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Author Topic: The Bestseller's List: An Intriguing Article
Lullaby Lady
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I've often wondered what makes a book a "Best-Seller." Here's the "poop," people!

http://www.humorwriters.org/Kacksonlists.html


Posts: 212 | Registered: Dec 2003  | Report this post to a Moderator
Phanto
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Intriguing!
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djvdakota
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Well! What a revelation. I'm going to write my local paper to see if they'll consider publishing a more accurate listing than the NYTimes.
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Kolona
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What that tells me is that book sellers have a power they're not using. If they actually added the titles that are sellling well but not in the pre-ordained list, the final product might be worth something.
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EricJamesStone
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It sounds like they are still using a pre-20th Century technique.

What major bookstore these days doesn't track sales of books via computer? If the New York Times wanted an accurate list, I'm sure the actual sales information could be collected and aggregated, and it would probably be easier than the current method.


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Survivor
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EJS has hit on the key problem. "If the New York Times wanted an accurate list," it would be simple for them to use any of a number of far more accurate methods.
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JK
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Wow. Another piece of my naivity falls away.

JK


Posts: 503 | Registered: Sep 2000  | Report this post to a Moderator
Kolona
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Are there two JK's here? One Mr. "Improper spelling bugs the hell out of me" and one Mr. Naivity?
(Sorry, I couldn't resist. )

Posts: 1810 | Registered: Jun 2002  | Report this post to a Moderator
   

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