It used to be a real mark of distinction to strike the best-seller listsbecause there were fewer lists and less authors (and prior to ebooks, rates throughout books was pretty universal too). The New york city Times list has actually been the most distinguished, released in one kind or another because 1931.
The Wall Street Journal list, which has actually been around because 2009, is based upon Nielsen Bookscan and tends to focus on a smaller variety of categories. The USA Today list is likewise a distinguished but more of a catch-all list. Any industry individual can inform you these lists have their issues.
Bookscan, the database that arranged book sales, inexplicably does not include Amazon's ebook sales. There's even the possibility of adjustment, as detailed in a 2013 Wall Street Journal article called "The Mystery of the Book Sales Spike." Still, they stay reasonably hard to crack. In most cases, your book not just needs to be great enough for a legitimate publisher to publish it, but you have to outsell all the other books out there, past and present, even if you're spending for it out of your pocket.
Because of the high bar, the term "best-selling author" was a term with some significance. It was viewed as something that was made through a lot of effort. But today, that designation has changedfor the even worse. It resembles when you see a food referred to as "natural." The FDA doesn't really regulate that term, so it's basically worthless.
So let me reveal you precisely how I ended up being a number one Amazon best seller for $2 and an image of my foot in less than 5 minutes (with screenshots and proof). Hopefully, as my partner Ryan has put it, when you understand how the sausage is made, you will not desire to eat it any more.
I called the book Putting My Foot Down and consisted of one page with, you guessed it, a photo of my foot. Supplied by author, They say selecting a title is the hardest part of writing a book. Source 't I understand it! Offered by author, Amazon has their own "best-seller" rankings for books, based upon categories.