tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12158536.post4120272617760814844..comments2024-03-17T03:17:43.229-04:00Comments on David Anthony Durham: I Know A Cat That's Rocking the NY Bestseller List - But What Does That Actually Mean?...David Anthony Durhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13885922955551669016noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12158536.post-76684818421787377802008-05-21T10:14:00.000-04:002008-05-21T10:14:00.000-04:00Paranoyd,Yeah, I'm always siked when he posts here...Paranoyd,<BR/><BR/>Yeah, I'm always siked when he posts here. He's done so a few times, and each time I'm surprised to discover HE reads MY blog! Of course, he's so connected and wired that he must read tons of blogs. But it's cool to be one of them.<BR/><BR/>Conspiracy theories in publishing? You bet.<BR/><BR/>Very cool that you're going to WisCon. I'll see you there!<BR/><BR/>OK, gotta go. I'm off to San Francisco (with family) to meet up with my French publicist (with kid)! Family and business and San Francisco and things European... Nice way to spend the day...David Anthony Durhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13885922955551669016noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12158536.post-74127711745066088412008-05-20T20:36:00.000-04:002008-05-20T20:36:00.000-04:00First off - Scalzi posting on your blog? Very cool...First off - Scalzi posting on your blog? Very cool. When you, David, posted on MY blog, I was over the moon. I know you admire Scalzi, so I can only imagine you feel similarly whenever he does it. It's nice to know someone as busy as he is takes the time to lend a hand and a comment to those on the way up. (I, of course, speak of popularity, not talent. You have probably written as many words in Acacia as he did in the whole OMW/TGB/TLC series. And I'm sure Acacia did/is doing very well in hardcover and foreign markets. But Scalzi is, well, Scalzi. We should all be lucky to have Sclazi level of popularity.)<BR/><BR/>Second, these are interesting links I will peruse later at my leisure. Working at a book store, I often asked about how books could be on the bestseller list before they were released. It apparently had something to do with the number of units ordered or some such. Personally, I think it is a title that the agents wrangle for to position the books better to make more sales, but then, I AM a conspiracy theorist, so there you go. <BR/><BR/>Lastly, you will be at WisCon? Very cool. I am going for the first time, with the wife and baby. She has been going for a while, and talked me into it. I have to admit to being a bit nervous because I find myself at odds with many feminist views (or rather, they find themselves at odds with me, even when I think I am agreeing) and don't want her to be ostracized by her friends for marring "That Guy." <BR/><BR/>Anyway, I'll see you there. Maybe, just maybe, I'll buy a hardcover and get you to sign it. But I probably won't read it till I get the MM. I've had a number of books in hardcover for years and never cracked them open, including Scalzi's own The Androids Dream.Corby Kennardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06891081576090200925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12158536.post-69000811911837633342008-05-20T12:41:00.000-04:002008-05-20T12:41:00.000-04:00Hi John,Yeah, that does help in that it adds a few...Hi John,<BR/><BR/>Yeah, that does help in that it adds a few more personally confirmed pieces to this puzzle. <BR/><BR/>Nice sales for The Book of the Dumb, by the way...David Anthony Durhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13885922955551669016noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12158536.post-79167673614687063092008-05-20T09:14:00.000-04:002008-05-20T09:14:00.000-04:00Some reasons for the confusion:a) Different bestse...Some reasons for the confusion:<BR/><BR/>a) Different bestseller lists use different criteria for their listings, not necessarily relating to total sales;<BR/><BR/>b) Total sales are hard to track because BookScan (which tracks weekly sales)doesn't include some high volume sales channels (like, say, Wal-Mart). <BR/><BR/>This essentially means that on actual sales, no one knows anything until the publishers tally up sales at the end of each royalty reporting period. When they are tallied up, there's often a disconnect, based on sales from non-reporting retail.<BR/><BR/>For example, the BookScan numbers for my 2003 book The Book of the Dumb stand at 36,000 or so (or did the last time I had a friend of mine who has BookScan access check for me). My publisher, however, reports sales of more than 80,000. The reason for the discrepancy? They sell tons of the book (literally; they're shipped in bulk) at Costco and Sam's Club. The discrepancy with my Tor work is not as pronounced, but it's still there. <BR/><BR/>The NYT list is based on some equation that as I understand it factors in both BookSense sales and also reporting from specific bookstores. If you want to know which bookstores, follow the stops of the book tours of famous authors and see where they land in each city. It also works this way for Locus bestsellers, which is why SF/F tours tend to stop at certain bookstores as well. <BR/><BR/>Hope that helps.John Scalzihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17663519449786809686noreply@blogger.com