Top Twenty-Five Authors I Sold This Year and The Secret of How I Sell What I Haven't Read

Nora's latest at this writing is the 20th most read book at Amazon and received a "Buy It" instead of a "Borrow It" or "Skip It" from Kirkus Reviews

One of the reasons my business worked my first year is because many of my customers want to read everything by their favorite author, so they come back for more. 

If I were to give my best guess of which authors I sold the most of this year, I would say they were, represented in my Top Four selling genres:

Thriller/Suspense (besides the ubiquitous James Patterson)

1. David Baldacci
2. Lee Child
3. C.J. Box
4. John Stanford
5. Harlan Coben
6. J.A. Jance
7. Catherine Coulter
8. Vince Flynn
9. Robert Crais
10. Daniel Silva

General/Historical Fiction

1. Diana Gabaldon (Go Outlander!)
2. Lisa Scottoline
3. Bernard Cornwell
4. Erin Hildebrand
5. Jeffrey Archer

Romance (besides the ubiquitous Nora Roberts)

1. Lisa Kleypas
2. Julie Garwood
3. Diana Palmer
4. Robyn Carr
5. Jayne Ann Krantz

Mysteries

1. J.D. Robb (a pen name of Nora Roberts. Did I know this before I bought the business? I did not.)
2. Janet Evanovich
3. Louise Penny
4. Craig Johnson, of Longmire fame
5. Robert B. Parker

Out of these twenty-five authors I have read...

Four

How have I sold so many books by authors I have never read? Well, it's a side effect of an important lesson I learned this year.

A strong business is about me AND you. This is so simple and so profound. 

Customers and readers love to talk about what they read. I learn from you. Yes, government espionage is not my thing but it is yours. Tell me all about it. 

One of my favorite things about my work is getting to know you and the stories that light you up.

Who are your authors that you can't enough of? Are they listed above?

The links above are attached to my Amazon affiliate link. Any time you click on a link I provide and shop for that product or any product on Amazon, this neighborhood bookstore can keep the lights on another month, so thank you! My philosophy? If you can't beat 'em, join 'em and I can't provide any book you might want, so no Amazon guilt from this independent bookseller.