The downward slide for mass market sales continues to be dramatic. We guessed that there would be fewer books with annual sales of 500,000 copies or more, so this year we lowered the eligible number to 350,000 for our annual list. There was no avalanche of titles that met this more moderate qualification—the 2013 total was 35 mass markets with sales of 350,000 or more and only 10 went over the 500,000 level. In 2012 we were lamenting the modest total of 26 bestsellers with 500,000+ sales.

Just a decade ago in 2003, there were 120 mass market titles that boasted sales of 500,000+ and 54 had sales of one million–plus (seven of the them passing the two-million mark). The continuing trend of shorter stays on the weekly charts had a strong impact on the lower sales figures—there were 290 mass market titles that hit the weekly charts, with about 50% lasting for three weeks or less.

The big game-changer in this category, of course, is e-books. Mass market publishers were pioneers in the e-books field and many of its highest print performers of yesteryear have numerous e-book bestsellers. It remains unclear if that fully compensates for the lower print sales. Using the 2003 end-of-year bestsellers again as a benchmark, we count 12 Nora Roberts titles with annual sales of one million and more but no print books from the author on the 2013 mass market list with 350,000+ sales. Roberts does have at least 15 titles with sales of 50,000 and more on the digital list, however. While not as dramatic, other veterans, including Stephen King, Danielle Steel, James Patterson, and John Grisham, had similar fates—fewer print top sellers, complemented by many more digital titles with strong sales performance.

The epic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, continued its stellar performance in 2013. George R.R. Martin’s five titles rank in the mass market top 10. All the others on the mass market list have been repeat top performers for decades, including Danielle Steel, Tom Clancy and Clive Cussler.

The only newcomer, and a rarity on these end-of- year mass market charts, is American Sniper by the late Chris Kyle, #12 on the list, with Harper reporting sales of 483,539. There has always been a dearth of nonfiction titles among mass market top sellers. The extensive 2003 mass market list had only three such books—two Atkins titles and the movie tie-in edition of Seabiscuit.

The figures for all books listed with an asterisk (*) were submitted to PW in confidence, for use in placing the title on the list.

Trade Paper Holds Steady

The phenomenon of Fifty Shades—the erotic trilogy that sold more than 29 million copies in the U.S. alone in 2012—was in all likelihood a singular bestseller event. Combined sales in 2013 were closer to 1.8 million, but that number could go higher in 2014 when the movie debuts. With that elephant out of the room, trade paperback sales held steady in 2013. The number of books that went over the 100,000 mark was 146 in 2013, a bit behind the 156 in 2012, but higher than the 112 in 2011. Trade paper remains the list on which bestsellers can boast of longevity. There were 23 trade titles on PW’s 2013 longest-running bestsellers list that had a tenure of 15 or more weeks; that’s equal to the combined hardcover fiction and nonfiction bestsellers that reached that mark.

Mass Market

1,000,000+

*A Game of Thrones. George R.R. Martin. Bantam

800,000+

*The Racketeer. John Grisham. Dell

To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee. Grand Central (809,496)

750,000+

*A Clash of Kings. George R. R. Martin. Bantam

*A Feast for Crows. George R.R. Martin. Bantam

650,000+

*A Dance with Dragons. George R.R. Martin. Bantam

*A Storm of Swords. George R.R. Martin. Bantam

500,000+

*A Wanted Man. Lee Child. Dell

*Notorious Nineteen. Janet Evanovich. Bantam

The Best of Me. Nicholas Sparks. Grand Central (522,670)

450,000+

The Innocent. David Baldacci. Grand Central (488,358)

American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History. Chris Kyle. Harper Mass Market (483,539)

Private #1 Suspect. James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. Grand Central (479,305)

Forgotten. David Baldacci. Grand Central (469,400)

*The Sins of the Mother. Danielle Steel. Dell

Zoo. James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge. Grand Central (453,533)

*Friends Forever. Danielle Steel. Dell

400,000+

*The Bone Bed. Patricia Cornwell. Berkley

*Threat Vector. Tom Clancy and Mark Greaney. Berkley

The Lost Years. Mary Higgins Clark. Pocket Books (413,908)

*Calico Joe. John Grisham. Dell

Hunting Eve. Iris Johansen. St. Martin’s Paperback (408,449)

Private London. James Patterson and Mark Pearson. Grand Central (406,293)

*Touch & Go. Lisa Gardner. Signet

Now You See Her. James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge. Grand Central (405,351)

*Poseidon’s Arrow. Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler. Berkley

350,000+

*The Inn at Rose Harbor. Debbie Macomber. Ballantine

*Mad River. John Sandford. Berkley

Low Pressure. Sandra Brown. Grand Central (373,141)

Tenth Circle. Jodi Picoult. Pocket Books (365,511)

*Stay Close. Harlan Coben. Signet

*Angels at the Table. Debbie Macomber. Ballantine

*Stolen Prey. John Sandford. Berkley.

*Betrayal. Danielle Steel. Dell

*Backfire. Catherine Coulter. Jove

Trade Paperback

1,000,000+

The Great Gatsby. F Scott Fitzgerald. Scribner (1,102,940, combines movie tie-in and standard editions)

900,000+

Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife. Alexander Eben. Simon & Schuster (943,010)

750,000+

*Entwined. Sylvia Day. Berkley

Fifty Shades of Gray. E.L. James. Vintage (754,734)

500,000+

*Dark Witch. Nora Roberts. Berkley

The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts. Gary D. Chapman. Moody/Northfield (604,241)

Miss Kay’s Duck Commander Kitchen: Faith, Family, and Food—Bringing Our Home to Your Table. Kay Robertson. Howard Books (582,301)

Fifty Shades Darker. E.L. James. Vintage (514,554)

400,000+

Fifty Shades Freed. E.L. James. Vintage (496,119)

40 Days with Jesus: Celebrating His Presence. Sarah Young. Thomas Nelson (483,528)

*World War Z. Max Brooks, Broadway Books

*Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking. Susan Cain. Broadway Books

*Wreck This Journal, Expanded Edition. Keri Smith. Perigee

300,000+

Farenheit 451. Ray Bradbury. Simon & Schuster (388,001)

Beautiful Ruins. Jess Walter. Harper Perennial (385,621)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Stephen Chobsky. Gallery Books (378,717)

The Casual Vacancy. J.K. Rowling. Little, Brown (377,551)

*Orange Is the New Black. Piper Kerman. Spiegel & Grau

*Of Mice and Men. John Steinbeck. Penguin

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. Cheryl Strayed. Vintage (316,670)

America the Beautiful: Rediscovering What Made This Nation Great. Ben Carson, M.D. Zondervan (313,268)

*Lord of the Flies. William Golding. Perigee

250,000+

*The Witness. Nora Roberts. Berkley

Outliers: The Story of Success. Malcolm Gladwell. Little, Brown (267,624)

Waking Up in Heaven: A True Story of Brokenness, Heaven, and Life Again. Crystal McVea. Howard Books (264,279)

*Bared to You. Sylvia Day. Berkley

Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things that Happened. Allie Brosh. Touchstone (258,871)

Orphan Train. Christina Baker Kline. William Morrow Paperbacks (252,720)

200,000+

Where’d You Go, Bernadette? Maria Semple. Little, Brown/Back Bay (241,371)

New Atkins Made Easy: A Faster, Simpler Way to Shed Weight and Feel Great. Colette Heimowitz. Touchstone (233,093)

The Light Between Oceans. M.L. Stedman. Scribner (232,110)

*The Zombie Survival Guide. Max Brooks. Broadway Books

*Rush. Maya Banks. Berkley

*The Paris Wife. Paula McClain. Ballantine

*Dark Places. Gillian Flynn. Broadway Books

*The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Rebecca Skloot. Broadway Books

Alex Cross, Run. James Patterson. Grand Central (214,724)

Control: Exposing the Truth about Guns. Glenn Beck. Threshold (213,260)

I Declare: 31 Promises to Speak Over Your Life. Joel Osteen. FaithWords (210,275)

The Things They Carried. Tim O’Brien. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (207,303)

*Winter of the World. Ken Follett. NAL

Follow Me: A Call to Die, A Call to Live. David Platt. Tyndale House (203,315)

The Storyteller. Jodi Picoult. Atria/ Emily Bestler Books (201,777)

*Sharp Objects. Gillian Flynn. Broadway Books

*Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? Mindy Kaling. Crown Archetype

Hit. David Baldacci. Grand Central (189,706)

The Glass Castle: A Memoir. Jeannette Walls. Scribner (187,137)

The Guardian. Beverly Lewis. Bethany House (186,370)

*Burn. Maya Banks. Berkley

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. Sean Covey. Touchstone (182,106)

Forgotten. David Baldacci. Grand Central (180,406)

The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears. Mark Batterson. Zondervan (179,943)

*World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (movie tie-in). Max Brooks. Broadway Books

Gods at War: Defeating the Idols that Battle for Your Heart. Kyle Idleman. Zondervan (176,036)

*The Silent Wife. A.S.A. Harrison. Penguin

*The Racketeer. John Grisham. Bantam

*Fever. Maya Banks. Berkley

Thinking, Fast and Slow. Daniel Kahneman. Farrar, Straus & Giroux (169,064)

*Eat It to Beat It! David Zinczenko. Ballantine

12th of Never. James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. Grand Central (166,842)

Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World. Bob Goff and Donald Miller. Thomas Nelson (165,560)

Flight Behavior. Barbara Kingsolver. Harper Perennial (165,108)

11th Hour. James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. Grand Central (162,628)

The Secret Keeper. Kate Morton. Washington Square Press (162,497)

Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotion. Lysa TerKeurst. Zondervan (160,755)

Eat to Live: The Amazing Nutrient-Rich Program for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss, Revised Edition. Joel Fuhrman, M.D. Little, Brown (160,730)

*The Wolf of Wall Street. Jordan Belfort. Bantam

Thinking Fast & Slow. Daniel Kahneman. Farrar, Strauss & Giroux (160,064)

150,000+

How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character. Paul Tough. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (158,957)

Steve Jobs. Walter Isaacson. Simon & Schuster (158,834)

Silver Linings Playbook (movie tie-in). Matthew Quick. Farrar, Strauss & Giroux (157,894)

How to Win Friends and Influence People. Dale Carnegie. Gallery Books (156,045)

The Secret Keeper. Beverly Lewis. Bethany House (155,839)

Under the Dome. Stephen King. Gallery Books (155,683)

Death Came to Pemberley. P.D. James. Vintage (155,662)

*The Language of Flowers. Vanessa Diffenbaugh. Ballantine

*Me Before You. Jojo Moyes. Penguin

Walking Disaster. Jamie McGuire. Atria (150,269)

The Night Circus. Erin Morgenstern. Anchor (150,134)

125,000+

*Mindset. Carol Dweck. Ballantine

Zoo. James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge. Grand Central (149,911)

Hungry Girl: 200 Under 299, Just Desserts. Lisa Lillien. St. Martin’s Griffin (144,495)

Dear Life. Alice Munro. Vintage (144,344)

Private: #1 Suspect. James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. Grand Central (143,712)

*From Mama’s Table to Mine. Bobby Deen. Bantam

Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind. Joyce Meyer. Faith Words (143,142)

NYPD Red. James Patterson and Marshall Karp. Grand Central (143,108)

*The Orphan Master’s Son. Adam Johnson. Random House

Where We Belong. Emily Giffin. St. Martin’s Griffin (140,229)

*A Dance with Dragons. George R.R. Martin. Bantam

Into the Wild. Jon Krakauer. Anchor (135,493)

*A Game of Thrones. George R.R. Martin. Bantam

To Heaven and Back: A Doctor’s Extraordinary Account of Her Death, Heaven, Angels, and Life Again. Mary C. Neal M.D. Waterbrook Press (130,348)

The Devil in the White City. Erik Larson. Vintage (129,478)

Things Fall Apart. Chinua Achebe. Anchor (129,452)

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness. Susannah Cahalan. Simon & Schuster (129,066)

Home Front. Kristin Hannah. St. Martin’s Griffin (128,862)

*Michael Symon’s 5 in 5: 5 Fresh Ingredients + 5 Minutes = 120 Fantastic Meals. Michael Symon. Clarkson Potter

The Hobbit (Movie Tie-In). J.R.R. Tolkien. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (125,253)

100,000+

The Next Best Thing. Jennifer Weiner. Washington Square Press (122,514)

*Let’s Pretend This Never Happened. Jenny Lawson. Berkley

*Tell the Wolves I’m Home. Carol Rifka Brunt. Dial

Life of Pi (movie Tie-In). Yann Martel. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (121,170)

Low Pressure. Sandra Brown. Grand Central (120,018)

Weight Watchers What to Cook Now. Weight Watchers. St. Martin’s Griffin (119,664)

*The Other Wes Moore. Wes Moore. Spiegel & Grau

Weight Watchers 50th Anniversary Cookbook. Weight Watchers. St. Martin’s Griffin (117,306)

Inside of a Dog: What Dogs Sees, Smell, and Know. Alexandria Horowitz. Scribner (117,174)

*I’ve Got Your Number. Sophie Kinsella. Dell Books

*A Thousand Splendid Suns. Khaled Hosseini. Riverhead

The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History. Robert Edsel. Center Street (115,174)

I, Michael Bennett. James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge. Grand Central (115,173)

The Black Box. Michael Connelly. Grand Central (113,724)

Jesus>Religion: Why He Is Much Better than Trying Harder, Doing More, and Being Good Enough. Jefferson Bethke. Thomas Nelson (111,880)

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. Malcolm Gladwell. Little, Brown (111,105)

*Dog Shaming. Pascale Lemire. Crown Archetype 110,875

The Old Man and the Sea. Ernest Hemingway. Scribner (110,384)

Bossypants. Tina Fey. Little, Brown (110,184)

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Blinking. Malcolm Gladwell. Little, Brown (110,055)

*The Kite Runner, 10th Anniversary. Khaled Hosseini. Riverhead

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment. Eckhart Tolle. New World Library (109, 750)

Life Without Limits: Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life. Nick Vujicic. Waterbrook Press (109,437)

The Kitchen House. Kathleen Grissom. Touchstone (107,580)

You: The Owner’s Manual. Mehmet C. Oz, M.D. and Michael F. Roizen. William Morrow Paperbacks (107,514)

The Christmas Wedding. James Patterson and Richard DiLallo. Grand Central (107,431)

*In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin. Erik Larson. Broadway Books

Beating Obamacare: Your Handbook for the New Healthcare Law. Betsy McCaughey. Regnery (105,564)

*Tuesdays with Morrie. Mitch Albom. Broadway Books

Hungry Girl to the Max! Lisa Lillien. St. Martin’s Griffin (105,365)

Week in a Day. Rachael Ray. Atria (105,261)

Hamlet (Folger Shakespeare Library). William Shakespeare. Simon & Schuster (104,669)

*When Will the Heaven Begin?:This Is Ben Breedlove’s Story. Ally Breedlove. NAL

A Bend in the Road. Nicholas Sparks. Grand Central (103,964)

Macbeth (Folger Shakespeare Library). William Shakespeare. Simon & Schuster (102,756)

*The Dinner. Herman Koch. Hogarth

Jesus Is: Find a New Way to be Human. Judah Smith. Thomas Nelson (102,005)

Spring Fever. Mary Kay Andrews. St. Martin’s Griffin (101,405)

The Adventure Time Encyclopaedia. Martin Olson. Abrams (101,026)

12 Years a Slave, Movie tie-in. Solomon Northup. Penguin 100,776

Come Home. Lisa Scottoline. St. Martin’s Griffin (100,696)

*Shadow of Night. Deborah Harkness. Penguin

A Separate Peace. John Knowles. Scribner (100,112)

The House on Mango Street. Sandra Cisneros. Vintage (100,000)