Bestselling Book Lists: New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today

Name: Bestselling Book Lists: New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today
Uploaded: 2022-10-15T21:00:20+00:00
Duration: 25 s
Channel: Sam Parr
Description: In this brief monologue, the speaker outlines the three major U.S. national bestseller lists—The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA…

15 Oct 2022 · 0 min

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In this brief monologue, the speaker outlines the three major U.S. national bestseller lists—The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today—and notes that appearing on any of them qualifies a book as a "national bestseller." He then challenges the common belief that such a listing boosts sales, arguing that, based on his extensive experience buying books and talking with other avid readers, he has never encountered anyone who purchased a book solely because they saw it on a bestseller list. Moreover, he points out that most readers are unaware of where to find these lists, suggesting that the perceived marketing power of bestseller status is largely a myth.

There's New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and then USA Today. You have to hit one of those three lists to be called a national bestseller. I think people tell themselves a story about how being on the list helps them sell more copies. But as someone who buys a lot of books and talks to a lot of people who buy a lot of books, I have never once heard of someone buying a book because they saw it on a list. Most people don't even know where they would find such a list.