The influence of the New York Times bestsellers list
There are multiple best-seller lists out there, and getting named to any of them is
welcome for most authors, but the New York Times best-seller list is widely considered to be the most
prestigious, and it’s certainly the most well-known. Achieving this recognition has a tangible impact on
book sales, particularly for first-time writers. Data from an analysis by economics professor Alan
Sorensen in 2004 indicated that debut authors' sales rose by 57% after making the New York Times
best-seller list. On average, it boosted sales by around 13 to 14%.
Why we trust the new York times Bestsellers Title
Overall, it is a combination of the New York Times' fame and credibility and the
sales data that makes the list so popular and desirable.
The New York Times, as a reputable and influential media outlet, has a long-standing history of quality
journalism and reporting, which gives people confidence in their recommendations. Readers trust the list
because it is based on sales data and is, therefore, reflective of what is popular among readers.
Moreover, the New York Times as a highly data-driven organization, which increases the credibility of
their bestsellers list. The Times has been recognized as one of the most data-driven news organizations.
The Times has invested heavily in data analysis and has built dedicated teams to work on data analytics
and digital innovation. The company uses data-driven insights to inform decision-making, from editorial
strategy to product development to advertising.
Books | Bestsellers
About the bestsellers
A version of this Best Sellers report appears in the March
26, 2023 issue of The New York Times Book Review. Rankings on weekly lists reflect sales for the week
ending March 11, 2023.
Rankings reflect unit sales reported on a confidential basis by vendors offering a wide
range of general interest titles published in the United States. Every week, thousands of diverse
selling locations report their actual sales on hundreds of thousands of individual titles. The panel of
reporting retailers is comprehensive and reflects sales in tens of thousands of stores of all sizes and
demographics across the United States.
The book selling universe is comprised of well-established vendors as well as emerging
ones. The sales venues for print books include national, regional and local chains representing tens of
thousands of storefronts; many hundreds of independent book retailers; scores of online and multimedia
entertainment retailers; supermarkets, university, gift and big-box department stores; and newsstands.
E-book rankings reflect sales from leading online vendors of e-books in a variety of
popular e-reader formats and are included in our combined fiction, combined nonfiction, advice,
children's series and monthly lists. Titles are included regardless of whether they are published in
both print and electronic formats or just one format. In general, publisher credits for e-books are
listed under the corporate publishing name instead of by publisher's division or imprint, unless by
special request. Graphic book rankings include all print and digital formats. Adult, children's, young
adult, fiction and nonfiction graphic books are eligible for inclusion on the graphic books and manga
list. Audiobook rankings are created from sales of physical and digital audio products. Free-trial or
low-cost audiobook sales are not eligible for inclusion. Publisher credits for audiobooks are listed
under the audiobook publisher name.
The appearance of a ranked title reflects the fact that sales data from reporting
vendors has been provided to The Times and has satisfied commonly accepted industry standards of
universal identification (such as ISBN13 and EISBN13 codes). All identities, anecdotal, contextual, and
other information about the retail sales of any title, as well as overall sales data, are provided with
the expectation and assurance of confidentiality by every vendor and are protected by Non-Disclosure
Agreements.
Sales are defined as completed transactions by vendors and individual end users during
the period on or after the official publication date of a title. Institutional, special interest, group
or bulk purchases, if and when they are included, are at the discretion of The New York Times
Best-Seller List Desk editors based on standards for inclusion that encompass proprietary vetting and
audit protocols, corroborative reporting and other statistical determinations. When included, such bulk
purchases appear with a dagger (†).
Publishers and vendors of all ranked titles must conform in a timely fashion to The New
York Times Best-Seller Lists requirement to allow for examination and independent corroboration of their
reported sales for that week. Sales are statistically weighted to represent and accurately reflect all
outlets proportionally nationwide. An asterisk (*) indicates that a book's sales are barely
distinguishable from those of the book above.
Among the categories not actively tracked at this time are: perennial sellers, required
classroom reading, textbooks, reference and test preparation guides, e-books available exclusively from
a single vendor, journals, workbooks, calorie counters, shopping guides, periodicals and crossword
puzzles.
The New York Times Best Sellers are compiled and archived by The Best-Seller Lists Desk
of The New York Times News Department, and are separate from the Editorial, Culture, Advertising and
Business sides of The New York Times Company.
If you are a book retailer interested in reporting your store's weekly sales to The New
York Times Best-Seller Lists, send a request here.
Please direct other questions and feedback to nytbsl@nytimes.com.
Books | Bestsellers
About the bestsellers
A version of this Best Sellers report appears in the March
26, 2023 issue of The New York Times Book Review. Rankings on weekly lists reflect sales for the week
ending March 11, 2023.
Rankings reflect unit sales reported on a confidential basis by
vendors offering a wide
range of general interest titles published in the United States. Every week, thousands of diverse
selling locations report their actual sales on hundreds of thousands of individual titles.
The panel of
reporting retailers is comprehensive and reflects sales in tens of
thousands of stores of all sizes and
demographics across the United States.
The book selling universe is comprised of well-established vendors
as well as emerging
ones. The sales venues for print books include national, regional and
local chains representing tens of
thousands of storefronts; many hundreds of independent book
retailers; scores of online and multimedia
entertainment retailers; supermarkets, university, gift and big-box department stores; and
newsstands.
E-book rankings reflect sales from leading online vendors of
e-books in a variety of
popular e-reader formats and are included in our combined fiction, combined nonfiction, advice,
children's series and monthly lists. Titles are included regardless of whether they are published in
both print and electronic formats or just one format. In general, publisher credits for e-books are
listed under the corporate publishing name instead of by publisher's division or imprint, unless by
special request. Graphic book rankings include all print and digital formats. Adult, children's, young
adult, fiction and nonfiction graphic books are eligible for inclusion on the graphic books and manga
list. Audiobook rankings are created from sales of physical and digital audio products. Free-trial or
low-cost audiobook sales are not eligible for inclusion. Publisher credits for audiobooks are listed
under the audiobook publisher name.
The appearance of a ranked title reflects the fact that sales data
from reporting
vendors has been provided to The Times and has satisfied commonly accepted industry standards
of
universal identification (such as ISBN13 and EISBN13 codes). All identities, anecdotal, contextual, and
other information about the retail sales of any title, as well as overall sales data, are provided with
the expectation and assurance of confidentiality by every vendor and are protected by Non-Disclosure
Agreements.
Sales are defined as completed transactions by vendors and individual end users during
the period on or after the official publication date of a title. Institutional, special interest, group
or bulk purchases, if and when they are included, are at the discretion of The New York Times
Best-Seller List Desk editors based on standards for inclusion that encompass proprietary vetting and
audit protocols, corroborative reporting and other statistical determinations. When included, such bulk
purchases appear with a dagger (†).
Publishers and vendors of all ranked titles must conform in a timely fashion to The New
York Times Best-Seller Lists requirement to allow for examination and independent corroboration of their
reported sales for that week. Sales are statistically weighted to represent and
accurately reflect all
outlets proportionally nationwide. An asterisk (*) indicates that a book's sales are barely
distinguishable from those of the book above.
Among the categories not actively tracked at this time are: perennial sellers, required
classroom reading, textbooks, reference and test preparation guides, e-books available exclusively from
a single vendor, journals, workbooks, calorie counters, shopping guides, periodicals and crossword
puzzles.
The New York Times Best Sellers are compiled and archived by The Best-Seller Lists Desk
of The New York Times News Department, and are separate from the Editorial, Culture, Advertising and
Business sides of The New York Times Company.
If you are a book retailer interested in reporting your store's weekly sales to The New
York Times Best-Seller Lists, send a request here.
Please direct other questions and feedback to nytbsl@nytimes.com.
"The Handbook for Mortals" is at the center of a controversy over allegations of
sales manipulation to secure a spot on the prestigious New York Times bestsellers list. The book,
authored by Lani Sarem and published by GeekNation, has been accused of using unethical means to
boost
sales and secure its place on the list. This accusation was not only reported by The New York Times,
but
also by other prominent news outlets, such as Publishers Weekly and the Los Angeles Times. Following
these allegations, The New York Times acknowledged "inconsistencies" in the book's sales data and
removed it from the bestsellers list. However, Sarem and her team denied any wrongdoing and accused
The
New York Times of bias against independently published books. This incident has raised questions
about
the integrity of the bestsellers list.
Detail from the cover of Handbook for Mortals by Lani Sarem.
Let’s see how New York Times books bestsellers lists compare to another
bestsellers list with similar methodology
So the New York Times says that: “The appearance of a ranked title reflects the
fact
that sales data from reporting vendors” and “Sales are defined as completed transactions by vendors
and
individual end users”.
According to statista.com, Amazon Books dominates book sales almost everywhere,
with
67 percent of book buyers using the service. Provided that the New York Times sources books sales
data
from “well-established vendors as well as emerging ones”, it is safe to assume that Amazon should be
in
the list of vendors since they are such a dominant player in the book market.
Let’s play a little matching game!
New York Times
Bestsellers vs. Amazon Book
Chart
*Please note that Amazon data might still be subject to biases and manipulation. The
main purpose of this visualization is to understand how the New York Times bestsellers list compare to
another bestsellers list and what patterns there might be, rather than drawing a concrete conclusion
on which list is more trustworthy.
Data sources: nytimes.com and amazon.com
New York Times
Amazon Chart
Now let’s see what the overall picture is
This visualization focuses solely on the New York Times list
and presents a comprehensive view of the changes in appearance and ranking of individual books over a
12-week period. Each column represents a week between October 23rd 2022 and January 8th 2023, and by
hovering over a book cover, you can gain insight into its evolution in appearance and ranking across
different weeks. The book covers in color are the books that also appeared on Amazon Chart that week,
while the covers in black and white are books that only appeared on New York Times list.
*Hover over a specific book to see the pattern over 12 weeks.
Meanwhile, there are well-loved Award-winning books that never made it to the
new york times bestsellers list
If you relied solely on the New York Times bestsellers badge to pick up a book,
it
is highly likely you are missing out on high-quality, worth-while books. Many award-winning books,
praised by critics and loved by readers, do not make it to the list due to factors such as
commercial
success or genre preferences.
Let’s look at 50 award-winning books well-loved by readers, yet never made it to
the
New York Times bestsellers list. The visualization will also include Goodreads average ratings and
ratings counts to show how well-loved these books are from the readers community. Have you
considered
any of these books?
Hover on a bubble to find out more about the books and how many people love
it!