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 ]

Other news stories related to: "An author bought his own book to get higher on bestseller lists. Is that fair?"


The Girl on the Train lines up in first and second place

The Girl on the Train (Black Swan) has run away with both first and second place in the Official UK Top 50, according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Behind the Swedish Bestseller, 'Quicksand'

The crime novel, about a shooting in a Stockholm school, has been dominating the bestseller lists in its home country all summer and has sold in 23 territories to date. Its editor thinks it has benefited from critical praise and unusually strong publisher support. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


'Great British Bake Off' boost for booksellers

As "The Great British Bake Off" marks its last series on the BBC, ending an era, The Bookseller's charts and data editor Kiera O'Brien takes a look at how much dough books related to the programme have made via Nielsen BookScan. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


High five for Cursed Child in book chart

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Little, Brown) has racked up five weeks as the Official UK Top 50 number one—but the gap is closing. According to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market, the playscript sold 36,485 copies for £455,824, just 7,503 units above runner-up The Girl on the Train... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


'Cursed Child' gives Rowling her 75th number one

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Little, Brown) has snatched the Official Top 50 number one for a fourth week, according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Blanca Rosa Roca: An Independent Publisher in Spain’s Recovery

While Spain's market may never recoup the 40% of sales lost in the recession, Blanca Rosa Roca counts herself a survivor in a recession-ravaged marketplace. The post Blanca Rosa Roca: An Independent Publisher in Spain’s Recovery appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Rowling keeps rolling: Cursed Child claims third straight number one

J K Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Little, Brown) once again easily triumphed at the top of the charts, shifting 86,525 units last week through Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Behind the Italian Bestseller, 'The Catholic School'

This 1,000-plus-page novel, based on an infamous murder that rocked Rome in the 1970s, has been on the bestseller list in Italy for 22 weeks now. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Mass Merchants Feel the Love from 'Cursed Child'

Mass merchandisers accounted for 33% of the first week sales of 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts 1 & 2,' according to Nielsen BookScan. The uptick was a much needed boost for the embattled retail channel. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Cursed Child racks up biggest single-week sales since Deathly Hallows

J K Rowling and Jack Thorne’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Little, Brown) has become the fourth fastest-selling title of all time, with 847,886 copies worth £8.76m shifted through Nielsen BookScan's Total Consumer Market last week, making it 2016's biggest selling title of the year in just... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Canadian Indie Could Have Unexpected Hit with New Book on Trees

A book that has topped Germany's bestseller list for the past year is poised to be a North American bestseller for the Canadian small press, Greystone Books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Voyeur's Motel by Gay Talese – digested read

‘Gerald and I looked through the vents and saw a male having intercourse. I noted that Gerald ejaculated at 7.51pm’I know a married man with two children who bought a 21-room motel near Denver many years ago in order to become its resident voyeur. I first became aware of this individual in 1980... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


iBooks Bestsellers: Kendall Ryan's Indie 'Hitched' Hits #1

Ryan, who previously hit the 'New York Times' bestseller list with 'Screwed,' took the top spot on the iBooks list with the first title in her Imperfect Love series. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Behind the German Bestseller, 'Unterleuten'

The latest novel by the lauded German author Juli Zeh has spent over 15 weeks on the 'Der Spiegel' bestseller list, after drawing strong early reactions from critics and booksellers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-07-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


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 ]
More news stories like this


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 ]
More news stories like this


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 ]
More news stories like this


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 ]
More news stories like this


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 ]
More news stories like this


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 ]
More news stories like this