A guide to the NY Times best seller list

The New York Times bestseller list is one of the most respected book lists in the world. This section of the paper works by listing the best selling books in the United States of America. Those who read the list often go out and buy listed books as they are so popular.

How the New York Times bestseller list is compiled

Overview
This list is put together by a department in the New York Times called "News Surveys".
Many people think it is created by the review section as this is where the books list is published.
This is not the case, as the people who compile this list analyze sales data not the individual books themselves.
Sales data
The New York Times uses sales data from all over the United States to put the list together.
Sales records are taken from popular retailers such and Amazon and Barnes and Noble as well as from a selected amount of independent retailers. After it receives this information the newspaper divides it up.
The list will show the bestselling soft and hard cover books as well as online additions.
The best seller list also lists fiction and non-fiction books separately. Each section usually has 15 to 20 books listed within it.

Controversies surrounding the NY Times best seller list

Main controversies
As the list is based on sales data, many authors have bought up batches of their own books in order to get them onto the list.
These authors believe the cost of buying a few thousand books is worth it, compared to the number of book sales they will get when their work appears on the list.
Authors who appear on the list will find they also have more speaking engagements and publicity after appearing on the list.
The most prominent case of this was when the authors of a non-fiction book purchased 10,000 books from booksellers they knew had their data analyzed.
However many people believe that is practice is unethical.
Final word
The people who benefit the most from appearing on the list are new authors. People who are already famous such as John Grisham will find that they do not get a huge increase of sales as their sales figures are already very high.