Top 10 Best Selling Books 2019 Report | Shocking First Place

About this video

Dale discusses an NPD BookScan report released in mid-December 2019 on the top 10 best-selling books of the past decade in the US, and what it means for self-published authors. He notes a shift over the decade: in 2010, 80% of top sellers were fiction, but by 2019 only 32% were, with analyst Kristen McLean attributing a consumer push for informational titles to growth in cookbooks, self-help, and politics. He also says ebooks peaked around 2013 and then declined, print continued to dominate, audiobooks were rising, and top print books were getting shorter as video, audio, podcasts, and streaming competed for readers’ time. He then lists the top 10 with the sales figures stated in the video: ‘Divergent’ (6.6 million), ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ (7.9 million), ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ (8 million), ‘Gone Girl’ (8.1 million), ‘The Girl on the Train’ (8.2 million), ‘The Help’ (8.7 million), ‘The Hunger Games’ (8.7 million), ‘Fifty Shades Freed’ (9.3 million), ‘Fifty Shades Darker’ (10.4 million), and at number one ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ (15.2 million). He stresses that E.L. James originally self-published the book in 2011, after it began as Twilight-inspired fan fiction, before landing a traditional deal, translations, and a film adaptation — presented as encouragement for self-publishers. The video includes a sponsor segment for Romance Publishing Academy.

Key takeaways

• Per the NPD BookScan report cited, non-fiction gained share among top sellers over the decade, driven by cookbooks, self-help, and politics
• Ebooks peaked around 2013 in the account given, while print kept dominating and audiobooks grew
• Top-selling print books were getting shorter, which Dale links to competition for consumers’ free time
• The three Fifty Shades books took the top three spots on the decade list, with ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ at 15.2 million US sales as stated
• Dale presents E.L. James’s start as a self-published author in 2011 as proof self-publishing can lead to major traditional success

Episode details: published January 9, 2020 · 10:03 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dale L. Roberts’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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