Publishers Weekly examined its bestselling books for 2013
(Top 25 books each week for hardcover, trade paper, and mass market—fiction and
non-fiction), and it revealed that amongst the biggest publishers, Random House
had the most books (203) hit the list, and stayed there the longest (1147
weeks). Penguin was a close second (193
books, 826 weeks). The two are now one
company, meaning they will own about 42% of all best-selling hardcover books
and 33% of paperback ones.
The other key players are Simon & Schuster, Hachette,
Harper Collins, and Macmillan. Hyperion,
Harlequin, and Kensington to a far smaller extent, were the only other bigger
houses with at least double-digit totals for best-selling books.
The Big Six—now the Big Five—accounted in 2013 for 89.6% of
all bestselling hardcover books and 70.7% of paperback bestsellers. This list did not take into account digital
book sales.
Many books lacked staying power. They’d hit the list, then fall off. Only 23 hardcover books—out of a zillion
published titles—lasted at least 15 weeks on a bestseller list. Only five were fiction. Oddly, the same number—23—did the same thing
for trade paperbacks.
997 books made the PW best-seller lists. So what are the odds of making a print book
best-seller list? Over 300,000 books
were printed by traditional publishers last year, so the odds are 1 in
300. Then factor in self-published
books, where estimates say another 600,000 could’ve been published. Now your odds go down to 1 in 900 or so.
It seems being the #1 book is a short-lived feat. There are four weekly bestseller lists that
PW tracks. So, in theory, there could be
208 #1 titles if each week’s top spot changed.
89 books hit #1 this past year—only three spent 10 or more weeks
there. 40 books hit #1 for just one
week.
So what does it all mean?
If you want a print book bestseller, the odds greatly favor
that you go with a Big Five publisher, but even then, your chances are small.
If you hit a bestseller list, even greater odds are against
you sticking around.
And if you really want to write a print book best-seller,
make sure your name is John Grisham, E. L. James, Dan Brown, Susan Cain, or
Sheryl Sandberg.
DID YOU MISS THESE GEMS?
18 Questions You Need To Ask To
Make Your Book A Success
Why do I search for meaning
#online?
Are authors sexy enough to sell
books?
Which books are worthy of PR?
Will Your Book Be Relevant – Or
Read – In 2014?
Interview With Leading Book
Marketer Brian Feinblum
What An Author Is Worth
65 Websites For Writers &
Publishers
Mass Communications Disconnect
Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and
ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, Media
Connect, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter
@theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This
is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.