The New York Times Best Seller list

• 1. Origins And Evolution

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  The first New York Times Best Seller list appeared on the 12th of October 1931. It listed five fiction and four nonfiction books for New York City only. The next month, the list expanded to eight cities, each with its own ranking. By the early 1940s, fourteen city-lists were included in the publication. A national list was created on the 9th of April 1942, as a supplement to the Sunday Book Review edition. This national list ranked books based on how many times they appeared in the city lists. Eventually, the city lists were eliminated, leaving only the national ranking compiled from reports of leading booksellers in 22 cities. In the 1950s, the Times list became the leading best-seller list monitored by book professionals alongside Publishers Weekly. Shopping-mall chain bookstores like B. Dalton, Crown Books, and Waldenbooks rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s. These chains used the best-selling status of titles to market books rather than just measuring sales. They placed increased emphasis on the New York Times list for both readers and sellers.

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• 2. Methodology And Mechanics

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  Editors in the News Surveys department compile the list, not the Book Review staff. The process relies on weekly sales reports from selected samples of independent and chain bookstores and wholesalers throughout the United States. Sales figures are widely believed to represent retail purchases rather than wholesale transactions. The exact method for compiling data is classified as a trade secret. Book Review staff editor Gregory Cowles stated that the method remains secret to protect their product and prevent people from rigging the system. Even within the Book Review, editors do not know the precise methods used by the News Surveys department. In 1992, the survey encompassed over 3,000 bookstores plus representative wholesalers with more than 28,000 other retail outlets including variety stores and supermarkets. By 2004, the number reached 4,000 bookstores alongside an unstated number of wholesalers. Data adjustments give more weight to independent bookstores which remain underrepresented in the sample. The lists divide among fiction and nonfiction, print and e-book, paperback and hardcover categories. Each list contains between 15 to 20 titles.

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• 3. Genre Expansion And Format

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  The Advice, How-To, and Miscellaneous list debuted as five entries on the 1st of January 1984. It was created because advice best-sellers were crowding the general nonfiction list. Its inaugural number one bestseller was The Body Principal by Victoria Principal. That title had been number 10 and number 12 on the nonfiction lists for the two preceding weeks. In July 2000, the Children's Best Sellers list was created after the Harry Potter series stayed in top spots for an extended period. The children's list printed monthly until the 13th of February 2011 when it changed to weekly publication. September 2007 saw the paperback fiction list divided into trade and mass-market sections. This division gave more visibility to trade paperbacks often reviewed by the newspaper itself. November 2010 announced tracking of e-book best-seller lists starting early 2011. RoyaltyShare, a San Diego-based company, provided e-book data aggregation services. Two new e-book lists first published with the 13th of February 2011 issue tracked combined print and e-book sales separately from pure e-book sales. A third web-only list tracked combined print sales across all platforms. the 16th of December 2012 split the children chapter books list into middle-grade ages 8-12 and young adult age 12-18 categories.

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• 4. Manipulation And Controversy

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  In 1956 author Jean Shepherd created the fake novel I Libertine to demonstrate how easily lists could be manipulated based on demand. Fans planted references to the book so widely that claims emerged about its presence on the Times list. Author Jacqueline Susann personally bought large quantities of her own book Valley of the Dolls to butter-up reporting booksellers. Wayne Dyer purchased thousands of copies of Your Erroneous Zones while Al Neuharth had his Gannett Foundation buy two thousand copies of his autobiography Confessions of an S.O.B. In 1995 authors Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema spent $200,000 to buy ten thousand copies of The Discipline of Market Leaders from dozens of bookstores. They denied wrongdoing though the book spent 15 weeks on the list. As a result of this scandal the Times began placing dagger symbols next to titles with bulk orders. Companies like ResultSource contract with authors to manipulate bestseller lists through campaigns. In August 2017 a young adult fiction book Handbook for Mortals by previously unpublished author Lani Sarem was removed from the No. 1 spot after investigations revealed unusual bulk ordering patterns.

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• 5. Legal Battles And Precedent

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  In 1983 author William Peter Blatty sued The New York Times for $6 million claiming his book Legion filmed as The Exorcist III should have been included due to high sales. The Times countered that the list was not mathematically objective but rather an editorial product protected under the Constitution as free speech. Blatty appealed to the Supreme Court which declined to hear the case. The lower court ruling stood that the list is editorial content not objective factual content giving the Times legal right to exclude books. In 1999 Amazon.com announced a 50% price decrease for books on the Best Seller List to beat competition Barnes & Noble. After a legal dispute Amazon was permitted to keep using the list only if displayed in alphabetical rather than numerical order. By 2010 Amazon now displays the best-seller list in order of best-selling titles first. A 2024 investigation by The Economist concluded the list was likely politically biased reporting accusations against conservative books may have merit. Conservative publisher Regnery Publishing said in August 2017 it would no longer allow writers to claim bestseller status believing the Times favors liberal books.

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• 6. Industry Impact And Bias

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  A Stanford Graduate School of Business analysis suggests most book buyers use the Times list as a signal of what worth reading. The study concluded lesser-known writers get the biggest benefit from being on the list while perennial bestsellers like John Grisham or Danielle Steel see no additional sales benefit. Since the 1970s publishers created escalator clauses stipulating authors receive extra money if their book makes the list based on ranking and duration. Authors can also charge higher speaking fees for bestseller status. With so much at stake enormous marketing effort goes into getting access to this major tool. In July 2015 Ted Cruz's book A Time For Truth was excluded because overwhelming evidence showed limited strategic bulk purchases artificially increased entry onto the list. Cruz called the Times a liar demanding an apology though the publication stood by its statement. In 2019 Donald Trump Jr.'s book Triggered reached the list through approximately $100,000 in behind-the-scenes bulk purchases meant to pump up numbers illegitimately. Vanity Fair reported October 2020 that gaming the system has been common among American conservative political figures using campaign funds to boost ranks.

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