New York Times Bestseller List

Awhile back I stopped reading agent blogs. I do still check in here and there and follow links recommended by others. But for the most part, I have a general knowledge of the more popular topics like ‘use of dialogue’ and ‘what not to include in a query letter.’ My thirst for writing knowledge has become a little deeper, or if you will, advanced.

AQ Crew (the owner of AgentQuery.com), unbeknownst to them, issued a challenge. And that is to start paying closer attention to world of publishing. They suggested that us writers who want to slide a foot in the door start checking out more than agent blogs. (Get a real handle on the business.) We should be checking out editor blogs, publishing blogs, certain newspapers, certain publications regarding publishing, the New York Times Bestseller list, etc. It’s an idea I like. I was feeling stumped. Like I had stalled out in my learning, but wasn’t sure where the door was to take me to the next level. Voila.

<Sigh> Not that kind of challenge. Although a Pepsi and a bag of Doritos would really hit the spot right about now…

And sure, I know ereaders are big (and getting bigger, better, and cheaper by the moment) and a lot of authors are publishing directly to ebooks here and there. But really, could I predict the next trend? Maybe not. I can see the end of YA (I mean, that market has got to get flooded at some point too, right? Especially since everyone is deciding to represent it).

Recently I decided to leave chick lit writing behind. It is a totally fun genre, and one I really enjoyed getting to know, but the fact of the matter is, it is a flooded market. My rejections were rarely about my writing, but about the market. Now that I have passed the newbie mark in terms of novel writing, I am moving on to different genres and working with more business sense. That’s not to say I’m not still going to have a blast when I write. It’s saying that if I want a shot at this publishing thing, I have to think like this is a business. Because it is.

So, today I am starting by looking at the New York Times Bestsellers list. And not just reading it, but studying it. Why are these books on there? Why are some of these books still on there?

To tell you the truth, I feared checking out the list as I was sure it would be all books I hadn’t heard of. Wrong! I even have a couple on my ereader (okay, they are on my husband’s and only on my ‘to be read’ list–once I get around to downloading them to my reader). Anyway, I am realizing that maybe I’m not quite as in the dark as I first thought. (The depth of this statement has yet to be determined.)

Here is a link to the list: http://www.nytimes.c…oks/bestseller/

And here are some of my thoughts:

“The Girl…” books by Stieg Larsson. Why? Is it the bright cover art? I’d say about half of those who read it over on AgentQuery Connect gave it a thumbs down. As in slogging through backstory, wondering why the main character doesn’t appear until page 25. That kind of thing. I tried reading one of the books. Really tried. But I couldn’t. Curious about this one. It isn’t the writing, so there must be an element of ‘je ne sais quoi’ about it.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. Is this one inching up the list again due to her newest release?

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I’m guessing the movie release of this one is helping keep this one at the top of the list.

Okay, so looking at the list has only brought up more questions for me… but they are good questions I think. (I hope.)

How about you… any thoughts on the list?