Is there some way to find out these numbers?

[Susan Flemming]

A friend of mine had her debut novel published this past fall by a small press. By all accounts, the book is selling well (considering the size of the press) and she's already had to reorder after selling the 200 or so she'd first ordered. The local bookstore has told her that the books are selling and they've had to reorder too. There have been various book signing events also with decent turnouts and sales.

About a week ago, the author asked me a question that I don't know how to answer and haven't been able to find the info on-line, so I'm posting here in the hopes that someone might know. (I'm assuming that she has already asked her publisher and not gotten a satisfactory answer.)

So other than the obvious, of requesting these numbers from her publisher, is there any way for an author to find out how many books, in total, she has sold?

[IceCreamEmpress]

So other than the obvious, of requesting these numbers from her publisher, is there any way for an author to find out how many books, in total, she has sold?

Checking directly with the distributor is the most accurate way of finding those totals.

Nielsen BookScan is an independent monitoring service, but it's expensive to access and the granularity is reliable only in units of 100.

[johnrobison]

If the book is in a number of bookstores, there is really no way to answer this question in a timely fashion. Let's say 100 stores carry her book. 200 books have been shipped to the stores. Some stores may have sold three copies. Some stores have sold none. How many of the 200 copies are sold, and how many remain on shelves?

Short of surveying all 200 stores, no one knows.

Ask again in 6-12 months, and you may have a more complete answer as booksellers who do not see the book move return it for credit.

[IceCreamEmpress]

If the book is in a number of bookstores, there is really no way to answer this question in a timely fashion. Let's say 100 stores carry her book. 200 books have been shipped to the stores. Some stores may have sold three copies. Some stores have sold none. How many of the 200 copies are sold, and how many remain on shelves?

Short of surveying all 200 stores, no one knows.

Actually, Nielsen BookScan can estimate it roughly, because they have access to point-of-sale data for large stores.

Though that wouldn't be useful for the original poster's friend, it's something that can be useful for people published by larger publishing houses (or it's something that can make you crazy if you're the kind of person who checks obsessively on your sales).

[JimmyB27]

If the book is in a number of bookstores, there is really no way to answer this question in a timely fashion. Let's say 100 stores carry her book. 200 books have been shipped to the stores. Some stores may have sold three copies. Some stores have sold none. How many of the 200 copies are sold, and how many remain on shelves?

Short of surveying all 200 stores, no one knows.

Ask again in 6-12 months, and you may have a more complete answer as booksellers who do not see the book move return it for credit.
I find it nothing short of astonishing that, in this day and age, and with electronic scanning and such, we can't track the exact sales of a given item.

[aka eraser]

I find it nothing short of astonishing that, in this day and age, and with electronic scanning and such, we can't track the exact sales of a given item.

Isn't society already Big Brother-ish enough for ya? ;)

If I owned a bookstore, I wouldn't want my sales information available to another party. In any event, the only numbers that really count are the ones her publisher's going to cut a cheque for - and she'll find out about them twice a year when she gets her statements.

[IceCreamEmpress]

I find it nothing short of astonishing that, in this day and age, and with electronic scanning and such, we can't track the exact sales of a given item.

Not every bookstore chooses to make point-of-sale data available for tracking. This is why the Nielsen BookScan isn't minutely accurate, though it does give a rough estimate.

[Susan Flemming]

Thank you everyone for your replies. It really is great to know when I have a question, I can come here and find people with experience to answer it.

[maestrowork]

So other than the obvious, of requesting these numbers from her publisher, is there any way for an author to find out how many books, in total, she has sold?

For me, it comes in the form of the royalty statement. My publisher lists the numbers and venues (Barnes & Noble, for example) and tells me how much I make in royalties. Of course, that figure is not "current" as there is a time lag in accounting. But at least I get an idea.

Other than that, I really don't think there is a good way to find out. Number of outstanding copies at stores, number of online outfits, etc. etc. I don't even know where my publisher is selling the books (outside of the traditional venues). It's not exactly my business.

[Lauri B]

Checking directly with the distributor is the most accurate way of finding those totals.

Nielsen BookScan is an independent monitoring service, but it's expensive to access and the granularity is reliable only in units of 100.

Nielsen also doesn't cover all bookstores--it covers only chains and some independents. it doesn't include any special or non-bookstore sales such as museum shops, gift shops, etc.

Distributor numbers aren't accurate, either, since those reflect only the books ordered from them, not actual sales. I would agree with Maestro; your friend's best bet is to wait for her royalty statement.

[JimmyB27]

Isn't society already Big Brother-ish enough for ya? ;)

If I owned a bookstore, I wouldn't want my sales information available to another party. In any event, the only numbers that really count are the ones her publisher's going to cut a cheque for - and she'll find out about them twice a year when she gets her statements.
Never thought of it like that. But still, surely the author has a right to now how many copies she has sold?

[IceCreamEmpress]

Nielsen also doesn't cover all bookstores--it covers only chains and some independents. it doesn't include any special or non-bookstore sales such as museum shops, gift shops, etc.

Yes. Thanks for clarifying my point.

Distributor numbers aren't accurate, either, since those reflect only the books ordered from them, not actual sales. I would agree with Maestro; your friend's best bet is to wait for her royalty statement.

I think that the underlying motivation might be a question about whether or not the royalty statement was accurate.

And, yeah, it's hard to verify those with any degree of accuracy.

[Lauri B]

That's something that has come up a lot on the boards--the accuracy of royalty statements. I worked for a publisher for years, and we based our statements on the sales/returns information we received from our distributor, who sold our books for us. Authors were regularly disappointed by their numbers, but they were always accurate.

There has to be a level of trust between author and publisher: if you are convinced that your royalty statements are incorrect because you are "sure" you've sold a lot more books than it says you have, then call the publisher and discuss it with someone there. Publishers (legit ones, anyway) aren't out to screw their authors--they make money because of their authors, and they have a significant vested interest in the success of any given book. Most books don't sell a whole lot of copies, plain and simple. So rather than fret about whether or not the numbers are accurate, contact the publisher and ask the accounting department or person in charge of royalty payments how to read the statement, or how they came up with the number, or even ask them to recheck.

[Sheryl Nantus]

question here - she had to ORDER 200?

was there an actual print run or is this POD? Did she have to pay for those 200?

you can call Ingram's and see how many were put through that system, but it's not going to be exactly reliable since there are other ways to get the book out...

[writer friend]

Hi,
I am not sure, but I thought that because authors usually get monetary advances, that the publisher, at some point, has to see how that advance "gels" with the number of actual book sales. This process could take time, but I agree with the others that the publisher should eventually have figures on sales of the book, if only to see how their investment (advance, if any) worked. Onlyl from what I've read, I believe that the advance is never given back, but if an author had a large advance on one book and it does not sell well, I would think this would affect the publishers advance on the next book by that author. Also, the royalties have to be figured out separately, don't they? So someone would have to have sales figures....
Any other opinons out there?
Best wishes!
Writer Friend

[CasualObserver]

What is the name of the small press?

[IceCreamEmpress]

So someone would have to have sales figures...

Publishers know how many books have been sold. They have to; they're the ones making the books, shipping them out, etc.

Now does anyone else know? The distributors and wholesalers know; how likely they'd be to share that information with individual authors, I don't know. And Nielsen BookScan has point-of-sale information for a large segment of the market, but not all (and you have to pay to access that).