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The weekly bestseller list in the New York Times has been a staple of the paper for almost 70 years now. Every Sunday, authors, publishers and readers eagerly turn to the bestseller list page in the “Book Review” section to see which books and authors have been the top-selling the previous week. An appearance on the New York Times bestseller list is a cause for celebration amongst authors and publishing houses as it is a guarantee of increased sales. This is particularly so in the case of new or relatively unknown authors.
The New York Times bestseller lists do not reflect actual sales of the books. Instead they are derived sales on the basis of the sales of a representative sample of booksellers drawn from across different geographies and having different demographics. It also includes the sales from some websites.
The New York Times bestseller list is divided into a fiction and a non-fiction section. These are further divided into hardcover sales and paperback sales. Each section contains the 15 top-selling books of the previous week. Two relatively new sections in the NY Times bestseller list are the children’s bestseller list and the advice books list.
The New York Times bestseller list has faced a range of criticism in the past. One is that the bestseller list does not necessarily capture the best books in the market. The NYT’s response to this has been that the list was never meant to do this but merely reflect what books have sold have more. The bigger threat has come from the explosion of bestseller lists as almost every newspaper, magazine or bookstore has started one of its own. Despite this however, the New York Times bestseller list has held its own. This is partly a result of the fact that it is tremendously accessible to readers as well as a reflection of the level of trust it has built in its readers minds.
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