Becoming a New York Times Best Seller is a tough challenge. It requires a well-planned and executed aggressive marketing campaign and authors have to maintain a gruelling schedule of interviews, book signing, etc. So why do authors aim for this accolade?
Here are five reasons why authors strive for this coveted title:
1. Prestige
The prestige that you gain when you become a New York Times Best Seller is huge and it is a title that is yours to keep for life. The parameters for becoming a New York Times Best Seller are clearly defined. They are not subjective or open to interpretation compared to becoming say an Amazon Best Seller.
The latter can manipulated and can be achieved by selling as little as 300 books sometimes even less. In addition, some authors claim to be an Amazon Best Seller when they have hit Amazon's top 100 or even top 1,000 which lowers the credibility of this title. No one questions your credibility when you are a New York Times Best Seller.
2. Visibility
Your book will receive prime placement in bookstores. Your book will be placed in a prominent place in show windows. Special displays for your book are also created within the store. This of course all adds up to greater visibility for your book and therefore a greater chance for people to see your book and perhaps buy it.
3. Discounted Price
Bookstores generally discount NYT Best Sellers anywhere from 20 to 50% and at no cost to the author. In other words, the bookstore will still purchase the book at the same price and so authors will still receive the same royalty for each book sold. However, the reduction in price will naturally encourage more book sales.
4. Greater Volume of Book Sales
As said earlier you have to sell many thousands of books to become a New York Times Best Seller. This is achieved through having a wide distribution and an excellent marketing campaign. However, success breeds success. Once your book hits the New York Times Best Seller list the publicity machine gains momentum.
More people hear about your book and more people want to discover for themselves what made your book so popular. The net result is that you can expect a greater volume of sales. And authors can capitalise on this, keep their marketing machine going to stay on this best sellers list for consecutive weeks. For instance, Stephen Colbert's "I Am America (And So Can You)" was on the New York Times Best Seller's list for five consecutive weeks during 2007 and 2008.
5. More Opportunities
As a Best Selling author you will receive far more opportunities as a consultant, trainer, leader, speaker, etc. There will be increased media opportunities as well. Where you previously had to court the media you'll discover that the media will actively seek you out as Ephren Taylor discovered, much to his surprise, when his "Creating Success from the Inside Out" was published.
"I've been on National TV, CNBC. I've been on 2020. I've been on Montel - twice! I've got a weekly slot on Fox News Cable nationally...I've been on hundreds of radio shows and it has been indexed on blogs, in newspapers...My speaking fees have quadrupled. I've got an agent now - believe it not - an agent that represents me for speaking engagements. I've done two movies with the book deal. So the book was great for me. It's brought in tons of clients - people who read the book."
An important thing to note is that Ephren Taylor's book "Creating Success from the Inside Out" has not, to date, made the New York Times Best Seller list. However, this book is an Amazon Best Seller and, given that this is a far less prestigious achievement, imagine how your life can change once you become a New York Times Best Seller.
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