• Skip to main content
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Interview with Steve Laube
    • Statement of Faith
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
  • Guidelines
  • Authors
    • Who We Represent
    • Awards and Recognition
  • Resources
    • Recommended Reading
    • Christian Writers Market Guide Online
    • Christian Writers Institute
    • Writers Conferences
    • Freelance Editorial Services
    • Copyright Resources
    • Research Tools
    • Selling What You Write
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Twitter
  • FaceBook
  • RSS Feed
  • Get Published
  • Book Proposals
  • Book Business
  • Writing Craft
    • Conferences
    • Copyright
    • Craft
    • Creativity
    • Grammar
  • Fun Fridays
Home » Bookselling

Bookselling

Amazon Rank Obsession

By Steve Laubeon July 30, 2018
Share
Tweet
13

Admit it. You’ve checked your Amazon.com sales ranking at least once since your book was published. You feel the need to have some outside confirmation of the sales of your book. And Amazon’s ranking are free to look at. It is one of the only public rankings available which adds to the need to look.

I’ve even seen book  proposals where the author has gone to great lengths to include the Amazon ranking for each title that is competitive with the one the author is proposing. A prodigious amount of wasted effort.

I’ve known published authors who have gone into deep depression because their Amazon numbers aren’t very good. Others will mention that their rank jumped “by 10,000 this week!” suggesting they are tracking the numbers rather closely.

Consider for a moment how those rankings are calculated. Amazon is very secretive as to the exact formula (and some have gone to great lengths to figure it out) but consider looking at it as “the number of sales in a given period of time.” Much like the bestseller lists with USA Today and the New York Times, a book has to sell x number of copies to somehow “hit the list.”

TCK Publishing has created a site to help guess what the numbers mean. (Click here for the calculator.) In the screen shot example pictured at the top of this post (The Christian Writers Market Guide – 2018 Edition. Click on the picture to enlarge it.) the paperback (not ebook) sales rank of 50,491 equals 91 sales per month or 6 in one day. That is sort of close for the month of June, but I don’t think we sold six copies on Amazon yesterday…

I know of an author who thought that they could make the number jump by asking fans to wait until a specific day and have everyone buy the book from Amazon on that day. Over 100 fans participated. The result was a nice jump but it did not come close to cracking the top 100 sales ranking that day.

It is so fluid that it is hardly worth the obsession. Amazon is only one sales outlet out of hundreds. (Albeit it is a really big one.) It doesn’t reflect sales at the local grocery store, the airport, the independent retailer in your town, Barnes & Noble and other “big box” outlets like Walmart, Mardels, Costco, or even Hobby Lobby. In that light, consider Amazon as a single snapshot of a single moment from a single sales source.

In 2016 Brent Underwood wanted to see what it would take to become a #1 bestselling author on Amazon. He took a picture of his foot. He then converted that photo into a one page ebook with, you guessed it, a photo of his foot. He titled it Putting My Foot Down. He chose the two subject categories as “Transpersonal” under Psychology and “Freemasonry” under Social Sciences. Uploaded the ebook on Amazon. Then  had three friends buy the book for 99 cents. Within hours he was a number one bestselling author. (Read the entire story here.)

The moral of that Brent Underwood story? Please avoid obsessing over your sales ranking!

To bring levity to the conversation, a husband and wife team created the following  short video that is a hilarious send up on Amazon rank obsession. Make sure you watch past the credits:

 

[An earlier version of this article, now significantly revised and updated, was posted in January 2011.]

Leave a Comment
Category: Book Business, Marketing, Publishing A-ZTag: Amazon, Bookselling, Get Published, Marketing

ICRS Observations 2016

By Steve Laubeon July 11, 2016
Share
Tweet
20

On the last week of June Dan Balow and I attended the 2016 International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) in Cincinnati. It was my 35th consecutive year attending…which only means I’m old… By now you may have heard some reports regarding the low attendance, which are true. There were only 2,114 registered attendees, nearly a 30% drop from last year. Fortunately the convention hall …

Read moreICRS Observations 2016
Category: Book Business, Conventions, ICRSTag: Book Business, Bookselling, ICRS, International Christian Retail Show Observations, Trends

Thank a Bookseller

By Steve Laubeon November 25, 2013
Share
Tweet
8

by Steve Laube

With this being Thanksgiving week I thought it appropriate to urge you to take a moment, visit your local bookseller, and say, "Thank you for supporting books!"

As I wrote elsewhere, it is tough to be in the retail side of the business. Online sales, rising rent and utilities, rising salaries, etc. are competition enough. I know many booksellers who are in the business for …

Read moreThank a Bookseller
Category: Book Business, Book Sales, Personal, SteveTag: Bookselling

News You Can Use – July 3, 2012

By Steve Laubeon July 3, 2012
Share
Tweet
2

What Retailers Know that Publishers Need to Know - Mike Shatzkin analyzes the importance of data in what is truly the "Science of Bookselling."

Your Hotel Bible is now a Kindle - This is a new one. Kindles in the nightstand in your hotel room with the Bible pre-loaded. Fascinating.

Using Evernote for Screenwriting - Brilliant adaptation of the Evernote software by Héctor Cabello …

Read moreNews You Can Use – July 3, 2012
Category: News You Can Use, SteveTag: Agents, Bookselling, Copyright, evernote, Humor

News You Can Use – Jan. 24, 2012

By Steve Laubeon January 24, 2012
Share
Tweet
4

The Secrets Behind the Bestseller List - Ever wonder how those lists are compiled? The Sacramento Bee takes a stab at uncovering the secret.

3 Important Questions about Digital that No One is Asking - Nick Atkinson adds to the ongoing discussion in a sharp manner.

Do Book Bloggers Still Matter? - Beth Kephart asks whether this form of marketing has any influence any more.

10 Bits of …

Read moreNews You Can Use – Jan. 24, 2012
Category: Book Business, News You Can Use, SteveTag: Bestsellers, Bookselling, Digital Books, E-Books, Publishing News, Trends

Bestseller List News – October 3, 2011

By Steve Laubeon October 3, 2011
Share
Tweet
1

Some of our authors have recently hit the bestseller lists! Congratulations to all.

Harvest of Grace by Cindy Woodsmall hit #22 on the tradepaper fiction New York Times extended bestseller list for August 28st. And is #2 on the ECPA "Multi-Channel" bestseller list for October.

Forbidden by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee (Center Street) hit #17 on the hardcover fiction New York Times bestseller …

Read moreBestseller List News – October 3, 2011
Category: Book Business, Get Published, News You Can Use, SteveTag: Book Business, Bookselling, Get Published, News, Trends

News You Can Use

By Steve Laubeon July 5, 2011
Share
Tweet
2

Would John Locke Be Better Off with a Traditional Publisher? - Mike Shatzkin analyzes the revenue of million copy e-book selling author John Locke. The math is fascinating. According to Shatzkin, the author is making less than $30,000 per book. It is highly likely a traditional publisher would pay him a lot more for his work. Read the post. You decide.

Twenty-five Rejection Proof Markets - A …

Read moreNews You Can Use
Category: Book Business, News You Can Use, SteveTag: Bookselling, Grammar, Marketing, Publishing News, Trends, Writing Craft

What was on Your Bestseller List?

By Steve Laubeon January 11, 2011
Share
Tweet
6

What was the bestselling novel or non-fiction book the week you were born? Follow this link to a delightful search engine on Biblioz, an Australian company. Make sure you type the date first (not the month).

It is a bit startling to see how fleeting the popularity of books can be. They were the most popular in the country at the time! But I have to admit that I don't recognize most of the …

Read moreWhat was on Your Bestseller List?
Category: Publishing A-Z, TrendsTag: Book Business, Bookselling, Personal, Trends

E-Book Sales: Behind the Stats

By Steve Laubeon July 19, 2010
Share
Tweet
15

There is mixed news with regard to book sales in May of this year. Store sales were down 2.6% but publisher sales were up by 9.8%. Read all the various stats here. Remember these are simply comparison of 2010 monthly numbers with 2009.

The biggest area of growth, percentage-wise, is in e-books (up 162.8%).

But lets look at actual dollars, not percentages.

Publisher sales (according to the …

Read moreE-Book Sales: Behind the Stats
Category: E-Books, Publishing A-Z, TrendsTag: Bookselling, E-Books, Get Published, Trends

The Shack Gets Sued

By Steve Laubeon July 14, 2010
Share
Tweet
25

Sad news from the LA Times that the author and publishers of The Shack are now in court fighting over the royalty earnings. Read the entire article here. Then weep. Then pray that cooler heads prevail and that it can somehow be kept out of the court system. The key element to the story, from my agent’s perspective, is that there was not a solid contract in place from the beginning. It …

Read moreThe Shack Gets Sued
Category: Book Business, Legal IssuesTag: Bookselling, Contracts, Get Published, Legal, Writing Craft
  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Next

Sidebar

Get Blog Updates

Enter your email address to get new blog updates delivered via email. You can unsubscribe at any time.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Grow as a Writer


Find Out More →

Popular Posts

Top Posts on Book Proposals
  • Hints for a Great Cover Letter
  • The Keys to a Great Book Proposal
  • What Steve Laube is Looking For
  • Book Proposals I’d Love to See – Tamela Hancock Murray
  • What I’m Looking for – Bob Hostetler
  • What I’m Looking for – Dan Balow
  • What I’m Looking for – Lynette Eason
  • What’s the Best Way to Submit My Self-Published Book?
  • What Is the Agent Doing While I Wait?
  • God Gave Me This Blog Post
Top Posts on The Business Side
  • When Your Book Becomes Personal
  • The Myth of the Unearned Advance
  • How Long Does it Take to Get Published?
  • What Are Average Book Sales?
  • Can You Plagiarize Yourself?
  • Never Burn a Bridge
  • Who Decides to Publish Your Book?
  • That Conference Appointment
  • Goodbye to Traditional Publishing?
  • Who Owns Whom in Publishing?
  • Ten Commandments for Working with Your Agent
  • Writers Beware! Protect Yourself
Top Series
  • Book Proposal Basics
  • Publishing A-Z
  • A Defense of Traditional Publishing
Top Posts on Rejection
  • The Slush Pile: Enter at Your Own Risk
  • Even the Best Get Rejected
  • Five Reasons Why You May Never Get Published
  • The Unhelpful Rejection Letter
  • Writers Learn to Wait

Blog Post Archives by Month

  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Interview with Steve Laube
    • Statement of Faith
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
  • Guidelines
  • Authors
    • Who We Represent
    • Awards and Recognition
  • Resources
    • Recommended Reading
    • Christian Writers Market Guide Online
    • Christian Writers Institute
    • Writers Conferences
    • Freelance Editorial Services
    • Copyright Resources
    • Research Tools
    • Selling What You Write
  • Blog
  • Contact

Copyright © 2025 · The Steve Laube Agency · All Rights Reserved · Website by Stormhill Media