School me on book sales (book worms GTFIH)

[SSgt Dickweed]

"The book [insert title] was on the New York Times bestseller list for ten straight weeks."

What does that mean really? How much copies of the book was sold? Was printed?

Does this include the books printed and old outside the U.S.? Do U.S. publishers partner with local publishers in say Asia, to distribute their product?

I have a solid understanding of how movie box-office numbers work. I need someone to teach me book sales in relation to the movie industry.

For a movie that costs $30 million to produce, it must make around $100 million globally to be considered a success. What is the equivalent to that in book sales?

 

[Reyesnuthugr]

Nothing static-- it just has to outsell the other books at the time

 

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

All I know is that just about every book seems to be on that list such that either it means next to nothing, or that a book that doesn’t somehow make the list must be a total piece of shit.

 

[21 Savage]

It means the libcuck media is pushing another agenda

 

[TSO]

As was already said, just about every book has been on that list. It means nothing imho.

 

[Augustina]

It’s a sales measuring criteria.

Read what you like

 

[Fugazy]

Been nailed. A bestsellers list is basically a comparative movement report. Over x time frame x books in x genre sold the most copies.

Book sales do not equal printings.

An edition of a book is made, the size of the edition based on how well it is forecasted to sell and maybe some other factors from the agreement to publish that exists between the people who create the book content and the people who actually produce the book device that holds the content. More editions may be printed based on demand etc.