SBTB Bestseller

Bestsellers from SBTB and DA

Behold, I quote Jane: “One thing that readers have in common is our neverending search for new books.  Sarah Wendell of Smart Bitches and we at DearAuthor use affiliate links to help fund our sites.  These affiliate links reward the blog owner with 6-8% of the sale price for each item sold using an affiliate link.  Sarah uses affiliate links for both All Romance eBooks and Amazon, and Harlequin when reviewing a Harlequin novel.  DearAuthor uses affiliate links for Amazon alone.”

Jane thought that it might be fun to create a “bestseller” list out of the affiliate links.  Jane, apparently, likes to do math.  The following list simply displays to our mutual blog readers what the readers are buying if they use the affiliate link. Both Amazon and ARe’s affiliate program provide a LOT of stats, which I love. For example, from Amazon, I can find out what digital copies and paper copies of a specific title have been clicked on and sold, and with ARe, I get a breakdwn of which format was purchased – and no, it doesn’t tell me who the buyer is.  It doesn’t capture every sale out there or every sale that we might inspire, but it is a data point that might provide some interest to our readers and might help in discovering new and good books.

Again, I Quote Jane: “The fascinating thing of our list, in my opinion, is the number of people that bought Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean.  More people bought her first book in the series than bought the most recent release which is Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke’s Heart.” This is fascinating to me, as well.

We will post this list every Sunday evening. We’re still searching for a name for it – and much to my shock, even after naming our March romance novel tournament the “DABWAHA,” I’m still allowed to attempt to name this list. Suggestions are SO welcome.

 

Categorized:

General Bitching...

Comments are Closed

  1. Ken Houghton says:

    Trashy Books Bought by Smart Readers? (I would say Smart Bitches at the end, but don’t want to exclude John Bunnell and the other males reading.)

  2. Therese says:

    That’s pretty neat. I assume it only takes the .com stats into effect though. Whenever I am looking for a title I have to open a completely new browser in amazon.ca, and I’m sure many of your readers have the same issue. Is there a solution that would somehow convert amazon.com to amazon.ca or in other countries? I’m sure this is a small-scale problem. Just thinking out loud. 

    Love the site.

  3. Olivia says:

    Name suggestions:
    – Honorable Order Of Highest-selling Authors (HOOHA)
    – Many Authors’ Numbers That Increased Thanks To You (MANTITTY)

  4. SB Sarah says:

    @olivia: Marry me. Please.

  5. Olivia says:

    @SB Sarah: (Swoons.)

  6. Diana says:

    First of all, I’m so happy to see that Sarah MacLean has got two titles on the list, and that Nine Rules is still kicking butt, hurrah!

    Second of all, how in the world does one top @Olivia’s suggestions?  It’s so difficult to pick a favorite, but I think I’m slightly more partial to MANTITTY (frank, true), if we ever are putting it to a vote. (How to say this out loud (I think even just in my head too! ) without coloring ever so much, is a different matter. Let the fun ensue.)

  7. Andra says:

    Well, I was going to suggest DABBLE (Dear Author Bitchery Best Seller Extravaganza) but now I’m absolutely all for MANTITTY (or HOOHA, really, either/or/both will do, they’re THAT excellent!)

  8. Lisa A says:

    Well of course “Nine Rules…” would out sell the newer title, because Nine Rules was the one that was REVIEWED here, PLUS it’s RITA nominated, which was the whole reason for the review, plus it’s normal to start with the first book in the series, right? 

    I started with Nine Rules THEN bought the 2 newer titles. 😀

  9. Betty Fokker says:

    Can you find out how Judy Mays’ books are selling? Her personal Facebook page was reported for “misconduct” by the asshats leading the witch-hunt against her, so I’d love to know she’s at least selling really well.

  10. Jennifer says:

    No ideas on a name for the list, but what struck me is that if you look up one of these titles on the Amazon site, the list of books purchased by the same people includes many of the books on the list, and other books which have received favourable reviews from SBTB and Dear Author

  11. EbonyMcKenna says:

    I kind of like the idea of calling it ‘Beautiful Sunday’, but it would be a huge stretch to turn that into an acronym. Olivia has set the bar so high already!

    or maybe call it the BAR (Books, Authors, Readers)

    I need more chocolate.

  12. Cakes says:

    hmmm…This is really interesting. We are such nerds!

    And I LOVE Olivia’s suggestions.

    Though I click through, owning a Nook I don’t ever buy on Amazon or All-Romance (cuz I’m lazy). Just an FYI. I have purchased many books based on recommendations here, just not from any of the affiliate links listed.

  13. SB Sarah says:

    @cakes: I usually try to include BN and nook links under reviews, though the BN affiliate program is a hot mess. I don’t think my application was ever approved, actually. I know I don’t have one. I just look up the URL. But it’s good to know that you buy, even if it does mean that the list is reflective of a portion of the total buying readership.

    We could just follow you around as you all shop, but I’d get kind of tired and need a bathroom break.

    @EbonyMcKenna: OH I like that name. It’s very spiffy! Thank you!

  14. Carla says:

    When I clicked on A Kiss at Midnight, I got Collision Course.

  15. SB Sarah says:

    @carla – oops. Fixing! Sorry.

  16. Olivia says:

    @EbonyMcKenna: ‘Beautiful Sunday’ has a pleasing elegance to it. 🙂

  17. Kristi says:

    Wow, I was trying to think of tame names and… just… I am so out classed!

    MANTITTY

  18. Jen B. says:

    @Olivia definitely had a moment of brilliance! 
    @Betty Fokker – I didn’t know that Judy Mays’ Facebook got shut down.  Geez!  I really wish someone would dig up some dirt on these jerks messing with her.  Teach them a lesson or two.
    As far as name suggestions, I just don’t have any right now.  I have clicked through the links on the site a couple of times.  I purchased one book that way through ARe.  It will be great to know what’s being bought.

  19. Emily says:

    I just got Nine Rules out of the Library. Having never read anything by MacLean I decided to start at the begining of story; since the books are connected plus it was in the romance section under MacLean. I think Ten and Eleven are signed out although I didn’t check the new books section.

  20. April says:

    I picked up Nine Rules at the library too I’m dead broke these days but I love that you guys are going to start this list.  When I do buy books I like to buy through affiliate links of those people I like so that is a good thing.

    I’m fond of BAR but in the spirit of being silly I’ll also suggest ASS, the Affiliate Sales Sheet.

  21. Jenn LeBlanc says:

    I love this. But Ima go against the grain and vote for the great HOOHAH instead of the MANTITTY. (if I get a Vote) *wink*

  22. The Duchess says:

    MANTITTY, please!

  23. Cakes says:

    Stupid B&N! You’d think as the largest bookseller blah blah blah they would get their act together.  Well, I know you can’t track everything, I was just adding in my use of you as a buying jump-off place thingy.

  24. henofthewoods says:

    Bought: 9 Rules and Collision Course
    Also, I bought 10 Whichever-It-Was but I didn’t go back for 11 yet. I am sure I will eventually, I’ve had computer problems lately that kept me off-line.

    I didn’t buy them through your affiliate program and I doubt I will start doing so. It just doesn’t mesh with the way I shop for books, I usually shop over the course of days and look at a book multiple times before purchase. I read the SBTB site during the day and actually purchase later at night.  But the reviews here definitely affect my purchases (and also the materials I take from the library). I have used the thread about YA books to build a list on my iPod which comes with me to the library. I have found many new favorites among the books SBTB has reviewed. I also have found books that I love in the comments to threads.

    We keep returning to the problem of browsing as book stores (1) disappear or (2) don’t respect their romance-buying customers. This may be the last chance the big publishers get to hold on to their market – if the websites for traditional publishing companies were better that could be a browsing experience. I think the Harlequin website is the only one that has encouraged me to buy more books (of paper-publishers, the epublishers are much better at attracting attention to their books). Some publishing websites seem to be too classy to stoop to selling books. They would sully their product if they were to offer samples of books or link to real reviews after the book has been out for a few months. Author websites can make the difference, but if you are not self-publishing someone else should be handling that part of the business. Otherwise what are the authors paying for?

    Successful romance writers have traditionally had a very strong sense of how to gather a following. Maybe because Romance is so often underestimated? There is no “Chick Lit of America” with a convention that draws crowds. And certainly no “Serious Literature of America” to celebrate the NYTimes Review of Books choices of what we should want to read.

    Regarding purchases, I would have bought 9 rather than 11 even if the review were for 11 – I always start at the beginning if I can. Redheadedgirl’s review of Caroline Linden sent me straight to the store but I bought the first in that series. (and then the second and the third…)

Comments are closed.

By posting a comment, you consent to have your personally identifiable information collected and used in accordance with our privacy policy.

↑ Back to Top