BREAKING NEWS: The USA Today Bestseller List is a Joke
If they can't get it right, they should stop publishing it.
I know, I know. An additional newsletter today. I was going to wait on this, but I can’t.
I was perusing the USA Today Bestseller list when I came across something curious. The two new ACOTAR (A Court of Thorns and Roses, for the uninitiated) books by Sarah J. Maas, which are publishing in October 2026 and January 2027, respectively, are already on the list at 93 and 118 (Apologies for my amateur screenshot).
If you needed more proof that bestseller lists are not accurate, look no further. It is bad enough that the NYT decides to place books in slots where they don’t belong, but for USA Today to add books that haven’t even been published is pretty egregious. This is what happens when you fire the person responsible for compiling the list. She did a meticulous job.
As I’ve previously written, bestseller lists should be transparent about their methodology. Some authors would give anything to be on a bestseller list. What do we say to them about this? “Too bad, it’s rigged?”
I have two words for USA Today: Do better.
To authors, I say: Selling consistently over time is a better goal than wishing for a slot on a bestseller list that isn’t accurate.
I’ll let someone else get in touch with USA Today to ask them what happened.
—KS
Seconded! By all means lump every pre-order in the first week on sale, but don;t have a book that isn't published yet hogging the charts for months. You don't see that with music charts!
Couldn’t agree with this more: “To authors, I say: Selling consistently over time is a better goal than wishing for a slot on a bestseller list that isn’t accurate.” The long arc of a book’s impact is ultimately more meaningful than a number on a list.