# How do I found out if a book or author is really a best-seller? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [April 5, 2021, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-found-out-if-a-book-or-author-is-really-a-best-seller/939436 "2021-04-05T10:15:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-found-out-if-a-book-or-author-is-really-a-best-seller/939436/21 "2021-04-06T15:06:48Z")
If that’s true, I’m sure to be a huge success! 😀 ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-found-out-if-a-book-or-author-is-really-a-best-seller/939436/22 "2021-04-06T15:28:01Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > > [@MrAtoz](#): > > > > Now, I know that best-selling books often are not literary masterpieces, but they at least usually know how to put together coherent sentences and make it clear which character is speaking and things like that. The same can’t always be said for some of the “bestselling authors” that I’ve run across on Amazon. > > A large number of avid readers wouldn’t recognize well-crafted writing if it bit them on the ass. Sadly, this is true. I’ve learned to accept the fact that there are a lot of readers out there who just want a good story, and they’ll overlook egregious errors (bad sentences, worse spelling, atrocious grammar, complete ignorance of basic mechanics like how to use quotation marks) as long as the story engages them. That’s their right, of course. Honestly, I wish I was more like that, because I’ve probably missed some really good stories because I’m a stickler for solid mechanics to go with the good writing. There’s a concept in self-publishing called “Minimum viable product,” where authors do the minimum amount of editing on their work before sending it out, and then making corrections as they go. I’m not a fan of this style, but there’s no denying it can be successful. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-found-out-if-a-book-or-author-is-really-a-best-seller/939436/23 "2021-04-06T17:09:08Z")
Why, she’s been on 4 best-sellers’ lists! Here is what seems to be her best-selling book, doing its heaviest selling in the category of “Paranormal Angel Romance” [I’m intrigued by the implied “non-paranormal angel romance” category, I must say] Best Sellers Rank: #837,279 in Kindle Store - #3,638 in [Paranormal Angel Romance] - #4,416 in [Bisexual Romance] - #14,590 in [Fantasy & Futuristic Romance] ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-found-out-if-a-book-or-author-is-really-a-best-seller/939436/24 "2021-04-06T17:55:14Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Why, she’s been on 4 best-sellers’ lists! Here is what seems to be her best-selling book, doing its heaviest selling in the category of “Paranormal Angel Romance” [I’m intrigued by the implied “non-paranormal angel romance” category, I must say] > > Best Sellers Rank: #837,279 in Kindle Store > > - #3,638 in [Paranormal Angel Romance] > - #4,416 in [Bisexual Romance] > - #14,590 in [Fantasy & Futuristic Romance] No offense to your friend, but that’s…not exactly on the best-sellers’ list. _Every_ book appears somewhere on various lists for categories, but being up in the thousands pretty much means, “I wrote a book and self-published it.” Those kinds of ranks probably mean she sells one or two copies a month. So if she’s calling herself an Amazon bestseller based on those ranks, she’s padding her part. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-found-out-if-a-book-or-author-is-really-a-best-seller/939436/25 "2021-04-06T18:10:05Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Why, she’s been on 4 best-sellers’ lists! Here is what seems to be her best-selling book, doing its heaviest selling in the category of “Paranormal Angel Romance” [I’m intrigued by the implied “non-paranormal angel romance” category, I must say] > > Best Sellers Rank: #837,279 in Kindle Store > > - #3,638 in [Paranormal Angel Romance] > - #4,416 in [Bisexual Romance] > - #14,590 in [Fantasy & Futuristic Romance] Not really fair, since that’s their rank _today_. It could have been higher at some point in the past. Or not. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-found-out-if-a-book-or-author-is-really-a-best-seller/939436/26 "2021-04-06T19:15:59Z")
Fair point. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-found-out-if-a-book-or-author-is-really-a-best-seller/939436/27 "2021-04-06T19:31:20Z")
Fair point indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-found-out-if-a-book-or-author-is-really-a-best-seller/939436/28 "2021-04-06T19:39:42Z")
Holy fuck, there are 3,638 paranormal angel romances?? ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2021, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-found-out-if-a-book-or-author-is-really-a-best-seller/939436/29 "2021-04-07T05:15:47Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > A large number of avid readers wouldn’t recognize well-crafted writing if it bit them on the ass. Sadly this is true. I’ve been checking out the market for sci-fi romance and so much of it is crap. But it’s crap that receives 5 star ratings and reviews gushing about how great it is. Same with romantic thrillers. Heh. Someday I’ll be #1 in romantic sci - fi thrillers. The more crap I’m willing to read, though, the more I’m finding good stuff. So it is out there. It’s just clear that readers for whatever reason make no distinction between well-crafted work and garbage. I might have insight into what’s happening, though. For genre readers, they are often just looking for a good story, and they don’t care about anything but story. If you can barely string two words together but you can deliver something with strong narrative drive, they are all in. The prettiest prose or the most stirring themes won’t make a difference if it doesn’t deliver on the tropes and familiar structure and reader expectations for genre. As for me, I write well-crafted fiction at the micro level, but I’m still working on how to tell a story. And I’m not going to put my work out there until I’m more confident in that skill. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2021, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-found-out-if-a-book-or-author-is-really-a-best-seller/939436/30 "2021-04-07T05:30:44Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Someday I’ll be #1 in romantic sci - fi thrillers. I find the most erotic part of the woman is the boobies. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2021, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-found-out-if-a-book-or-author-is-really-a-best-seller/939436/31 "2021-04-07T13:25:56Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > Holy fuck, there are 3,638 paranormal angel romances?? And 3,637 of them are more popular than hers. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2021, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-found-out-if-a-book-or-author-is-really-a-best-seller/939436/32 "2021-04-07T14:48:53Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I might have insight into what’s happening, though. For genre readers, they are often just looking for a good story, and they don’t care about anything but story. If you can barely string two words together but you can deliver something with strong narrative drive, they are all in. The prettiest prose or the most stirring themes won’t make a difference if it doesn’t deliver on the tropes and familiar structure and reader expectations for genre. I believe you’re right. I think a lot of genre readers are just looking for something to entertain them. They don’t need their books to win any literary prizes, as long as they keep them entertained. Heck, I’m this way for the most part. I don’t have time to read a lot of books, and I don’t want to wade through somebody’s idea of deathless prose to get to the story. Especially self-published books. You haven’t seen bad until you’ve seen a brand-new author trying to be “literary.” It’s painful to read. It’s not just self-pubbed stuff, though, and it’s not just bad prose. I once tried to read a book called “Space Opera” because the blurb caught me and it was on sale at BookBub. I made it about two chapters in, and the prose was _amazing_. Well-crafted, funny, just fantastic. But for me, all the literary flourishes got in the way of the story. I was spending too much time admiring the prose, and not enough getting into the story. For me, that doesn’t work. I find Stephen King hits right in the sweet spot for me–most of his books are well written, with good prose and a lot of thought, but the writing is straightforward and tells a good story. IMO, that’s what self-pubbed genre writers should aspire to. Tell the darn _story_ first, then worry about all the bells and whistles. Or don’t. In a lot of cases, telling the story is enough to get people to read your books (that, and marketing. There are a _lot_ of books out there in Kindle-land, so you have to do something to stand out from the crowd). I’ve sold over 85,000 books - almost twice that if you count Kindle page reads - and I’m not even _close_ to the success of some of the big self-published authors. When I hear from readers, what I most often hear is that they love how they can immerse themselves in the story and the world. That’s what readers (at least genre readers) mostly want. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2021, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-found-out-if-a-book-or-author-is-really-a-best-seller/939436/33 "2021-04-07T15:12:41Z")
**Modnote** : We’re really trying to discourage random sexist remarks like this one, especially when they’re pretty much off subject and add nothing to the thread. Please don’t repeat. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2021, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-found-out-if-a-book-or-author-is-really-a-best-seller/939436/34 "2021-04-07T15:26:57Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > **Modnote** : We’re really trying to discourage random sexist remarks like this one, especially when they’re pretty much off subject and add nothing to the thread. Please don’t repeat. Spice Weasel is named after a _Futurama_ reference. Spice Weasel likes _Futurama_ quotes. Spice Weasel mentioned wanting to write SF romance. I’m 99% sure Spice Weasel got the joke I was saying to Spice Weasel. It was neither random nor off-subject. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/eMbEmeu85EU/hqdefault.jpg "i find the most erotic part of a woman is the boobies") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMbEmeu85EU) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2021, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-found-out-if-a-book-or-author-is-really-a-best-seller/939436/35 "2021-04-07T15:29:46Z")
Fair enough, maybe next time include the link like your reply did. It was flagged and the flag appeared reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2021, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-found-out-if-a-book-or-author-is-really-a-best-seller/939436/36 "2021-04-07T16:08:12Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I’m 99% sure Spice Weasel got the joke I was saying to Spice Weasel. She did. 😂 I can see how taken out of context it could look bad, though. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2021, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-found-out-if-a-book-or-author-is-really-a-best-seller/939436/37 "2021-04-07T16:12:34Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > I find Stephen King hits right in the sweet spot for me–most of his books are well written, with good prose and a lot of thought, but the writing is straightforward and tells a good story. IMO, that’s what self-pubbed genre writers should aspire to. Yeah, you could do worse than using King as a model. He’s one of my favorite writers for this reason. I love genre fiction. And when I find someone who can tell a cracking good story with some artistry and depth I am delighted. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2021, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-found-out-if-a-book-or-author-is-really-a-best-seller/939436/38 "2021-04-07T17:53:17Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > I believe you’re right. I think a lot of genre readers are just looking for something to entertain them. They don’t need their books to win any literary prizes, as long as they keep them entertained. Heck, I’m this way for the most part. I don’t have time to read a lot of books, and I don’t want to wade through somebody’s idea of deathless prose to get to the story. Especially self-published books. You haven’t seen bad until you’ve seen a brand-new author trying to be “literary.” It’s painful to read. As a genre reader, I’m the same way. The story is certainly my primary concern, and I have no doubt that self-published authors with literary pretensions are probably pretty dire. My complaint is about prose that doesn’t seem to meet even minimum standards, and I see it all too often in the self-published stuff I’ve been reading. Frequent misspellings. Pronouns with no obvious antecedent. Dialogue with no speech tags, in a scene with four or five people who might be speaking. Run-on sentences so long that you completely lose track of what’s being said. Stuff like that is so difficult to read that it actively prevents me from enjoying the story. But some of these books get five star reviews on Amazon, so someone is enjoying them. Or at least claiming to. It really does give me some hope that I could have at least some success as a self-published author, if I can get my plots to be exciting enough. And do the right kind of marketing, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2021, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-found-out-if-a-book-or-author-is-really-a-best-seller/939436/39 "2021-04-07T18:05:33Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > My complaint is about prose that doesn’t seem to meet even minimum standards I don’t _think_ anybody in this thread has been saying that it’s easy to write clear, transparent prose, or that bad writing is easier to read than good writing. But if they have, they’re wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2021, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-found-out-if-a-book-or-author-is-really-a-best-seller/939436/40 "2021-04-07T18:06:05Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > It really does give me some hope that I could have at least some success as a self-published author, if I can get my plots to be exciting enough. And do the right kind of marketing, of course. I think you’ve got a good shot, if your stories are good. If you ever want any tips (I’ve been doing this for six years and have picked up quite a bit of useful knowledge tidbits), feel free to shoot me a PM. I love helping folks get started in self-publishing. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-found-out-if-a-book-or-author-is-really-a-best-seller/939436.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-found-out-if-a-book-or-author-is-really-a-best-seller/939436.md?page=3)