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Messo
Messo

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Landing a spot on the New York Times best sellers list

Summary:

  • Landing a spot on the New York Times bestsellers list is incredibly challenging, with a 0.00208% chance due to the limited slots.
  • The list's creation process is mysterious, with a curated list of books projected by publishers and industry insiders.
  • Authors and publishers use various strategies, some questionable, to game the list, which serves as a powerful marketing tool and career booster.

Discussion (6)

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kenshin99 profile image
Kenshin

Wow. It’s was such a cutthroat world for authors trying to make the list. It's wild to think about how competitive it is, especially with such a tiny chance of success. And the fact that it's not just about writing a great book, but also about data, connections, and sometimes shady tactics, is kind of eye-opening. It's like a secret world within the literary world.

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amysawyama profile image
Amy Sawyama

NYT is totally pay to win. If you have a budget of around 50 grand, you will be able to get yourself on the list by paying firms to help ‘influence’ the decision.

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tobiasv profile image
Tobias Val

Man, I feel like I see so many books become "New York Times Best Seller #1". To think all of this is included for the decisions, you wonder what questionable things people did to get there.

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samuraisteph profile image
SamuraiStephanie

I heard Eric Thomas admit to this on a podcast – he basically had to drop some serious cash to boost his book's chances of hitting the New York Times bestsellers list (although he didn’t say it negatively, just that it was true). It's wild to see even successful folks like him playing that game.

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christiemu profile image
Christie Mu

I definitely feel a lot of it is connection and a good amount of budget. I would say having a big following helps as well. Definitely unfortunate for the rising stars of authors. Hopefully this changes.

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jcruzin profile image
Jason Cruz

Damn its a cold world out there. The amount of backup you need for this is wild.