What is an international bestselling author?

[alhawke]

Maybe I didn't research this enough, but I could not find any measurable way to back up calling oneself an international bestselling author. Is it bunk? Many of you know that there is a way to become a US bestselling author: you need to rank in Wallstreet Journal, USA Today, or, of course, The New York Times. But what of international?

[RPatton]

Maybe I didn't research this enough, but I could not find any measurable way to back up calling oneself an international bestselling author. Is it bunk? Many of you know that there is a way to become a US bestselling author: you need to rank in Wallstreet Journal, USA Today, or, of course, The New York Times. But what of international?

Honestly? No confirmation on this, but I know of a group who used to use that tag when they hit the top 100 of their main genre in a non US Amazon store. Almost all of them were KU authors, so take that for what you will.

I am sure there is a measure for International, as I see authors still using it, but as near as I can tell it appears to be more of a subjective measure based on some random ranking system because no one ever says exactly where they are international bestseller.

[TimothyEllis]

Maybe I didn't research this enough, but I could not find any measurable way to back up calling oneself an international bestselling author. Is it bunk? Many of you know that there is a way to become a US bestselling author: you need to rank in Wallstreet Journal, USA Today, or, of course, The New York Times. But what of international?

Honestly? No confirmation on this, but I know of a group who used to use that tag when they hit the top 100 of their main genre in a non US Amazon store. Almost all of them were KU authors, so take that for what you will.

I am sure there is a measure for International, as I see authors still using it, but as near as I can tell it appears to be more of a subjective measure based on some random ranking system because no one ever says exactly where they are international bestseller.

I just got 3 #1's in the UK, 1 in the US, and 1 in AUS. I guess that makes me an international bestseller. 

Top 100 in anything is not a bestseller on Amazon, and no-one should be claiming it is. That would make me an international best seller for 7 years running, which is ridiculous.

The Trad bestseller lists are irrelevant to Indies.

But on Amazon, imo you need to get #1 in the larger categories before you can really claim anything. International means you need to do it in the same category in at least 3 of the main stores at the same time with the same book. Which counts me out this time, as I only got Arthurian in 2, and I doubt that's really a big category.

I'd say I've done it twice, back in 2018, where I scooped up Space Opera twice, which to get means getting about ten sub-categories around it first. Alas, back then I wasn't looking at the UK and Aus charts, so I can't be sure.

[alhawke]

International means you need to do it in the same category in at least 3 of the main stores at the same time with the same book.

Is this what writers out there are using to call themselves international bestsellers? Is it 3? How? Apple and Google don't show rank and B&N is not an international seller (to my knowledge). That leaves only Kobo and Amazon to rank. For national, it's only 2 sellers needed and, again, proof from one of the major newspapers

My recent book was in the top 100 in the entire store internationally on Amazon--thanks to BookBub. I have proof that it was also #1 in Kobo internationally. So does that make me an international bestseller? Or is the whole thing nonsense? Probably. I suspect many publishers are throwing the term around. I could do that too, but if it's not honorable, I get that. And I won't.

[TimothyEllis]

Is this what writers out there are using to call themselves international bestsellers? Is it 3? How? Apple and Google don't show rank and B&N is not an international seller (to my knowledge). That leaves only Kobo and Amazon to rank. For national, it's only 2 sellers needed and, again, proof from one of the major newspapers

My recent book was in the top 100 in the entire store internationally on Amazon--thanks to BookBub. I have proof that it was also #1 in Kobo internationally. So does that make me an international bestseller? Or is the whole thing nonsense? Probably. I suspect many publishers are throwing the term around. I could do that too, but if it's not honorable, I get that. And I won't.

I'm exclusive to Amazon, so I meant 3 Amazon stores.

Anyone who gets to top 100 in the paid Amazon store is by my definition an international best seller. Even if it was mainly in the US. The whole dynamic changes at that level, and even the smaller stores are selling at a level which you can call good.

If you can do that on multiple platforms? Wow.

[j tanner]

Is this what writers out there are using to call themselves international bestsellers? Is it 3?

No. It's whatever they think justifies it, which varies widely (and always in favor of the writer who wants to use it. )

[Anarchist]

Is this what writers out there are using to call themselves international bestsellers? Is it 3? How? Apple and Google don't show rank and B&N is not an international seller (to my knowledge). That leaves only Kobo and Amazon to rank. For national, it's only 2 sellers needed and, again, proof from one of the major newspapers

My recent book was in the top 100 in the entire store internationally on Amazon--thanks to BookBub. I have proof that it was also #1 in Kobo internationally. So does that make me an international bestseller? Or is the whole thing nonsense? Probably. I suspect many publishers are throwing the term around. I could do that too, but if it's not honorable, I get that. And I won't.

I'm exclusive to Amazon, so I meant 3 Amazon stores.

Anyone who gets to top 100 in the paid Amazon store is by my definition an international best seller. Even if it was mainly in the US. The whole dynamic changes at that level, and even the smaller stores are selling at a level which you can call good.

If you can do that on multiple platforms? Wow.

I feel similarly.

If an author gets into the top 100 paid on Amazon.com, he's a bestseller in my eyes. If he gets into the top 100 paid on Amazon.com AND top 100 paid on Amazon.{insert TLD}, he's an international bestseller in my eyes. Otherwise, no.

Genre-specific lists don't count (in my eyes).

Authors often make questionable claims about their bestseller status. They do so without consequences.

[alhawke]

I'll keep an eye on what other authors are doing in their bios. I thought about adding it to my bio, but it doesn't seem customary. I've seen "International Bestseller" only a couple times alone. The majority of the time it's the usual USA Today, NYT or Wall Street Journal, based on US sales. In my situation, the sales were exclusive to outside the US in an international only sale.

[Crystal]

I've hit #1 in Australia (once) and France (five times), so I consider myself a #1 Amazon Bestseller. I also hit Canadian Most Sold, so I'm an Amazon bestseller by Amazon's own rule system!

But I don't actually label myself an Amazon bestseller. Or an international bestseller. I could say it, and it's true, but it's not really what people assume. Maybe that's on them--they should consider all the stores, not just the US store--but I'm aware of people's assumptions, so I'm not being totally honest if I call myself a #1 Amazon bestseller, period, end of sentence.

Maybe I'll do it to make a point about other stores. Probably not.

I don't think "bestseller" or "bestselling" or "International bestseller" mean anything. They're buzzwords like "buzzed about" or "the book everyone is talking about." It's social proof.

[alyson]

International best seller suggests, to me, bestseller in multiple languages.

[notthatamanda]

Is this what writers out there are using to call themselves international bestsellers? Is it 3?

No. It's whatever they think justifies it, which varies widely (and always in favor of the writer who wants to use it. )

This. My sister's childhood friend wrote a memoir and slapped an international bestseller star on it when she published it.

[RPatton]

Good general rule of thumb to follow. There are some titles you can claim because of your own work to achieve them (but even those most of those titles are given to you by an organization based upon set standards) and there are some titles assigned to you by an outside source. When it comes to anything bestselling, it should be because a credible outside source said as much and not because of some weird mental gymnastics used to justify the title because technically, when the moon is in the seventh house and if you close one eye and stand on your head for ten minutes, it is.

[Mysterywriter]

I use 'internationally bestselling author'

I hit number one on a couple of international stores.

To be honest, I use it unashamedly! I am running a business and will do whatever I can to push my brand.

For the same reason I plan to try and hit the USA today list next year. I'll throw money at it to get that moniker in my bio. It might only make a tiny percentage difference to people buying a book, but small percentages add up over time.