The SFF All-Time Sales List

[Mark Lawrence]

I've always had the impression that successful authors sell really well in the first few months of publication, before sales fall away. Yet, I have the impression that several of the authors here towards the bottom of the list have seen sales gradually increase over time, as their reputation builds (As an aside, I'm really grateful to this forum for introducing me to several new authors).

I can't speak for anyone else but Prince of Thorns is selling more now than it was two years ago when it came out.

On Goodreads Emperor of Thorns has just got to 1000 ratings in its first month. Prince of Thorns also came out in August (2011) and by Christmas had 700 ratings. There's a correlation with sales.

[Jussi]

Elizabeth Moon

POPULAR SERIES: The Baen Books omnibus edition of the original three titles set in this world, titled The Deed of Paksenarrion, has more than 100,000 copies in print, with a sell-through of almost 90 percent.

Anne McCaffrey

SERIES WITH MILLIONS OF COPIES IN PRINT: The Dragonriders of Pern, with millions of copies in Del Rey print, is one of science fiction’s most beloved series, and Todd McCaffrey, Anne McCaffrey’s son and designated heir to Pern, is helping to keep the dragonriders flying for another generation.

COLLABORATION SUCCESS: The four previous books Todd and Anne have worked on together have more than 500,000 copies in print.

[Werthead]

While Daniel Abraham has not sold enough to score high on that list, he has noted on this board that he has sold enough to keep him from working at a tech support desk. That's a big enough goal for most writers.

Daniel has almost certainly sold enough to figure on that list, but I couldn't find any figures to put him on the list.

There are probably literally hundreds of genre authors who have sold enough to get on the list, like a couple of hundred thousand each, but until I find figures or they are sent to me, they can't go on. J.V. Jones, for example, sells very well (her opening trilogy was an instant NYT bestseller hit) and would likely be reasonably high on the list, maybe around the 1 million mark, but I can find no hard figures to support that.

[Jussi]

Lynn Flewelling

With more than 350K books in print, the six books of the Nightrunner series—and the characters Alec and Seregil—have proven to be backlist staples.

[Joe Abercrombie]

I remain deeply suspicious of any and all numbers.

In particular there's NO WAY Trudi Canavan has sold that few. No way.

I think Game of Thrones is starting to have quite a big effect for the gritty fantasy authors, I'm sure it's done no harm at all to my sales. Sales of the First Law have been growing in fits and starts ever since the first one was published. Partly I think that's a matter of steadily increasing profile, and the kick that comes to earlier titles with each new one you release, partly it's international publication, which tends to be pretty gradual. I wasn't published in the US until, what, I think 18 months after the UK, I think. Brazilian, Israeli, and Taiwanese editions of the Blade Itself just came out the other day, for example, and there's a Chinese one due.

[The Ash Tree]

I remain deeply suspicious of any and all numbers.

Yes, in particular there is no way to know how many books were pirated.

Joe, when is The Winds of Winter coming out?

[The Ash Tree]

On Goodreads Emperor of Thorns has just got to 1000 ratings in its first month. Prince of Thorns also came out in August (2011) and by Christmas had 700 ratings. There's a correlation with sales.

I wouldn't pay attention to the number of ratings on goodreads, there are books that haven't been released yet and they have over 500 ratings between 1 and 5 stars.

[Werthead]

There's no way Canavan, Hobb, Moon and Gaiman (at the very least) have sold that few, and there's no way Sanderson and Rothfuss should be off the list ;) But until I get more info, I have to work with what I have.

[Jussi]

Eric Flint

Eric Flint is a modern master of alternate history fiction, with over three million books in print.

[Frank Fitzpatrick]

Very intriguing thread.

I for one am extremely shocked by Suzanne Collins success. 50 million copies. Wow.

[Jussi]

Robert Silverberg

Author's previous books sold more than three million copies

[Sansa_Stark]

Very intriguing thread.

I for one am extremely shocked by Suzanne Collins success. 50 million copies. Wow.

LQ YA writers always sell so much.

[Inkdaub7]

So how does it work? I see numbers for 'books in print'. Are print runs based on orders from stores? Is there any data that compares those orders to how many copies actually left a store in the hands of a buyer? Maybe I should say reader. I always imagine a book being ordered in vast quantities and then copies sitting in some warehouse somewhere...like Powell's NW industrial warehouses in Portland. I guess the stores have purchased the books, though, so it counts as true sales figures. Right?

[Werthead]

Books in print are the numbers of books that have been physically printed, so that includes books that have been sold, are on the shelves of shops, are in librarys and are in a warehouse somewhere. Print runs of books are usually dependent on sales, especially for mass sales, so there is still a correlation between books in print and books sold, though they are not quite the same. There is no universally-recognised system for tracking book sales (Nielsen Bookscan is still relatively new and only picks up about 60% of sales) so those figures are always very dubious.

The distinction will only really skew books for low-selling authors (where say a publisher prints 10,000 copies for a new author, he only sells 2,000 and the rest are pulped or remaindered). For figures above 100,000 the distinction shouldn't be significant.

[The Marquis de Leech]

There is something depressing about Paolini outselling Orwell.

[Werthead]

There is something depressing about Paolini outselling Orwell.

If it makes you feel better, that's all four of Paolini's books combined outselling one of Orwell's books by itself. Animal Farm, if could find figures for it, might double Orwell's sales and that's not counting his other works (though none of his other works are SFF, if I recall, and Animal Farm may be debatable).

[The Marquis de Leech]

If it makes you feel better, that's all four of Paolini's books combined outselling one of Orwell's books by itself. Animal Farm, if could find figures for it, might double Orwell's sales and that's not counting his other works (though none of his other works are SFF, if I recall, and Animal Farm may be debatable).

Animal Farm has to be Fantasy. You've listed Richard Adams' Watership Down in the list.

[SeanF]

There is something depressing about Paolini outselling Orwell.

OTOH, I expect people will still be buying Orwell 100 years from now.

[SeanF]

Animal Farm has to be Fantasy. You've listed Richard Adams' Watership Down in the list.

IIRC, Orwell subtitled it "A fairy story".

[Werthead]

Animal Farm has to be Fantasy. You've listed Richard Adams' Watership Down in the list.

True, but Watership Down also has ghosts and spirit guide things (the black rabbit etc) in it. Animal Farm was written as a work of political allegory and, IIRC, doesn't have any fantastical elements in it other than the talking animals themselves. I don't think talking animals are enough to make it a fantasy (which is why Wind in the Willows is not on the list), just as sentient, talking steam trains aren't enough to make it science fiction (hence why The Railway Stories - aka Thomas the Tank Engine - are also not on there) :)