With all those caveats in mind and not including e book sales, here are the 21 bestselling books of all time, as far as we can tell. Today, she is the author of dozens of selfpublished books, which have collectively sold more than 800,000 copies. This page provides lists of bestselling individual books and book series to date and in any language. Oct 24, 2017 a typical book author barely makes more than minimum wage. I am looking for statistcs on the number of books they have sold to get an idea of readership. Best selling refers to the estimated number of copies sold of all fiction books. A survey from the authors guild reveals a 30 percent decline in author income. Although written for teenage readers, it is one of those books that can and should crossover into the adult market. Although it is impossible to obtain exact figures, there is little doubt that the bible is the worlds bestselling and most widely distributed book. Jan 16, 2019 over the years, the book industry has remained a massive, greatly influential global consumer market.
As of june 2017, the series has been translated into 80. The first novel in the series, harry potter and the philosophers stone, has sold in excess of 120 million copies, making it one of the bestselling books of all time. Its the time of year when i report on my book sales and reflect on what i could do better. To see copies sold for an individual book, click the orange triangle next to the all books heading and select an individual book. With all those caveats in mind and not including ebook sales, here are. A typical book author barely makes more than minimum wage. Books that identify first editions for the rareused book trade, such as first printings of american authors wilson quarto ps88. Any thoughs on how i can determine these numbers, for any author really. It covers a breakdown by vendor, format, genre, country, and author name. Thats not the lived experience of the 99% in writing and publishing. Amazons most sold charts rank books according to the number of copies sold and preordered through, amazon books stores, and books read through digital subscription programs once a customer has read a certain percentage roughly the length of a free reading sample. Why sales numbers dont matter much for your first novel. She is also hal elrods business partner for the miracle morning bestselling book.
This is a list of bestselling fiction authors to date, in any language. When it comes to book sales, what counts as success might. Check biographies of the author and bibliographies of works about him or her. This research was conducted in 2001, therefore it is safe to assume that these figures will be much higher by now, 15 years later. Horror master stephen king, with more than 50 titles, has also sold an estimated 350 million books. To keep the list manageable, only authors with estimated sales of at least 100 million are included. When it comes to book sales, what counts as success might surprise you. Books in a series tend to hit sales critical mass at book three, according to.
Dec 28, 2016 horror master stephen king, with more than 50 titles, has also sold an estimated 350 million books. If you just want the free tool that does it, then here you go. Penn than i have nonfiction, but the larger revenue comes from joanna penn books. Floridas governor orders a mandatory evacuation, and most residents board up their houses and flee to the mainland, but bruce decides to stay and ride out the storm. At all costs by davy fitzgerald and vincent hogan was the most po. This page includes a list of the 25 bestselling books of alltime as well as the 25 bestselling book series of alltime. How this selfpublished author sold 800,000 copies of her books. One question that most authors dont know to ask is, how do i get the lccn. The sales price is what the publisher sells it for to the wholesaler, distributor, book club or. Jun 24, 2019 if you take the above authors and their 51 titles, they averaged 12,455 lifetime copies sold for each book published. As for amazon, one investigation from publishers weekly estimates a book would need to sell almost 1,100 copies every day to land a spot on the sites top five. Number 524 of 1,050 copies signed by the author in volume i. There are all kinds of statistics bouncing around out there, but generally speaking, most selfpublished authors will likely sell around 250 books or. From the order author copies page, add the highest number of copies possible.
Having sold more than 500 million copies worldwide, harry potter by j. For the record, the excluded books have sold an estimated hundreds of millions of copies each several billion, in the bibles case and would have taken most of the top positions on the list. The 21 bestselling books of all time howstuffworks. Tucker has sold over 5 million books as a 4x nyt bestselling author and is the cofounder of scribe.
Best selling books of all time 100 books goodreads. But if all their books only sold 10,000 copies, they might struggle financially. Most authors do not make any money off of actual book sales because most books do not earn out. Whenever a customer wants a book, the sales person inputs the title and author and the system searches the list and displays whether it is. The retail price is the suggested price on the back of the book. Book prices depend on whether the title is fiction or nonfiction, word count, format and the anticipated market for the book. Seamus heaneys 100 poems sold a remarkable 17,000 copies, while john connells memoir the cow book 12,329. This french book about china also includes maps of korea and tibet. Good questionits the library of congress number that shows that you exist, and the one that any library that you are pitching your book to wants to know you have. Oct 10, 2017 today, she is the author of dozens of selfpublished books, which have collectively sold more than 800,000 copies.
What selfpublished authors need to know about taxes. Bestselling books are ranked by number of copies sold, not my personal ratings. I hope you find this article useful for your own author business, at whatever stage youre at. The book was on the new york times bestseller list for over 100 weeks, has sold over seven million copies, and has been made into a muchawarded film. This page provides lists of bestselling individual books and book series to date and in any. By 2011, rowling had sold 450 million or so harry potter books source. Everything you wanted to know about book sales but were afraid. I have significantly more fiction books in total under j. A book shop maintains the inventory of books that are being sold at the shop. Meet the elite group of authors who sell 100 million books.
The total number of copies print, ebook and audio sold by author helen bryan, whose two historical novels, war brides and the sisterhood, were put. The sales price is what the publisher sells it for to the wholesaler, distributor, book club or bulk purchase customer. I dont want to talk about the big, bad book numbers that all of you see in. How can i find out the number of books sold by a certain. That figure doesnt even cover the cost of quality editing. A survey by the bible society concluded that around 2.
If you have more than one book in your bibliography, the sales info tab defaults to an all books view, which displays the total number of copies of your entire bibliography sold. Besides the author has a pleasant style, chapters are short and the book is so interesting, the reader is eager to know how it ends. Sold is a devastating little book written in free verse. The percentage may rise with the number of copies sold, such as 10 percent for the first 5,000 books sold and 12. Also, it is worth noting that some religious and political books such as the bible, quran, and quotations from chairman mao are believed to. Usa todays bestselling books list ranks the 150 topselling titles each week based on an analysis of sales from u. In fact, by the time you finish reading this sentence, a few hundred more harry potters and cat in the hats have been sold. Over the years, the book industry has remained a massive, greatly influential global consumer market. Once you have reached this level of success, its time to consult. How to really make money as a book author even if you dont. Book, authors, original language, first published, approximate sales, genre. I make my average author rank on paper to be around 3,000 for the two weeks, while my average author rank on kindle is around 1,900. My 2018 breakdown of book sales by format, genre, vendor.
How this selfpublished author sold 800,000 copies of her. You receive an advance and 10% royalties on net profit from each book. Abebooks most expensive sales of 2016 shop for books. Jul 03, 2016 coming in at number one is the highest selling little golden book and highest selling childrens story of all time with sales exceeding 14,898,341 individual sales as of 2001. The book is very interesting, one can see that the author did a lot of research on the subject. Converts amazon sales rank but if you would like to learn more about i. How to retrieve the number of copies sold for a specific book. Best selling refers to the estimated number of copies sold of all fiction books written or cowritten by an author. Sep 17, 2015 i dont want to talk about the big, bad book numbers that all of you see in the media and know are good. Where can i find book sales figures for individual titles. There are bestselling authors, and then there are megabestselling authors. If you take the above authors and their 51 titles, they averaged 12,455 lifetime copies sold for each book published.
Many authors report seeing a tipping point in their sales trends. Top 20 alltime best selling childrens books amreading. How to really make money as a book author even if you don. While finding precise sales numbers for any given author is nearly impossible, the list is based on approximate numbers provided or repeated by reliable sources. Books such as john grishams the whistler and kings end of watch are now doing great business. Amazons most read charts rank titles by the average. There are all kinds of statistics bouncing around out there, but generally speaking, most selfpublished authors will likely sell around 250 books or less. In some cases of famous authors, researchers may have already determined this information. Jan 27, 2007 i am looking for statistcs on the number of books they have sold to get an idea of readership. I dont want to talk about the big, bad book numbers that all of you see in the media and know are good. I know, for instance, that these books can by purchased on the shelf at borders, so i am assuming there is a supply and demand here.
If you want to order more than 999 copies, place separate orders. Given the author rankings and the number of books and kindle ebooks the author is selling, i could work out a pretty good graph of the overall amazon ecosystem for making a living as an author. Unfortunatelly, the book ends with lakshmis liberation, but. I remember one author had sold four copies in twelve months and i.
The ten awful truths and the ten wonderful truths about book. Robinson says the landscape for writers has changed in many ways. If you receive a quantity limit message that prevents you from ordering up to 999 copies. One author reports that he sold 4,000 copies of broken piano for president to hold number six on amazons bestseller list for a week in 20. Three weeks later, susan sold the help to amy einhorn books. My 2018 breakdown of book sales by format, genre, vendor and. The author receives that money upfront, and nothing else until the book has sold more than.
Unfortunatelly, the book ends with lakshmis liberation, but there is more i would have liked to have known. The wise author applies for the lccn before the book is printed. We say or so because trying to corral the sales figure of a book is like trying to capture a golden snitch during a round of quidditch. Best selling refers to the estimated number of copies sold of each book. Just as bruce cable s bay books is preparing for the return of bestselling author mercer mann, hurricane leo veers from its predicted course and heads straight for the island. Thus i usually say that the average book sells 10,000 copies with a major publisher. Entitled the ten awful truths about book publishing, heres what it said. The list includes details such as author, title, price, publisher and stock position. Best selling refers to the estimated number of copies sold of all fiction books written or cowritten by an. Can you tell how many copies of a book have been sold by. You can use novelrank and titlez to track amazon ranking changes on books, which is updated hourly and is a good. The first novel in the series, harry potter and the sorcerers stone, has sold in excess of 120 million copies, making it one of the bestselling books of all time.
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