Buying Your Way Onto the NY Times Bestsellers List

[ctg]

"An endorsement from Oprah Winfrey; a film deal from Steven Spielberg; a debut at the top of The New York Times bestsellers list. These are the things every author craves most. While the first two require the favor of a benevolent deity, the third can be had by anyone with the ability to write a check — a pretty big one, to ResultSource, a San Diego-based marketing consultancy — in what Forbes says is essentially a laundering operation aimed at deceiving the book-buying public into believing a title is more in-demand than it is. Soren Kaplan, a business consultant and speaker, hired ResultSource to promote his book Leapfrogging. Responding to the WSJ article on his website, Kaplan breaks out the economics of making the list. 'It's no wonder few people in the industry want to talk about bestseller campaigns,' he writes. 'Put bluntly, they allow people with enough money, contacts, and know-how to buy their way onto bestseller lists.'" http://news.slashdot.org/story/13/02/24/1438225/buying-your-way-onto-the-ny-times-bestsellers-list


Is that right in any way or shape?

 

[Boneman]

Erm....... no.

 

[ctg]

Does it surprise you that you only need preorder three thousand copies for the WSJ and eleven thousand copies for the NY Times?

 

[Boneman]

Yes, and I've started saving, for when my book comes out...

Unfortunately, almost every industry I can think of will do anything to get sales, and it's not going to change, I'm afraid.

 

[JoanDrake]

I don't think you can fault an author for promoting their book any way they can, but I do believe that at over 200k for one week on the list they're getting shafted rather royally.

 

[thaddeus6th]

Joan, I do think certain things are out of order when promoting oneself or one's work (writing a 5* review whilst pretending to be a disinterested third party, for example).

I agree with you that this seems to be a bad financial deal but it's also wrong.

Incidentally, the Guardian's Damien Walter has launched a little initiative to find 5 great independent/self-published 'sci-fi' [includes fantasy and horror] books:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2013/feb/22/sci-fi-hunt-independently-published

You're actively encouraged to self-nominate.

[If anyone really liked Bane of Souls, please do go along to page 8 (at the time of writing) of the comments and recommend my self-nomination].

 

[Steve Jordan]

It's kind of funny, when you think about it: If I had 2ooK lying around to spend on book promotion... what would I need to write for?

 

[Boneman]

Ego... watch as untalented lottery-winners buy their way onto it, to impress their friends...

 

[LukeW]

I'm sure I could get an endorsement from Oprah if I had enough money.

 

[Freda]

It's kind of funny, when you think about it: If I had 2ooK lying around to spend on book promotion... what would I need to write for?

My thoughts exactly!!!!!

 

[J Riff]

Gee, kinda like the music biz.