How Do Authors Have Bestsellers If There’s No List?

 

There are many best-seller lists out there to tell us which books are popular. The New York Times has one. So does the Wall Street Journal. Then there is Amazon, Publishers Weekly, and Barnes & Noble. But a significant one is gone.   

USA Today recently announced that its weekly best-seller book list is on "hiatus” after its presiding editor was laid off in a round of budget-saving cuts on December 1, initiated by the newspaper's parent company, Gannett. 

Last summer, the company axed 3% of its workforce after a loss of $54 million, in its second quarter of last year.

Gannett, the country’s largest newspaper chain, with more than 200 dailies, did not rule out a return of the list.

So what does this mean for authors, books, and the reading public?

Any shrinkage in book retail outlets, publishing companies, or media coverage of books is always a loss to the book world. We need more opportunities to sell, review, and discover books. Though the best-seller lists can be manipulated, they offer insight to consumers on what everyone else is reading. 

We have a diverse marketplace of millions of books to choose from. Best-seller lists help put readers on the same page. Sometimes we all need to read the same book in order to have a common point of reference. Yes, at times we need less decentralization and divergence and instead, more assimilation. 

Most of the time we should all read different books and then come together to share various viewpoints and exchange ideas, but there are points in the year that it benefits society to have many people read some of the same books, see some of the same movies, and hear the same songs.

With one less best-seller list, we have lost another chance to bring the otherwise diverse reading community together. Sigh.

 

Need Book Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2023. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.3 million pageviews. With 4,400+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. For more information, please consult: www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.