I did a search on the topic just now, and saw that OSC has said that he would rather not post sales figures, as a particularly creepy person might calculate OSC's total income from this. This is perfectly understandable, of course. But I think it would be interesting to see the books ranked based on their sales, without actually giving us the exact figures. Something like:
1. Ender's Game 2. ... Okay, I don't actually know what #2 would be. But we all get the idea.
Pretty please? Just the Top 10 or something, so it doesn't take an entire day to put together. And in return, I'll take you out for ice cream next time you're in the Madison area. It'll probably have to be like, McDonald's ice cream, though, on my income. And make sure you eat it all at once, 'cause if you put it in the freezer, it starts frothing, for reasons I don't want to think about.
By the way, if this has already been done, or already been suggested and shot down, someone just tell me to shut my stupid face and I'll be on my way.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Hey, Jiminy, where are you in Madison?
Posted by Jiminy (Member # 7917) on :
I'm on the northern end of Middleton. You a Madisonian?
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Village of Oregon, actually, just south of Fitchburg. But yes. There are quite a few Madison-area Hatrackers, in fact; we've got what we call a "clump" in this area.
Posted by Rackham (Member # 8127) on :
so.... no word on that list huh?:\
Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
I honestly don't have a running total on any of them. And do you want to include foreign sales or just U.S. editions?
It's just too hard a question to answer in accurate detail.
But it's safe to say that Ender's Game has sold the most; the Shadow books have all hit the New York Times list; Speaker sells less than EG and the Shadows, and Xenocide and Children of the Mind sell progressively fewer copies.
After that, the Alvin books sell more than my other non-Ender books; my contemporary fantasy books do very nicely (they still want to publish more of them); the Women of Genesis are selling well enough and their audience is growing; and my standalone books sell less than anything except the story collections (which notoriously sell weakly in America). My least-selling novel: Hart's Hope.
My most obscure book: Ainge, my biography of Danny Ainge, a basketball and baseball player of the 70s and 80s.
My absolute least-selling book that's still in print: An Open Book. Because it's a book of poetry, of course, and nobody buys poetry, so actually the sales figures are quite GOOD ... for poetry <grin>.
Posted by AMCSteel (Member # 6321) on :
quote:Originally posted by Orson Scott Card: and my standalone books sell less than anything except the story collections (which notoriously sell weakly in America).
Wow I find that quite odd. I myself Love story Collections. Problem is I rarely can find them in Bookstores, and I never really 'actively' look for them online. If I stumble across them I buy them.
Collections are great for quick reads. You can read a story or two in a sitting and feel completely satisfied afterwards.
I have been trying to get my Hands on "Maps in a Mirror" for some time now. Short fiction seems to be a dying art form, and the times of highly crafted and symbolic collections (like Joyce's 'Dubliners') are a thing of the past. Though I would say most writers start out with short fiction before they do novels. It’s an odd cycle.
Posted by AMCSteel (Member # 6321) on :
As a side note How do your 'writing' books sell. They have always interested me, though I have not gotten my hands on one yet
Posted by Jiminy (Member # 7917) on :
That's more-or-less what I expected. Thanks for taking the time to respond and such. Your "IOU One Large McFlurry" card is on it's way.
That tidbit about story collections notoriously selling badly in America is interesting. The Barnes & Noble where I buy most of my books has a copy of Maps in a Mirror, and it mocks me everytime I walk my moneyless little behind through the sci-fi section. As soon as I have the $17 to spare, it will be mine.
I've actually read 5 or 6 stories from it already, though. The first time I saw it there, I was intrigued, so I sat down to glance through it, and ended up leaving 2 hours later with a sudden interest in writing. It's hard for a book to have a better effect than that.
Posted by filmstar (Member # 8115) on :
I wonder why Hart's Hope is so low on the list -- I loved it.
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
My most obscure book: Ainge, my biography of Danny Ainge, a basketball and baseball player of the 70s and 80s.
What! How have I never heard of any such book! I'm assuming you were being serious, but if the content of your post was any lighter I would say you're kidding about writing a biography - especially a biography of an athlete.
However, assuming you were serious, where can I get my hands on that book?!.
I've heard Ainge's sports history alluded to on TV, but haven't heard the whole story.
Tell me you have an extra copy at the house somewhere.
Posted by DavidGill (Member # 8166) on :
Danny Ainge absolutely could not have played in the 70's. I still vividly remember when the Celtics lured him out of the Blue Jays minor league system, and that was in...um...which would make me...um....
Never mind.
Posted by Bekenn (Member # 6602) on :
Ainge is a real biography; I've seen it referenced elsewhere, though I've never seen it in print.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
quote:my standalone books sell less than anything except the story collections
That's weird. The stand-alones are some of my favorites.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:Danny Ainge absolutely could not have played in the 70's.
Not true. He was drafted into the NBA in 1981, which means that he was playing at BYU during the late 70s, early 80s.
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
quote:Danny Ainge absolutely could not have played in the 70's. I still vividly remember when the Celtics lured him out of the Blue Jays minor league system, and that was in...um...which would make me...um....
Never mind.
Read the entire post. Repeat to yourself "tongue-in-cheek" as you read. Rinse and repeat as necessary.
Posted by TL (Member # 8124) on :
What the ... ?
Posted by IanO (Member # 186) on :
Ainge is a real book. Check here Posted by Edison (Member # 7845) on :
You mention Hart's Hope is your least selling. I just bought it and Folk of the Fringe last week and started reading Folk. Should I bother to read Hart's Hope if no one else is?
Posted by Jiminy (Member # 7917) on :
If I remember right, OSC says Hart's Hope is one of his best, and a lot of the people who have read it share his opinion.
And on a related note, I just got Folk of the Fringe too, and I'ma be reading it when I'm done with Lost Boys.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:Danny Ainge absolutely could not have played in the 70's. I still vividly remember when the Celtics blah blah blah sports stuff blah blah blah
Posted by Edison (Member # 7845) on :
I was only referring to Hart's Hope in the context that OSC was stating it was the least selling. Good to hear that OSC thinks it's one of his best and I now look forward to reading it.
Posted by Craig Childs (Member # 5382) on :
OSC says:
"My most obscure book: Ainge, my biography of Danny Ainge, a basketball and baseball player of the 70s and 80s."
That's funny, I had no problem finding this book at ABEBOOKS.COM. It was very good, too, even though I don't particularly like basketball.
The books that were hard to find were LISTEN, MOM AND DAD and CARDOGRAPHY. (Actually, I found several copies of Cardography but they were limited edition and cost more than I could afford.)
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
That site was awesome! I've never heard of abebooks.com, but I love it.
Posted by Scooter (Member # 6915) on :
I'm almost finished with Hart's Hope. It has some similarities with some of the other magic-oriented books--which isn't my preferred element of such books, but I enjoy them and Hart's Hope is a good read.
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There are quite a few Madison-area Hatrackers, in fact; we've got what we call a "clump" in this area.
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