Back in March 2000, the big publishing news was Stephen King's novella Riding the Bullet being published exclusively in e-book format. King was the first major bestselling author to publish in an electronic format. At the time, Simon & Schuster spokesperson Adam Rothberg was widely quoted saying: "This could change the model of publishing."
This year, for the first time in PW's 100+ years of annual features on bestsellers, the magazine collected statistics on e-book sales. We asked publishers (and only publishers that had print bestsellers with sales of more than 100,000 in 2010) to submit e-books with sales of more than 10,000 last year. The response from the houses was mixed. Many declined to share this information, others only submitted selected titles. Still, we collected statistics on about 275 books—enough to underscore that the publishing model has indeed changed and that what is available in e-book format is ubiquitous.
Check out this first list and you will find familiar authors in familiar spots. Many top-selling authors on the 2010 hardcover chart are among the e-book top-sellers, including Stieg Larsson's The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, with electronic sales of 775,000 compared to 1.9 million in print. John Grisham, James Patterson (at least 12 e-book hits), Nicholas Sparks, Stephen King, and more are high and plentiful on both charts. There is also plenty of backlist, as classics like Gone with the Wind, The Great Gatsby, and How to Win Friends and Influence People reap solid e-book sales.
In his March 13 blog, Mike Shatzkin's headline noted, "E-books are making me recall the history of mass market publishing." He also wrote: "The anti-paperback snobbery was widespread, and the separation between trade and mass market publishing persisted for a long time. For at least a couple of decades, paperback houses didn't do hardcovers." That's history now. But Shatzkin's last sentence resonates in today's fast-changing book marketplace. "Much less expensive editions, combined with access to audiences for authors that couldn't get past the gatekeepers in the established houses, can create millions of new readers." Anything that creates more readers is a boon for all kinds of publishers.
"The times they are a-changin,' " sang Bob Dylan back in 1964. It is the first part of that sentence that publishers are all singing: "You better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone."
Note: asterisked titles were submitted in confidence, for use in placing titles on the lists. Those numbers are rounded down to indicate their relationship to figures for other titles; in several cases the sales figures were omitted entirely, at the publishers' request.
For e-book sales of children's and YA books, click here.
E-book Sales, 2010
100,000+
1. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. Stieg Larsson. Knopf (775,000)
2. The Confession. John Grisham. Doubleday (*550,000)
3. Decision Points. George W. Bush. Crown (307,216)
4. Sh*t My Dad Says. Justin Halpern. HarperCollins/It Books (242,000)
5. Freedom. Jonathan Franzen. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (230,772)
6. I, Alex Cross. James Patterson. Little, Brown (152,626)
7. The Last Song. Nicholas Sparks. Grand Central (134,934)
8. Under the Dome. Stephen King. Scribner
9. Dear John. Nicholas Sparks. Grand Central (130,042)
10. American Assassin. Vince Flynn. Atria (*120,000)
11. The Lovely Bones. Alice Sebold. Little, Brown (118,583)
12. Shutter Island. Dennis Lehane. Morrow (115,528)
13. The 9th Judgment. James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. Little, Brown (114,998)
14. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Rebecca Skloot. Crown (110,273)
15. Safe Haven. Nicholas Sparks. Grand Central (108,849)
E-book Runners-Up
16. Private. James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. Little, Brown (107,334)
17. The Postcard Killers. James Patterson and Liza Marklund. Little, Brown (100,490)
18. The 4-Hour Body. Timothy Ferriss. Crown Archetype (91,804)
19. Dead Witch Walking. Kim Harrison. Eos (90,922)
20. Little Bee. Chris Cleave. Simon & Schuster (*90,000)
21. The Lion. Nelson DeMille. Grand Central (85,819)
22. Fly Away Home. Jennifer Weiner. Atria
23. The Reversal. Michael Connelly. Little, Brown (85,121)
24. House Rules. Jodi Picoult. Atria (*80,000)
25. Deliver Us from Evil. David Baldacci. Grand Central (78,951)
26. Rage of Angels. Sidney Sheldon. Morrow (77,264)
27. Innocent. Scott Turow. Grand Central (73,215)
28. Don't Blink. James Patterson and Howard Roughan. Little, Brown (72,776)
29. Room. Emma Donoghue. Little, Brown (71,919)
30. Half Broke Horses. Jeannette Walls. Scribner (*66,000)
50,000+
Heat Wave. Richard Castle. Hyperion. (65,785)
Outliers. Malcolm Gladwell. Little, Brown (65,705)
Star Island. Carl Hiaasen. Knopf (65,624)
Hell’s Corner. David Baldacci. Grand Central (64,094)
Naked Heat. Richard Castle. Hyperion (62,803)
The Shack. William P. Young. Windblown Media (61,907)
Worst Case. James Patterson and James Ledwidge. Little, Brown (61,249)
Beautiful Lies. Lisa Ungar. Broadway (61,191)
Cross Fire. James Patterson. Little, Brown (59,907)
Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang. Chelsea Handler. Grand Central (56,372)
Foreign Influence. Brad Thor. Atria (*55,000)
A Dog’s Purpose. Bruce Cameron. Forge (51,767)
The Glass Castle. Jeannette Walls. Scribner
Tough Customer. Sandra Brown. Simon & Schuster (*50,000)
20,000+
Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea. Chelsea Handler. Gallery
Pursuit of Honor. Vince Flynn. Atria (*48,000)
At Home. Bill Bryson. Doubleday (*47,000)
Ender’s Game. Orson Scott Card. Tor (46,003)
My Horizontal Life. Chelsea Handler. Bloomsbury (45,781)
Think of a Number. John Verdun. Crown (45,475)
Born to Run. Christopher McDougall. Vintage (45,000)
War. Sebastian Junger. Grand Central (44,917)
The Overton Window. Glenn Beck. Threshold Editions
The 8th Confession. James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. Little, Brown (42,791)
Spoken from the Heart. Laura Bush. Scribner
Full Dark, No Stars. Stephen King. Scribner
True Blue. David Baldacci. Grand Central (41,208)
The Shadow of Your Smile. Mary Higgins Clark. Simon & Schuster
I’d Know You Anywhere. Laura Lippman. Morrow (40,372)
The 4-Hour Workweek, Expanded and Updated. Timothy Ferriss. Crown Archetype (39,798)
Obama’s Wars. Bob Woodward. Simon & Schuster (38,625)
Forgotten Garden. Kate Morton. Atria (38,473)
The Red Queen. Philippa Gregory. Touchstone (37,922)
Moonlight Mile. Dennis Lehane. Morrow (37,918)
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. Aimee Bender. Doubleday The Host. Stephenie Meyer. Little, Brown (37,232)
Spider Bones. Kathy Reichs. Scribner
The Glass Rainbow. James Lee Burke. Simon & Schuster (*36,000)
The Burning Wire. Jeffrey Deaver. Simon & Schuster (*35,000)
SuperFreakonomics. Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. Morrow (34,800)
Life. Keith Richards with James Fox. Little, Brown (34,467)
Wolf Hall. Hilary Mantel. Henry Holt/A John Macrae Book (34,336)
The Ritual Bath. Faye Kellerman. Morrow (33,940)
Transfer of Power. Vince Flynn. Atria
I, Sniper. Stephen Hunter. Simon & Schuster
Leslie Sansone’s Eat Smart, Walk Strong. Leslie Sansone. Hachette/Center Street (33,634)
I Remember Nothing and Other Reflections. Nora Ephron. Knopf (32,556)
What the Dog Saw. Malcolm Gladwell. Little, Brown (33,364)
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Seth Grahame-Smith. Grand Central (33,325)
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. Max Brooks. Three Rivers (32,188)
Fever Dream. Lincoln Child. Grand Central (31,418)
Not My Daughter. Barbara Delinsky. Doubleday
Freakonomics, revised edition. Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. Morrow (30,934)
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard. Chip Heath and Dan Heath. Crown Business (30,912)
The Hobbit. J.R.R. Tolkien. Morrow (30,907)
Oprah: A Biography. Kitty Kelley. Crown Archetype (29,654)
The Island. Elin Hildebrand. Little, Brown (29,623)
Nine Dragons. Michael Connelly. Little, Brown (29,072)
Best Friends Forever. Jennifer Weiner. Atria (*28,000)
The Tipping Point. Malcolm Gladwell. Little, Brown (27,756)
The White Queen. Philippa Gregory. Touchstone (27,294)
Altar of Eden. James Rollins. Morrow (26,902)
Pinheads and Patriots. Bill O’Reilly. Morrow (26,290)
One for the Money. Janet Evanovich. Scribner
Third Option. Vince Flynn. Atria. (26,075)
Black Magic Sanction. Kim Harrison. Eos (25,730)
Roses. Leila Meacham. Grand Central (25,493)
Last Night at Chateau Marmont. Lauren Weisberger. Atria
Lone Survivor. Marcus Luttrell. Little, Brown (25,368)
Hangman. Faye Kellerman. Morrow (25,452)
Noah’s Compass. Anne Tyler. Knopf (25,000)
Blink. Malcolm Gladwell. Little, Brown (24,680)
This Time Together. Carol Burnett. Crown Archetype (24,662)
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk. David Sedaris. Little, Brown (24,499)
Fragile. Lisa Ungar. Crown (24,423)
Rework. Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson. Crown Business (24,332)
The Finkler Question. Howard Jacobson. Bloomsbury (24,026)
The Double Comfort Safari Club. Alexander McCall Smith. Pantheon (24,000)
Change Your Brain, Change Your Body. Dr. Daniel G. Amen. Crown Archetype (23,924)
In Fifty Years We’ll All Be Chicks. Adam Carolla.
Crown Archetype (23,607)
Alex Cross’s Trial. James Patterson and Richard DiLallo. Little, Brown (23,411)
Empire of the Summer Moon. S.C. Gynne. Scribner
Pleasure of a Dark Prince. Kresley Cole. Pocket Books
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter. Tom Franklin. Morrow (22,262)
Barefoot. Elin Hildebrand. Little, Brown (22,659)
Way of Kings. Brandon Sanderson. Tor (22,195)
Rainwater. Sandra Brown. Simon & Schuster (22,048)
The Man from Beijing. Henning Mankell. Knopf (22,000)
Term Limits. Vince Flynn. Atria
First Family. David Baldacci. Grand Central (21,834)
The Lucky One. Nicholas Sparks. Grand Central (21,834)
Still Alice. Lisa Genova. Pocket
Separation of Power. Vince Flynn. Atria
Broke: The Plan to Restore Our Trust, Truth and Treasure. Glenn Beck. Threshold Editions
90 Minutes in Heaven. Don Piper. Revell (21,197)
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress. Rhoda Janzen. Henry Holt (20,915)
Unbearable Lightness. Portia De Rossi. Atria
The Burnt House. Faye Kellerman. Morrow (20,567)
The Strain. Guillermo Del Toro. Morrow (20,478)
Demon from the Dark. Kresley Cole. Pocket
A Hunger Like No Other. Kresley Cole. Pocket
Angels and Demons. Dan Brown. Atria
10,000+
Warlord. Ted Bell. Morrow (19,994)
Cleopatra. Stacy Schiff. Little, Brown (19,807)
Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the Assholes Finish First. Tucker Max. Gallery
American Dream. David Platt. Multnomah (19,770)
First Drop of Crimson. Jeaniene Frost. Avon (19,700)
Operation Mincemeat. Ben Macintyre. Crown (19,679)
Edge. Jeffery Deaver. Simon & Schuster
I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced. Nujood Ali with Delphine Minoui. Broadway (19,364)
Two for the Dough. Janet Evanovich. Scribner
A Short History of Nearly Everything. Bill Bryson. Broadway (19,318)
Sliding into Home. Kendra Wilkinson. Gallery
The Good, the Bad, and the Undead. Kim Harrison. Eos (19,159)
Memorial Day. Vince Flynn. Atria
The Choice. Nicholas Sparks. Grand Central (18,894)
Nanny Returns. Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Straus. Atria
Handle with Care. Jodi Picoult. Atria (18,741)
Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Objective. Eric Van Lustbader. Grand Central (18,723)
True Compass. Edward Kennedy. Grand Central (18,574)
The Checklist Manifesto. Atul Gawande. Metropolitan (18,516)
The Watchman. Robert Crais. Simon & Schuster
Her Fearful Symmetry. Audrey Niffenegger. Scribner
Consent to Kill. Vince Flynn. Atria
The Zombie Survival Guide. Max Brooks. Crown Archetype (17,875)
Secrets of Eden. Chris Bohjalian. Crown (17,812)
Extreme Measures. Vince Flynn. Atria (17,734)
1st to Die. James Patterson. Little, Brown (17,723)
Kitchen House. Kathleen Grissom. Touchstone (17,705)
The Last Lecture. Randy Pausch. Hyperion (17,461)
The Secret. Rhonda Byrne. Atria (17,392)
Gone with the Wind. Margaret Mitchell. Scribner
Ten Things I Love About You. Julia Quinn. Avon (17,239)
Eternal Kiss of Darkness. Jeaniene Frost. Avon (17,202)
Shadow of Power. Steve Martini. Morrow (17,178)
Wicked. Gregory Maguire. Morrow (17,169)
Lions of Lucerne. Brad Thor. Atria
Executive Power. Vince Flynn. Atria (*16,000)
206 Bones. Kathy Reichs. Scribner
Déjà Dead. Kathy Reichs. Scribner
The Fall. Guillermo Del Toro. Morrow (16,641)
Redeeming Love. Francine Rivers. Multnomah (16,553)
7th Heaven. James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. Little, Brown (16,523)
The Obama Diaries. Laura Ingraham. Threshold Editions
Her Mother’s Hope. Francine Prose. Tyndale (16,291)
The Walk. Richard Paul Evans. Simon & Schuster
Dark Descent. Christine Feehan. Avon (16,243)
The Great Gatsby. F. Scott Fitzgerald. Scribner
The Athena Project. Brad Thor. Atria
Run for Your Life. James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge. Little, Brown (16,079)
Protect and Defend. Vince Flynn. Atria
Three to Get Deadly. Janet Evanovich. Scribner
Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake. Sarah MacLean. Avon (15,699)
Swimsuit. James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. Little, Brown (15,683)
My Sister’s Keeper. Jodi Picoult. Pocket
The Wave. Susan Casey. Doubleday (15,660)
The Rule of Nine. Steve Martini. Morrow (15,410)
This Is Why You’re Fat (And How to Get Thin Forever). Jackie Warner. Grand Central (15,337)
Resilience: Reflections on the Burdens and Gifts of Facing Life’s Adversities. Elizabeth Edwards. Broadway (15,185)
Act of Treason. Vince Flynn. Atria
Deception Point. Dan Brown. Atria
Every Which Way but Dead. Kim Harrison. Eos (15,038)
Apostle. Brad Thor. Atria
The Lion’s Game. Nelson DeMille. Grand Central (14,931)
Master Your Metabolism. Jillian Michaels. Crown Archetype (14,861)
The Harry Bosch Novels. Michael Connelly. Little, Brown (14,679)
Nineteen Minutes. Jodi Picoult. Atria
On the Brink. Henry M. Paulson Jr. Grand Central (14,579)
Decision Points Deluxe E-book Edition. George W. Bush. Crown (14,529)
The Notebook. Nicholas Sparks. Grand Central (14,436)
Delivering Happiness. Tony Hsieh. Grand Central (14,431)
Is It Just Me? Or Is It Nuts Out There? Whoopi Goldberg. Hyperion (14,214)
Three Stations. Martin Cruz Smith. Simon & Schuster
Afraid. Jack Kilborn. Grand Central (13,844)
No Rest for the Wicked. Kresley Cole. Pocket
Hero at Large. Janet Evanovich. Harper (13,823)
Promise Me. Richard Paul Evans. Simon & Schuster
A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity: A Memoir. Bill O’Reilly. Broadway (13,573)
Path of the Assassin. Brad Thor. Atria
Smash Cut. Sandra Brown. Simon & Schuster
Arguing with Idiots: How to Stop Small Minds and Big Government. Glenn Beck. Threshold Editions
Second Chance. James Patterson. Little, Brown (13,401)
Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night. Kresley Cole. Pocket
The Quants. Scott Patterson. Crown Business (13,299)
Dark Dream. Christine Feehan. Avon (13,231)
The Vampire and the Virgin. Kerrelyn Sparks. Avon (13,167)
The Lost Symbol: Special Illustrated Edition. Dan Brown. Doubleday
New Day, New You. Joyce Meyer. FaithWords (13,135)
Aftershock. Robert B. Reich. Knopf (13,000)
Riding the Bullet. Stephen King. Scribner
In the Name of Honor. Richard North Patterson. Henry Holt (12,746)
Born to Bite. Lynsay Sands. Avon (12,727)
Takedown. Brad Thor. Atria
House at Riverton. Kate Morton. Atria (12,800)
Cross Country. James Patterson. Little, Brown (12,646)
Devil’s Punchbowl. Greg Iles. Scribner
I Am Ozzy. Ozzy Osbourne. Grand Central (12,479)
A Walk to Remember. Nicholas Sparks. Grand Central (12,475)
The Swan Thieves. Elizabeth Kostova. Little, Brown (12,453)
How to Win Friends and Influence People. Dale Carnegie. Simon & Schuster
The Apothecary’s Daughter. Julie Klassen. Bethany House (12,226)
Happiness. Matthieu Ricard and Daniel Goleman. Little, Brown (12,163)
The Perfect Someone. Johanna Lindsey.
The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven. Kevin Malarkey. Tyndale (12,141)
Days of Gold. Jude Deveraux. Atria
New Atkins for a New You. Dr. Eric C. Westman. Touchstone (12,073)
A Is for Alibi. Sue Grafton. Henry Holt (12,029)
The Truth about Lord Stoneville. Sabrina Jeffries. Pocket
Seven Year Switch. Claire Cook. Hyperion (11,957)
The Bride Collector. Ted Dekker. Hachette/Center Street (11,950)
Hungry for You. Lynsay Sands. Avon (11,948)
Nothing but Trouble. Rachel Gibson. Avon (11,815)
Dark Needs at Night’s Edge. Kresley Cole.
Dark Desires after Dusk. Kresley Cole. Pocket
State of the Union. Brad Thor. Atria
Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. Daniel Okrent. Scribner
The Scarecrow. Michael Connelly. Little, Brown (11,578)
The Wedding. Nicholas Sparks. Grand Central (11,517)
Lavender Morning. Jude Deveraux. Atria
Kiss of a Demon King. Kresley Cole.
A Hellion in Her Bed. Sabrina Jeffries. Pocket
Her Daughter’s Dream. Francine Prose. Tyndale (11,383)
Scarlet Nights. Jude Deveraux. Atria
Blowback. Brad Thor. Atria (11,340)
Eat Prey Love. Kerrelyn Sparks. Avon (11,335)
3rd Degree. James Patterson and Andrew Gross. Little, Brown (11,330)
The Good Mood Diet. Susan Kleiner. Grand Central (11,325)
Stone Cold. David Baldacci. Grand Central (11,281)
Just Take My Heart. Mary Higgins Clark. Simon & Schuster (11,028)
Hitch-22. Christopher Hitchens. Grand Central (10,931)
The Reckless Bride. Stephanie Laurens. Avon (10,776)
The Greatest Trade Ever. Gregory Zuckerman. Crown Business (10,763)
Pleasure Unbound. Larissa Ione. Grand Central (10,760)
Tuesdays with Morrie. Mitch Albom. Broadway (10,694)
Along Came a Spider. James Patterson. Little, Brown (10,618)
How to Raise the Perfect Dog. Cesar Millan with Melissa Jo Peltier. Crown Archetype (10,616)
Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight. Karl Rove. Threshold Editions
Double Cross. James Patterson. Little, Brown (10,513)
Brooklyn. Colm Tóibín. Scribner
Rich Dad Poor Dad. Robert T. Kiyosaki. Grand Central (10,466)
4th of July. James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. Little, Brown (10,433)
Team of Rivals. Doris Kearns Goodwin. Simon & Schuster (10,321)
The 6th Target. James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. Little, Brown (10,285)
Last Words: A Memoir. George Carlin. Free Press
First Commandment. Brad Thor. Atria
The Rook. Steve James. Revell (10,162)
12-Day Body-Shaping Miracle. Michael Thurmond. Grand Central (10,145)
The Elusive Bride. Stephanie Laurens. Avon (10,117)
The Brass Verdict. Michael Connelly. Little, Brown (10,051)
Deep Kiss of Winter. Kresley Cole and Gena Showalter. Pocket
Gunn’s Golden Rules: Life’s Little Lessons for Making It Work. Tim Gunn. Gallery
The Brazen Bride. Stephanie Laurens. Avon (10,015)
A Kiss at Midnight. Eloisa James. Avon (10,012)
The Historian. Elizabeth Kostova. Little, Brown (10,004)
