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What Does a "Bestselling Book" Mean Anymore? episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 20, 2025 · 49 MIN

What Does a "Bestselling Book" Mean Anymore?

from Publishing Disrupted · host Mick Silva and David Morris

In the shifting landscape of book publishing today, how helpful is the "bestselling book" stamp of approval? As authors face increasingly challenging obstacles to recognition (and sales), is bestseller status a shortcut to fame and fortune? Or is that prize even worth it? Come along as we discuss:New York Times list is not just based on most copies sold.USA Today lists 150 titles without discrimination of type or category.Amazon's velocity-based algorithm is too easy to game. BookScan sales data tracks legitimate sales but is unavailable for most authors.Bottom line: bestseller lists often reflect manufactured buzz rather than book quality or even highest sales. And many publishing professionals don't consider bestsellers to be the best books. So what are the alternatives to focusing on bestseller lists for authors?Publishing Disrupted is at PublishingDisrupted.substack.comMick Silva is at MickSilvaEditing.substack.comDavid Morris is at dvdmorris.substack.com, LakeDriveBooks.com, and Hyponymous.com.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Aug 20, 2025

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In the shifting landscape of book publishing today, how helpful is the "bestselling book" stamp of approval? As authors face increasingly challenging obstacles to recognition (and sales), is bestseller status a shortcut to fame and fortune? Or is that prize even worth it? Come along as we discuss: New York Times list is not just based on most copies sold.USA Today lists 150 titles without discrimination of type or category.Amazon's velocity-based algorithm is too easy to game. Book...

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This episode is 49 minutes long.

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This episode was published on August 20, 2025.

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