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No one actually knows all the secrets behind each list. I don’t even know all the secrets, and I’ve had a book (Face of Betrayal with Lis Wiehl) on the New York Times bestseller list.

Now Pimp My Novel takes a closer look at bestseller lists, including one tidbit that is a bit shocking, “For example: let's say Barrel O' Books maintains a store-wide "Top Ten" bestseller list, and they're overstocked on a particular title that isn't quite making that list. They may swap out the #10 title for the overstocked title, or may grant individual stores limited discretion when displaying the list, meaning it may differ slightly from location to location. (Book sales are surprisingly regionally varied in nature.) It's not exactly underhanded, since the action of adding the title to the list (and applying the appropriate discount, if applicable) will probably bump that title onto the list numbers-wise in short order. It is, however, something of a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Read more here.

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The Millions has a good article that delves into the myth of the rags-to-riches career novelist. It’s a well-known, albeit depressing, reality in the publishing industry that most authors don’t have the luxury of writing full-time and supporting themselves through their work. But authors--don’t worry, you’re not alone! As the article points out, and as we can’t stress enough, as much as we’re obsessed with the J.K. Rowling-esque stories of writers who came from nothing and succeeded to become the most famous (and wealthy) authors of our day, this is the exception--not the rule. And, as it turns out, keeping your day job can benefit most of us. Among the perks? Well, being in the everyday world and gleaning from your everyday experiences. And, er, eating. Yes, that’s important! Because as much as we all have that curmudgeonly chain-smoking, black coffee drinking stereotype of an author in our minds, it’s important for even the most obsessive writer to keep up their strength.

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Here is a link you must click on from the Book Bench blog to read one hilarious tongue-in-cheek bestseller list by Steve Hely (this might cause smirking or laughing-out-loud), as well as a century’s worth of (actual) bestseller lists (this left me wondering about all the wonderful books I’ve yet to read).

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I love Google Alerts. Any time an article that contains my name gets posted on line, I get an email with a link so I can see what's being said about me. This one came today - IndieBound children's bestseller list for August 20, 2009 - and The Night Before Kindergarten is number 12!

CHILDREN’S ILLUSTRATED

1. Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak, Harper

2. Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown, Clement Hurd (Illus.), Harper

3. Goldilicious, by Victoria Kann, Harper

4. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle, Putnam

5. Night-Night, Little Pookie, by Sandra Boynton, Robin Corey

6. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, by Bill Martin, Eric Carle (Illus.), Holt

7. Good Night, Gorilla, by Peggy Rathmann, Putnam

8. Pat the Bunny, by Dorothy Kunhardt, Golden

9. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, by Judi Barrett, Ron Barrett (Illus.), Simon & Schuster

10. Gallop!, by Rufus Butler Seder, Workman

11. First Day of School, by Mercer Mayer, HarperFestival

12. The Night Before Kindergarten, by Natasha Wing, Julie Durrell (Illus.), Grosset & Dunlap

13. Fancy Nancy Tea Parties, by Jane O’Connor, Robin Preiss Glasser (Illus.), Harper

14. Make Way for Ducklings, by Robert McCloskey, Puffin

15. Barnyard Dance!, by Sandra Boynton, Workman

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We'll come back to author blogging shortly, but in the meantime I had to post a link to this article on the tradition of the bestseller list (thanks, Maud Newton). This is a fascinating and rather tongue-in-cheek Times history of the bestseller list in England. I'm excerpting my favorite paragraph here: On April 21, 1974, the UK’s first definitive weekly national bestseller list was

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Our new Fall 2007 title, How I Got Published, edited by Ray White and Duane Lindsay, was the best-selling title in the trade through the week ending December 30. Click on the cover to read more about this title.

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One of our Spring 2007 titles, The Pirate Primer by George Choundas, was our best-selling title in the trade through the week ending December 23, 2007. Click on the cover to read more about this title, and also to download an excerpt.

Visit the official site at http://pirate.fwpublications.com.

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One of our Spring 2007 titles, The Pirate Primer by George Choundas, was our best-selling title in the trade through the week ending December 16, 2007. Click on the cover to read more about this title, and also to download an excerpt.

Visit the official site at http://pirate.fwpublications.com.

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One of our Spring 2007 titles, The Pirate Primer by George Choundas, was our best-selling title in the trade through the week ending December 9, 2007. Click on the cover to read more about this title, and also to download an excerpt.

Visit the official site at http://pirate.fwpublications.com.

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Our popular backlist book, Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell, was the best-selling title in the trade through the week ending December 2. Click on the cover to read more about this title.

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Our popular backlist book, Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell, was the best-selling title in the trade through the week ending November 25. Click on the cover to read more about this title.

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Never far from the front of the pack, our popular backlist book, Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell, was the best-selling title in the trade through the week ending November 18. Click on the cover to read more about this title.

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Our newest Fall 2007 title, How I Got Published, edited by Ray White and Duane Lindsay, was the best-selling title in the trade through the week ending November 11. Click on the cover to read more about this title.

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For more than one month running, our newest Fall 2007 title, How I Got Published, edited by Ray White and Duane Lindsay, was the best-selling title in the trade. Click on the cover to read more about this title.

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Our newest Fall 2007 title, How I Got Published, edited by Ray White and Duane Lindsay, was the best-selling title in the trade through the week ending October 28. Click on the cover to read more about this title.

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Our newest Fall 2007 title, How I Got Published, edited by Ray White and Duane Lindsay, was the best-selling title in the trade through the week ending October 21. Click on the cover to read more about this title.

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Our newest Fall 2007 title, How I Got Published, edited by Ray White and Duane Lindsay, was the best-selling title in the trade through the week ending October 14. Click on the cover to read more about this title.

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One of our most popular backlist books, Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell, was the best-selling title in the trade through the week ending September 23. Click on the cover to read more about this title.

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One of our most popular backlist books, Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell, was the best-selling title in the trade through the week ending September 16. Click on the cover to read more about this title.

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For the sixth week in a row, the paperback edition of our 2004 title The Little Red Writing Book by Brandon Royal was the best-selling title in the trade through the week ending September 9.

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For the fifth week in a row, the paperback edition of our 2004 title The Little Red Writing Book by Brandon Royal was the best-selling title in the trade through the week ending September 2.

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For the fourth week in a row, the paperback edition of our 2004 title The Little Red Writing Book by Brandon Royal was the best-selling title in the trade through the week ending August 26.

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For the third week in a row, the paperback edition of our 2004 title The Little Red Writing Book by Brandon Royal was the best-selling title in the trade through the week ending August 19.

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For two weeks in a row, the paperback edition of our 2004 title The Little Red Writing Book by Brandon Royal was the best-selling title in the trade through the week ending August 12.

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The paperback edition of our 2004 title The Little Red Writing Book by Brandon Royal was the best-selling title in the trade through the week ending August 5.

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