I’m at the storied Arts & Letters Club in Toronto for a discussion on what drives book sales. Is it best seller lists, or good reviews?
But the most controversial issue to come out of the discussion — for me, at least — is the assertion by Noah Genner, president and CEO of BookNet Canada, that even the New York Times’ vaunted Best Seller lists are often “editorialized.” This means, he said, that they omit books whose sales would qualify them to be on the list, based on their editorial judgments of what really belongs there.
Here’s part of the current Times Best Seller list, as posted on the Times’ web site:
Hardcover Fiction
Top 5 at a Glance
1. THE LOST SYMBOL, by Dan Brown
2. THE SCARPETTA FACTOR, by Patricia Cornwell
3. PURSUIT OF HONOR, by Vince Flynn
4. NINE DRAGONS, by Michael Connelly
5. THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett
Hardcover Nonfiction
Top 5 at a Glance
1. HAVE A LITTLE FAITH, by Mitch Albom
2. SUPERFREAKONOMICS, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
3. WHAT THE DOG SAW, by Malcolm Gladwell
4. TOO BIG TO FAIL, by Andrew Ross Sorkin
5. ARGUING WITH IDIOTS, written and edited by Glenn Beck, Kevin Balfe and others.
Fool me, here I thought Best Seller Lists were based on actual sales reports from booksellers.
Maybe this is why another panelist, the redoubtable Toronto bookseller Ben McNally, called the lists “idiocies” that are either “worthless” or “useless.”
The lone book reviewer on the panel, Geoff Pevere of the Toronto Star, conceded that lists are becoming “news in their own right.” He said people want information in such short bursts that lists of things are becoming replacements for stories about those same subjects.
Trevor Dayton of the big bookseller Chapters/Indigo, said he thought Best Seller Lists contributed to the “cultural conversation” by offering people something to talk about “around the office water cooler.”
And he made no apology for their front of store displays of these titles. “What else would we do?”
The discussion, sponsored by the Canadian Book and Periodical Council as part of its Idea Exchange series, was meant to settle the question of what most drives book sales.
But it was left to Kim McArthur, president of publisher McArthur & Company, to pin it down as to the most powerful sales tool for books.
It’s personal appearances by authors, she said.
If you want to sell books, go on author tours.
Her view was reinforced by Trevor Dayton. He said they get a spike in sales whenever an author appears on radio or TV, especially the CBC or, in Toronto, on the popular CITY-TV outlet.
Genner also slammed the Maclean’s magazine lists. BookNet, the industry tracker of book sales in Canada, takes in data from 11,000 retailers and uses these numbers to compile its own best Seller list. But one-quarter of the market (especially Walmart) is still not participating.
And another thing: Throughout all this discussion of books, best sellers, and awards, Margaret Atwood’s name was never mentioned!
Filed under: Books, media | Tagged: Best Seller lists, Book & Periodical Council, BookNet Canada, Chapters/Indigo, New York Times List
