Google Answers Logo
View Question
 
Q: Branding of best selling books ( Answered,   1 Comment )
Question  
Subject: Branding of best selling books
Category: Business and Money > Advertising and Marketing
Asked by: kp2222-ga
List Price: $15.00
Posted: 12 Apr 2004 12:49 PDT
Expires: 12 May 2004 12:49 PDT
Question ID: 329063
I'm interested in any studies or stats on how branding impacts the
sale of best selling books. What is the top selling book of all time
other than the bible?

Request for Question Clarification by bobbie7-ga on 12 Apr 2004 13:19 PDT
Hello kp2222,

I didn?t find statistics or information on how branding impacts the
sale of best selling books, however I provide you with two lists of
top 10 best-selling books of all time.

If you are interested in the partial information that I found, you
could lower the price of your question accordingly.

(You can change the price by going to "My Account,"
selecting "My Unanswered Questions", clicking on the question, and
then clicking on "Change Question Parameters" to modify the pricing.)


Thanks,
Bobbie7

Clarification of Question by kp2222-ga on 12 Apr 2004 14:03 PDT
thanks. That list will be helpful. To clarify my info quest, I'm a a
speaker and addressing an audience of publishers on branding. Anything
on trends in publishing/promotion may be helpful also. I have found
co-branding, series books, superstar author appeal so far.

Request for Question Clarification by bobbie7-ga on 12 Apr 2004 15:20 PDT
I posted additional information in the comment section below for you to review. 

Thanks, Bobbie7

Clarification of Question by kp2222-ga on 12 Apr 2004 19:50 PDT
bobbie7-ga, I 'm happy with your findings. what do I do now?
Answer  
Subject: Re: Branding of best selling books
Answered By: bobbie7-ga on 12 Apr 2004 20:28 PDT
 
Hello again kp2222,

I?m pleased that you?re happy with my findings.


Below you will find the two lists of top 10 best selling books of all
time that I had  mentioned previously.


This list was taken from The Top Ten of Everything 2001, by Russell
Ash (General Publishing, 29.95)

The Bible - (more than 6 billion) 

Quotations from the works of Mao Tse-Tung (900 million) 

American Spelling Book - Noah Webster (100 million) 

The Guinness World Book of Records (90 million) 

World Almanac* - (73.5 million) 

The McGuffey Readers - William Holmes McGuffey (60 million) 

The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care - Dr. Benjamin Spock (50 million) 

A Message to Garcia - Elbert Hubbard (40 million) 

In His Steps: "What Would Jesus Do?" (more than 30 million) 

Valley of the Dolls - Jacqueline Susann (more than 30 million) 

This list is located at the bottom of the following webpage.
http://www.nrtco.net/~gtv/top_ten.htm



=================================================================



Top 10 Best-Selling Books of All Time 
  
The Holy Bible - 6 billion 
Author: Various

Quotations From Chairman Mao Tse-Tung - 900 million 
Author: Mao Tse-Tung

The American Spelling Book - 100 million 
Author: Noah Webster

Guinness World Records (2003) - 94 million 
Author: Various

The World Almanac and Book of Facts (2003) - 73.5 million 
Author: World Almanac Books

The McGuffey Readers - 60 million 
Author: William Holmes McGuffey

Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care - 50 million 
Author: Dr. Benjamin Spock

A Message to Garcia - 40 million 
Author: Elbert Hubbard

In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do? - 30 million 
Author: Rev. Charles Monroe Sheldon

Valley of the Dolls - 30 million
Author: Jacqueline Susann

Number 1-5
http://www.askmen.com/toys/top_10_60/62b_top_10_list.html
Number 6-10
http://www.askmen.com/toys/top_10_60/62_top_10_list.html


=================================================================


I located a third listing from 1994.

"Ten Best Selling Books of All Time" as reported by Russell Ash in his
book The Top Ten of Everything (1994, DK Publishing Inc.).

These are: 
The Bible, 6 billion copies; 
Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung, 800 million copies; 
Noah Webster's The American Spelling Book, 100 million copies; 
The Guinness Book of World Records, 80 million copies; 
Elbert Hubbard's Message to Garcia, 40 million to 50 million copies; 
The World Almanac, more than 40 million copies; 
Benjamin Spock's Baby and Child Care, 39.2 million copies; 
Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls, 30 million copies;
Charles Sheldon's In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do, 28.5 million copies.

Industry Week, July 5, 1999, by Sal Marino
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m1121/13_248/55109149/p1/article.jhtml


=================================================================


Here are the articles:


10 years of best sellers: How the landscape has changed
By Bob Minzesheimer, USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2004-03-10-bookslist-decade-main_x.htm


According to Associations of American Publishers (Press Release, 2003) 

? U.S. book sales totaled $26,874,100,000 in 2002, a 5.5 percent
increase over 2001?? While these numbers are encouraging, it is
important to note that 75% (Curtis, 1995, p. 5) of books on the
bestsellers lists, were written by authors with proven bestselling
titles. Why is this? Well, as a reader, you are more likely to invest
$15, $20, or $30 if you have some familiarity with the author?s work.
Not only are readers more likely to choose known authors, so are
publishers, motivated by bottom line, dollars and cents. Considering a
small publisher will receive 5000 unsolicited queries a month, a
junior editor earning $25,000 a year may be able to read four or five
a day. You can see that the cost to evaluate some 60,000 queries can
be $125,000 a year. (Curtis, 1995) If only 1% of unsolicited queries
are sent to senior editors, who in turn accept 1%, the publisher has
invested nearly $50,000, before any contracts are signed, any printing
is done, or any marketing undertaken?

Publishing Trends: Traditional vs ePublishing by Lisa Hood
http://freezinesite.com/articles/644.shtml



Search criteria:

Top * best sellers of all time
Publishing trends
Publishing promotions OR market OR trends
Bestsellers brand OR branding


Best wishes,
Bobbie7

Clarification of Answer by bobbie7-ga on 13 Apr 2004 10:15 PDT
Here's another interesting article:

The Four Most Powerful Ways Authors Can Attract More Readers (and
Buyers) Faster by Bob Baker
http://www.writersweekly.com/this_weeks_article/000601_11142001.html
Comments  
Subject: Re: Branding of best selling books
From: bobbie7-ga on 12 Apr 2004 15:18 PDT
 
Please take a look at the following articles.

10 years of best sellers: How the landscape has changed
By Bob Minzesheimer, USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2004-03-10-bookslist-decade-main_x.htm

According to Associations of American Publishers (Press Release, 2003)
? U.S. book sales totaled $26,874,100,000 in 2002, a 5.5 percent
increase over 2001?? While these numbers are encouraging, it is
important to note that 75% (Curtis, 1995, p. 5) of books on the
bestsellers lists, were written by authors with proven bestselling
titles. Why is this? Well, as a reader, you are more likely to invest
$15, $20, or $30 if you have some familiarity with the author?s work.
Not only are readers more likely to choose known authors, so are
publishers, motivated by bottom line, dollars and cents. Considering a
small publisher will receive 5000 unsolicited queries a month, a
junior editor earning $25,000 a year may be able to read four or five
a day. You can see that the cost to evaluate some 60,000 queries can
be $125,000 a year. (Curtis, 1995) If only 1% of unsolicited queries
are sent to senior editors, who in turn accept 1%, the publisher has
invested nearly $50,000, before any contracts are signed, any printing
is done, or any marketing undertaken?

Publishing Trends: Traditional vs ePublishing by Lisa Hood
http://freezinesite.com/articles/644.shtml

Is this the kind of information that you require?

Thanks,
Bobbie7

Important Disclaimer: Answers and comments provided on Google Answers are general information, and are not intended to substitute for informed professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, tax, legal, investment, accounting, or other professional advice. Google does not endorse, and expressly disclaims liability for any product, manufacturer, distributor, service or service provider mentioned or any opinion expressed in answers or comments. Please read carefully the Google Answers Terms of Service.

If you feel that you have found inappropriate content, please let us know by emailing us at answers-support@google.com with the question ID listed above. Thank you.
Search Google Answers for
Google Answers  


Google Home - Answers FAQ - Terms of Service - Privacy Policy