, under certain conditions, count toward best seller status; eBooks published by a single vendor are not, etc.

again, the times explains this in more detail on their site.

what writers need to know about the new york times bestseller list

despite retaining its prestigious reputation, the new york times bestseller list has been the subject of much controversy. Charges of “healed elitism,” an overreliance on books published by major New York publishers, questionable methodologies, bribery, editorial and political bias have sparked lawsuits and heated debate among authors, book publishers, and industry executives.

A 1983 lawsuit by William Peter Blatty, an American writer best known for his novel The Exorcistand the 1973 film of the same name, is a case in point.

While his legion of books sold many copies during their initial publication, enough to earn them a comfortable spot on the current best-seller list for a while, his book appeared on the list for only one week.

Perceiving the bias and claiming that by not staying on the Times list, his sales were being harmed, Beatty took his case to court. in court, the newspaper defended itself on the grounds that “the list was not intended to be an objective compilation of information, but rather was an editorial product”. The court sided with the times and dismissed a $3 million lawsuit.

Think of it this way: The New York Times is the newspaper equivalent of a prestigious university and a high-end fashion brand. When it comes to getting on their best-seller list, just like gaining admission to, say, an Ivy League school, few make it.

for those who do, they did their due diligence, worked incredibly hard, made great contacts, followed the rules, met editorial standards, among other things.

how to get on the new york times bestseller list

If you really have your heart set on becoming a New York Times bestselling author, here are some of the things you’ll need to do to make it happen.

#1 – know what the nyt list wants

An analysis of the Stanford Business School years ago concluded that “most book buyers seem to use the list of epochs as a signal of what is worth reading.”

Knowing what the times consider a bestseller is important because it provides a useful window into this best-selling segment of the publishing world (which has evolved beyond the times in recent years).

It’s helpful to know what’s currently going on for a New York Times bestseller.

just start with the category you would like to be published in: fiction, non-fiction. beyond, genre: history, politics, fantasy, science fiction. it also helps to know who the big players are.

times are known to favor the big new york publishers. who are these? what are your submission guidelines? who are some agents known to work with them?

#2 – get quick and diverse sales

In the age of self-publishing and digital promotion, the traditional publishing route is practically a thing of the past.

not so for a new york times bestseller. Unlike selling on digital media where you can become a bestseller by selling your book on, say, Amazon, to anyone, anywhere, becoming a New York Times bestseller follows a different system.

To achieve bestseller status in the times not only do you have to sell at least 5,000 – 10,000 copies in a week, but these sales have to be miscellaneous sales.

That is, you can’t sell 10,000 books to a pre-existing list of followers through a personal website or thousands from a single marketplace like Barnes and Noble.

Rather, these sales should come from retailers across the country and in different geographic locations, from large chains like Barnes and Noble and Walmart, small independent bookstores, e-commerce giant Amazon, college bookstores, etc.

It should be noted that the public does not have access to who the points of sale mentioned are. to prevent possible abuse by those who seek to manipulate the system.

But what’s increasingly discrediting the nyt’s bestseller list is the fact that you can sell far more books than required, but still not make the list.

so only sales from amazon (where 64% of books are bought!) will not count by themselves.

#3: Create a strong platform for authors

For first-time and lesser-known authors, it’s especially important to build a pre-existing audience before attempting to achieve New York Times bestseller status.

This is how you can start building your author and audience platform:

Engage with your audience: Assess your audience’s “book pulse” – how eager are they for your words of wisdom, unique insight, creative mind? What questions do you ask them? What have they said about your previous blog posts, vlogs, tweets, etc.? are they really impressed, suggesting that you maybe write a book?

perhaps they are giving you more fuel for your book, are they telling you things you didn’t know before, are they mentioning other books that enhance your experience? commitment is key. what do you have, if any, with your audience?

#4 – have a list of pre-orders before your book is released

You should have such a list for any book you want to publish. For a potential New York Times bestseller, it’s especially important from a sales standpoint.

rob avid, a noted book marketing consultant, explains that in the case of a new york times bestseller, all pre-orders sold before a book’s release are counted in the first week official sales.

so, for example, 5,000 sold during pre-release and another 5,000 during the first official week equals 10,000 books sold in total, a critical number that must be reached during the first week to gain new york bestseller status times.

Having a pre-order list works hand in hand with a pre-existing audience. if you already have the audience, of course, it’s easier to have a pre-order list ready. if you’re successful enough to have both before launch, you’re in good shape.

#5: Change conference fee for wholesale book purchase

While it may not be the best course for everyone, speaking engagements are amazing opportunities to double down on your writing efforts and overall business goals.

Not only are they great confidence boosters, but they also serve as excellent book marketing opportunities.

Exchanging speaking fees for a wholesale book purchase is especially important during the pre-order phase because it not only allows you to reach a larger audience (and hopefully make more sales), but also It also allows you to meet the time requirement that book purchases be made in different geographic areas.

how much money does a new york times bestseller make?

Authors on the nyt bestseller list have to sell at least 10,000 copies, so at a 10% royalty rate on a book priced at $20, they’ll earn at least $20. 000 usd, much of that will go towards paying back the initial advance. .

That said, many authors on the list sell over 10,000 books, and sell even more once their book is on that list as well. however, if the author was paid a larger advance, say $50,000, he would have to sell 25,000 books at a royalty rate of 10% for a $20 book to “pay off” the advance.

Only then will they start earning additional income from book sales beyond their initial advance.

In short, how much you earn depends solely on the book’s list price, your royalty rate, and how much of your retainer you have to pay back if you’re publishing traditionally.

new york times bestseller status versus writing as a means to an end

Given the age of digital entrepreneurship, in which self-publishing a book continues to gain significant momentum, breaking down traditional barriers to entry (publishing industry contacts, top-tier agents, and expensive marketing plans), it really depends. from you. to figure out your writing goals.

traditional publishing with the goal of appearing on an internationally recognized bestseller list like current versus self-publishing with the goal of achieving personal/business goals (and potential bestseller status just not in time) is a tradeoff you’ll need to consider.

Remember that publishing a book is not an end in itself. With its ability to boost your name, reputation, and authority—not to mention, depending on your industry, gain more consulting clients and introductions—writing a book can open up some pretty amazing doors. a successfully published book is a marketing tool like no other.

Whatever path you choose, keep in mind that achieving bestseller status in places other than the new york times bestseller list has been shown to lead to equally promising and lucrative opportunities.

and we’re just in the early stages of this amazing trend. desktop publishing school is here to help.

If you’d like help achieving Amazon Best Seller status, be sure to check out our free training below.

trade an hour of netflix for something that will help you reach your goals. good luck!

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