Number One bestseller?

[mariadeangeles.livejournal.com]

Okay so I saw the posts about Kiss the Dead being #1 bestseller and I had to ask. I know theres plenty of diehard troos who love these books but do you really think its #1? I have a hard time believing it. One of my favorite authors admitted that since being #1 get so much free pulicity many autors order tons of copies of their book because it will generate so many more sales when they come out as #1. Its kind of a gamble and you'd have to have a huge credit limit or risk your advance but I guess if people are going to start buying it like crazy when they see NY Times list it, its worth it. So what do you all think? Is LKH one of those authors or are there really that many people unconcerned with the book's substance out there?

Comments

[missingvolume.livejournal.com]

Once books are fairly steady on the NYT list many libraries always order them since they know there will be requests for it. That does drive up sales. But a lot of NYT numbers are based on preorders especially in the first week. The real question is how many get returned or marked down to 50% off. The first big blockbuster I saw this happen to was Hannibal by Harris it went half off after a few months out. I know writers that order their books wholesale for resale at cons but I haven't seen a lot order retail to do it.

[sune-kitty.livejournal.com]

Considering how popular the Twilight series is with the public (shudder), I'm not impressed when a novel hits #1.

[marveen.livejournal.com]

I thought the same, only with the 50 shades of grey crap. I've read excerpts, and it was amazingly dull and badly written (it made tight hot wet screaming seem thrilling by comparison.)

[rodentfanatic.livejournal.com]

Oh god, I was about to say "I doubt it's #1" and then I remembered how big 50 Shades got thanks to this comment, and despaired.

[mariadeangeles.livejournal.com]

Yes 50 shades was pretty awful but I attributed its success and #1 ranking to many first time erotica readers who don't know any better. Most of the people I know who rave about it have just never read erotica before so its a new thing for them.I guess the general consensus is that most people just dont care about the substance the book has to offer and it really is ranked number one.

[c-l-craft.livejournal.com]

Well, she is a popular author. Not as popular as she was or as much as she thinks she is, but she does have a good solid following of fans. Also, doesn't it depend on what else came out at around the same time? If nothing else big was published she might have been the only contender for the spot.

Like someone mentioned earlier you also have to take into account that most libraries will probably be buying multiple copies of the book which will drive up the number.

[magdalen77.livejournal.com]

She usually doesn't have any staying power on the list. She may hit number 1, 2 or 3, but the second week she'll be in the teens and the third week she'll be off the list.

[mariadeangeles.livejournal.com]

Interesting, the troos are pretty loyal. I also hadn't thought about what the other poster pointed out, which is that it depends what else comes out that week. If she was the only one in her genre then I guess her fans are enough to earn her that ranking.

[magdalen77.livejournal.com]

Someone (presumably her publishers) are very careful to make sure that only Hamilton's book is coming out during her publication week. You' ll never see a LKH book out the same week as one of her competitors.

As far as library copies go, my library used to order about 50 copies of Hamilton's books (this is for a library system with 40-50 branches). Around about Blood Noir they went down to 25 copies and lately they've further decreased to 16 copies.

[magdalen77.livejournal.com]

Yeah KtD didn't hit number 1 on the combined list. It seems like Hamilton fans are more likely to buy the hardcover. I know that The Help was on the list and in the top ten for some ridiculous number of weeks like 60 (over a year).