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Non-Fiction
In reply to the discussion: Has anyone read the new James Patterson memoir "Stories of My Life" ? [View all]anobserver2
(923 posts)53. How to Get On NYT Best Seller List
How does one get a book on the NY Times best seller list? There is a lot of information out there about this -- but I can't find the link I found a long time ago and really liked, so I will just post this one for now, which is actually pretty good, too.
https://scribemedia.com/get-best-seller-list/
Excerpt:
...And then William Blatty wrote a novel called The Exorcist (which has sold 10 million copies and became a famous movie). It sold more than enough copies to be high on the list for a long time, but initially did not appear on it.
He rightly claimed that the New York Times was intentionally excluding it for editorial reasonsthe book was considered very controversial at the timeand claimed that their decision was costing him millions of dollars in sales.
He lost the case. Why?
Because the New York Times defense was that the list did not purport to be an object compilation of information but instead was an editorial product.
The New York Times won the case, in multiple rulings all the way up to the Supreme Court, based on the argument that the list is not supposed to be accurate, but reflects their judgment.
It is a valid legal argument but it also means The New York Times admitted that their bestseller list is just a popularity contest, and not a list of best selling books.
In essence, they select who they will and wont put in the cool kids club. Its like high school all over again.
-------
The other article I liked talked about: how the NY Times wants the author to be a "leader" in their field, and other criteria along those lines, meaning: what tasks you have to do BESIDES selling your books. (I never knew you had to do ANYTHING besides selling your books!)
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Has anyone read the new James Patterson memoir "Stories of My Life" ? [View all]
anobserver2
Jun 2022
OP
It seems he has promoted two versions of the structure of his writing factory
anobserver2
Jun 2022
#14
PS Here's the NY Post article about the lawsuit a writer filed against Patterson
anobserver2
Jun 2022
#16
Also: Patterson's new memoir makes no mention of any lawsuit against him by a writer
anobserver2
Jun 2022
#17
Two organizations for writers in the writing factory - Author's Guild and National Writers Union
anobserver2
Jun 2022
#18
When I have time I will write a list of discrepencies I found in this memoir
anobserver2
Jun 2022
#8
From June 20, 2022 New Yorker magazine: "How James Patterson Became the World's Best-Selling Author"
anobserver2
Jun 2022
#26
Deception #11 in Memoir: Money, and Pages 120-121 - "the fine art of negociating"
anobserver2
Jun 2022
#41