politics
Memoir Debuts at No. 1 on Times List Then Falls Off Within Weeks
A memoir published by Gallery Books reached the top of the New York Times hardcover nonfiction list on June 21 before dropping to No. 3 the next week and exiting the rankings entirely. The Times flagged the debut with a dagger symbol noting bulk purchases. Circana BookScan data showed sales falling from No. 2 to No. 16 over the same period.
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A memoir published by Gallery Books reached the top of the New York Times hardcover nonfiction list on June 21 before dropping to No. 3 the next week and exiting the rankings entirely. The Times flagged the debut with a dagger symbol noting bulk purchases. Circana BookScan data showed sales falling from No. 2 to No. 16 over the same period.
By the week ending June 20 the book had sold 3,221 print copies and accumulated 29,539 U.S. print sales, according to Publishers Weekly’s Circana BookScan rankings. The Times has not disclosed its full methodology for compiling the list. A Times spokesperson said the dagger symbol appears when sales include a mix of organic and bulk purchases.
The same statement noted that the paper relies on a proprietary methodology rather than raw sales totals.
CEO of Leverage with Media PR, said bulk orders are common for political figures and celebrities on national tours. She stated that bookstores hosting events often place advance orders for hundreds of copies at a time. Gallery Books said the memoir spent two weeks on the Times list, debuting at No.
1 and reaching No. 3 in its second week. The publisher attributed sales to national media coverage and in-conversation events at independent bookstores. The book has remained on the USA Today bestseller list after leaving the Times rankings.
