Bulk buying your way to the best seller's list.

Courtesy of the Daily Beast:

In January 2012, former megachurch pastor Mark Driscoll’s book Real Marriage went to the top spot on the Hardcover Advice section of The New York Times best-seller list. In March 2014, it was disclosed by evangelical magazine, World, that Driscoll’s publishing success was aided by a consulting firm called ResultSource, which purchased books on behalf of Driscoll in a coordinated effort to spike sales and give the impression that the book was popular with thousands of book buyers. Driscoll recently resigned from his church and one factor associated with his departure is the decision to buy his way onto the best-seller list. 

Driscoll later admitted that the scheme was wrong and even asked that the designation “New York Times best-selling author” be removed from his bio and book covers. However, Driscoll is not alone among evangelicals wanting to improve their brand and increase sales. 

This Daily Beast article is mainly concerned with how Christian authors get their books onto the best seller list, however I am sure that most of you were quick to realize that this is probably how a LOT of undeserving authors get there as well. 

In fact the author links to a 2013 Wall Street article which makes that very point: 

It isn't uncommon for a business book to land on best-seller lists only to quickly drop off. But even a brief appearance adds permanent luster to an author's reputation, greasing the skids for speaking and consulting engagements. 

But the short moment of glory doesn't always occur by luck alone. In the cases mentioned above, the authors hired a marketing firm that purchased books ahead of publication date, creating a spike in sales that landed titles on the lists. The marketing firm, San Diego-based ResultSource, charges thousands of dollars for its services in addition to the cost of the books, according to authors interviewed. 

As ResultSource's website points out, hitting best-seller lists can mean fame, and potentially lucrative consulting assignments. 

"Publishing a book builds credibility, but having a Bestseller initiates incredible growth—exponentially increasing the demand for your thought leadership, skyrocketing your speaking itinerary and value," ResultSource says. 

ResultSource's principal, Kevin Small, declined requests for an interview. On its website, the company outlines its ambitions: "'We create campaigns that reach a specific goal, like: "On the bestsellers list," or "100,000 copies sold.'"

Even though those who compile data for bestseller lists are vigilant about bulk book sales, and do not count them in their calculations, companies like ResultSource have found ways around their scrutiny.

This of course is the way that conservative authors like Mark Levin, Rush Limbaugh, and Bill O'Reilly obviously contiue receiving credit for writing bestsellers, even though their approach to their topic (Obama is bad!) is ham fisted and their built in audience is for the most part functionally illiterate.

And it also explains the success of this future bargain bin mainstay.

I had to read this literary shit stain for the blog, and I do believe that I have written far more eloquently constructed sentences while drunkenly banging my face onto the keyboard whilst attempting to retrieve a dropped cashew nut with my lips.

Hey do you remember back when an author actually had to write a good book to make it on the bestseller's list? When a politician actually had to garner votes from the majority of the people in order to get elected? And when a person's fifteen minutes of fame actually had to last only that fifteen minutes?

Boy those were the day weren't they?

For those who have wondered how Sarah Palin, and other Right Wing hacks, keep getting on the bestseller's list. Wonder no more.

Courtesy of the LA Times:  

Every author wants a bestselling book -- and those who can pay for the services of ResultSource Inc. just might get one. The company describes itself as "a boutique marketing firm that works with today’s thought leaders to build bestsellers," which it has. 

In 2013, the Wall Street Journal talked with authors of two books who paid thousands of dollars to ResultSource and subsequently landed on the Journal's own bestseller list. "Precisely how [ResultSource] goes about [its business] is unclear," Jeffrey Trachtenberg wrote. 

Now, a new report about the sales numbers for "Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship, and Life Together" by evangelical pastor Mark Driscoll and his wife, Grace, reveals some details of how ResultSource gets books on bestseller lists. Driscoll heads Mars Hill Church, a megachurch in Seattle. 

The church paid an estimated $210,000 to ResultSource to make "Real Marriage" a bestseller, according to a document obtained by World Magazine, a Christian periodical. Warren Cole Smith writes in World that the magazine obtained an agreement between ResultSource and Driscoll's Mars Hill Church that was signed by representatives of both in October 2011. 

According to the article, the contract was for ResultSource "to conduct a bestseller campaign for your book, 'Real Marriage' on the week of January 2, 2012. The bestseller campaign is intended to place 'Real Marriage' on the New York Times bestseller list for the Advice How-to list." 

"Real Marriage" topped the New York Times' hardcover advice bestseller list on Jan. 22, 2012. The following week, it was gone. 

The spike onto a bestseller list and then disappearance -- as opposed to an up-and-down arc, or a high debut followed by a decline -- can indicate something other than typical consumer book-buying behavior. 

The report in World reveals what ResultSource did to get "Real Marriage" on the list. First, it bought a lot of books all at once. "RSI will be purchasing at least 11,000 total orders in one-week," the agreement states. 

Then the company went to great lengths to make that purchase of 11,000 books appear to be made by individuals or small groups, according to the article. 

The World's report continues, "The contract called for the 'author' to 'provide a minimum of 6,000 names and addresses for the individual orders and at least 90 names and address [sic] for the remaining 5,000 bulk orders. Please note that it is important that the makeup of the 6,000 individual orders include at least 1,000 different addresses with no more than 350 per state.'" 

So now we know where SarahPAC spends all of that Unclassifiable consulting money.

Because you know if something like this is possible, Sarah Palin has definitely taken advantage of it. And besides it really IS the only viable reason for why any book of hers would ever be considered a best seller.

I think most of us have already known that this is how they do it, however it is good to see mainstream journalism confirming what we already know.

I swear everything about this bitch is phony.