The Top 100 Publisher Imprints Selling Black Books

It is really interesting to me to look at this report.  There is a lot of information in here, and as I continue with the website upgrade I'll continue to share even more information and put some of this data in context.

But the main benefit is that as I compile book club reading lists, bestseller lists, awards, reviews and more I'll be even better able to identify quality books readers will enjoy 

 

I'm just getting started...

Very interesting data. I wonder why/how some publishers have more titles on the bestsellers list than others...what makes the difference?

 

Sheryl

Hi @Sheryl that's simple; it is based upon sales generated by AALBC.com since 1998. I'm actually still inserting book information, particularly for some of the older titles, so this list will evolve over time.  The information is being complied from sales of well over over 10,000 different titles sold over a period of almost 18 years.

Some publisher imprints have more titles based upon their sheer size and the popularity of their authors. Of course AALBC.com is just one website, so our sales are skewed to by books we promote, books of our sponsors and supporters, or books that resonate with our audience.

When I first started compiling this data I ran a report which showed more than 2/3's of the most popular books read by African American readers are published by just 3 conglomerates and two of those were headquartered outside the United States.  This data was compiled on the now defunct Power List sites, but I have very similar info on AALBC.com and look forward to reporting in this information and showing who is really behind Black books. 

As an aside, I want to review how I'm counting bestsellers for publishers.  When I count them for authors I count the number of times their book has made the list.  So if an author has one book that made the best sellers list 10 times; the authors is a "10 Time AALBC.com Bestselling Author."  

For publishers I think I want to count the number of distinct titles that have made the list. So if they have one book that has made the list 10 times I'm considering counting the book once rather than 10 times, then ranking the publishers based upon the number of bestselling books (as opposed to the number of times their books have appeared on a list)

What do you all think?

 

Hi Troy,

Sorry for the late reply. I've been away from social media for health reasons. Thank you for taking time to answer my question. This makes total sense! As far as how you're counting best sellers, I think I like the idea of both lists being counted the same, whichever way you decide - same book multiple times or distinct titles.

I applaud you for all your hard work. This sounds like a daunting task. 

Sheryl

No worries @Sheryl.  I have no expectation of an immediate response, and conversations here can be resurrected even years later 

I hope your health continues to improve, and thanks for the kind words.