The bestseller list. Making it is a book’s most common goal and an often bafflingly opaque process. We make it as simple as we can by explaining what we know (and what we don’t know) about the various bestseller lists and by promoting our own bestsellers. Besides sharing that knowledge, we share all our sales numbers with The New York Times and NPD BookScan.
In addition to reporting our sales, Porchlight compiles two lists of our own top selling books each month—one focused on business and one on general nonfiction. These lists are featured on our site, within our Porchlight Newsletter, and syndicated in various publications. We also report all book sales to The New York Times and NPD BookScan.
Porchlight Book Company is committed to the ideals of free speech and a free press. We do not agree with or endorse all the ideas or opinions in the books we sell, but we agree with and defend the right of individuals and authors to have them, to write them, and to put them out into an openly debated marketplace of ideas. As a bookseller, we exist in the heart of that marketplace.
BERNADETTE JIWA
Author of Hunch and Story Driven
FAQ
Yes! We accurately* report all of our book sales to The New York Times and NPD BookScan on a weekly basis. (*We report the number of books sold, not the number of orders placed.)
No, they are not; our sales are counted the same as any other book retailer. For more information about bestseller reporting, contact Aaron at aaron@porchlightbooks.com.
Each month, we post two bestseller lists of our own: one for business bestsellers and one for general nonfiction. You can find them here.
Aaron Schleicher, our Sales Director, is happy to answer your questions.
