An author bought his own book to get higher on bestseller lists. Is that fair?

Author Mark Dawson has attracted criticism after bulk buying his own book gave him a high chart position. But that isn’t breaking any rulesFor any author, being able to describe yourself as a bona fide bestseller is key to conferring your career with a certain gravitas – and will often bring you even more sales. In the UK, while most book charts are tallied by Nielsen BookScan, the Sunday Times bestseller list – like the New York Times chart in the US – has become the gold standard. But making the bestseller list isn’t necessarily as straightforward as tallying sales. Not all is fair in romance and war (and other genres) when it comes to getting to the top of the charts.Take the case of Mark Dawson, a British writer who just over a week ago hit No 8 on the Sunday Times hardback list with his thriller The Cleaner, released by the independent publisher Welbeck at the end of June. This is a great achievement for any author or small publishing house, but Dawson had done something remarkable: he bought 400 copies of his own book, at a cost of £3,600, to push his sales high enough to make the top 10. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2020-07-20 15:59:35 UTC ]

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Novella by Saddam Hussein gets English translation

Described by publisher as ‘a mix between Game of Thrones and the UK House of Cards-style fiction’, the book is due out in DecemberA novella written by Saddam Hussein, and finished in the lead-up to the 2003 Iraq war, is set to be translated into English for the first time by a UK... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Joy for Moyes as After You leapfrogs Joe Wicks' The Shape Plan

Jojo Moyes has toppled clean eating behemoth Joe Wicks, as After You (Penguin), the sequel to bestseller Me Before You (Michael Joseph), sold 53,867 copies for £214,008 to hit the Official UK Top 50 number one spot, according to Nielsen BookScan’s TCM. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Joe Wicks earns eleventh number one

Joe “The Body Coach” Wicks’ second title Lean in 15: The Shape Plan (Bluebird) has scored a second consecutive week in the Official UK Top 50 number one spot, according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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iBooks Bestsellers: Thor's 'Foreign Agent' is #1

Brad Thor's latest Scot Horvath novel, 'Foreign Agent,' took the top spot on the iBooks U.S. bestseller list for the week ended June 19. Jojo Moyes' 'After You' came in at #2. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-06-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Walliams derails Hawkins for 14th number one

David Walliams has claimed his 14th Official UK Top 50 number one, as The World’s Worst Children (HarperCollins) shunted Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train (Black Swan) off the top spot, selling 64,137 copies for £441,875 through Nielsen BookScan's Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This Week's Bestsellers: May 30, 2016

A pair of on-air personalities make the leap from broadcasting to the bestseller lists this week. Plus Pulitzer Prize winner Siddhartha Mukherjee returns with ‘The Gene,” Bram Stoker Award Winner Joe Hill introduces readers to ‘The Fireman,’ and much more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Haynes to axe 17% of workforce due to falling sales

Independent publisher of user manuals Haynes is to close its US and Swedish bases and axe 41 jobs due to falling demand for print manuals. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Girl on the Train is tops again, steams towards one million mark

The Girl on the Train (Black Swan) has run away with the Official UK Top 50 number one spot for a second week, selling 89,852 copies for £347,113, according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. This is a 51.9% increase in volume on its first week at the top. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2016: Mass Media Is Dead. Long Live Micromedia

Remember the days when getting an author in the New York Times, on the Today show, Oprah, or, for us old-timers, Carson practically guaranteed a spot on the bestseller list? Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Zoella is top of the vloggers

Twelve vloggers have collectively racked up sales of more than £15m in the UK in just 18 months, according to figures from Nielsen BookScan. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This Week's Bestsellers: April 25, 2016

From Broadway to bookstores: the #2 book in the country is ‘Hamilton' by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter. Plus Gwyneth Paltrow’s latest lifestyle title launches a new brand for Grand Central, Oprah Winfrey helps Cheryl Strayed onto the bestseller list six months after publication, and... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-04-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lee Child makes it two weeks at number one

Lee Child’s Make Me (Bantam) has held the number one spot for a second consecutive week, selling 36,697 copies for £138,058, according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Behind the Spanish Bestseller, 'All My Futures Are With You'

A book of poetry by singer-songwriter Marwan has now spent over 43 weeks on the bestseller lists in Spain thanks, in part, to the star's social media following. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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‘Mein Kampf,’ ‘The Defector’ Tops in Germany

A number of new titles hit the top of the bestseller lists in major European markets at the end of February. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Roald Dahl scores first number one in book chart

Roald Dahl has scored his first ever Official Top 50 number one, as World Book Day title The Great Mouse Plot (Puffin) leapfrogged Cavan Scott’s The Escape: Star Wars (Egmont). The Great Mouse Plot, illustrated by Quentin Blake, sold 32,096 copies for £32,096, according to Nielsen BookScan’s... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Singapore's Monsoon Books opens UK branch

Monsoon Books, the independent publisher of English-language books based in Singapore, has opened an office in the UK for its editorial and marketing teams. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Weekly Scorecard: Tracking Unit Print Sales for the Week Ending February 28, 2016

Unit sales of print books rose 5% in the week ended Feb. 28, 2016, over the similar week last year, at outlets that report to Nielsen BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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TV War and Peace puts Tolstoy's book on bestseller list for first time

Epic novel, whose length has long discouraged readers, has made it on to the Bookseller’s top 50 after the BBC’s acclaimed new adaptationBritain is racing to address the fact that only 4% of Britons have read War and Peace, with Leo Tolstoy’s doorstopping epic entering the UK’s book charts for... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Six for Wicks as Lean in 15’s reign continues

Joe “The Body Coach” Wicks has racked up six weeks as the UK Official Top 50 number one, as Lean in 15 (Bluebird) sold 35,694 copies for £286,235, according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Illustrator chart: Ross biggest draw in 2015

Tony Ross was the biggest selling children’s illustrator in the UK in 2015, with value sales of his books totalling more than £9m, according to data from Nielsen BookScan. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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