Found a stat that changed how I see book club bestseller lists

I stumbled on a report that said 70% of book club picks come from publisher marketing pushes, not organic reader votes. Makes me wonder if our debates about 'popular' books are just arguments about who has the bigger ad budget.

3 comments

3 Comments

caleb_bell51d ago

Something that worked for me was just following the authors I already liked and ignoring the big lists completely. Found a couple of smaller book groups online that focus on specific genres without all the corporate stuff. Made picking books way less stressful because you get honest opinions from people who actually read them. Not saying publisher pushes are evil or anything, but branching out on your own can show you some real hidden gems.

robin8961d ago

Makes sense that marketing money plays a part, but people still have to actually want to read the books... word of mouth is what really keeps a book going, not just a big ad push.

kim_mason551d ago

Isn't that like saying a giant neon sign doesn't help sell a burger... you still gotta eat the thing? Marketing just gets the book in your hand, then the story has to do the heavy lifting.