I recently read in the daily online newsletter Publishers Lunch about a cavalier cheat that landed UK thriller writer Mark Dawson on the Sunday Times bestseller list. The author not only admitted he bought hundreds of copies of his book so that it would hit the list, but he also expressed no shame in having done so.
By purchasing a mere 400 copies of his book, he bought his way onto his country’s most important bestseller list. In a Twitter thread he wrote he only cheated a little, not a lot: “If I was intent on ‘gaming the system’ I would have bought 10k copies, sat on them forever and been number one. (I wouldn’t have discussed it on a popular podcast, either).”
As a result of his admission, Nielsen Bookscan recalculated the Top 10 chart to remove Dawson’s book, and the Sunday Times issued a correction. Nielsen reported that they initially believed the purchase was connected to a virtual book signing. On Dawson’s Twitter page he still promotes his “top 10” listing.
Not a New Idea
Bestseller lists are meant to reflect readers’ purchases; so, when an author makes a significant purchase of his book to assure it will a appear on a list, that skews the list’s rankings. Making the list also drives more sales to the title. It truly is gaming the system.
It isn’t as if Dawson, a successful self-published author, broke new territory. We don’t know how regularly it happens; we only know when an author is found out–and that does happen more often than you would think.
Several years ago, the pastor of a megachurch suggested the church buy copies of his newly-released title for all the parishoners–with the intent of assuring its appearance on the New York Times bestseller list. When the Times discovered the pastor’s meddling with the list, his book was removed. He lost his position at the megachurch he had founded.
What’s the Big Deal?
So why all the punishment? Because there really is no such thing as cheating “a little.” Either you cheated, or you didn’t. In both Dawson and the pastor’s cases, they did so knowingly.
Not every author realizes buying hundreds of copies of their book from retailers that report to the bestselling lists is cheating. I recall one of my clients mentioning to me she was thinking about buying copies of her book from retailers so that she could make the list. Author friends of hers had done that.
When I explained to her that it’s against the protocols established by those who maintain the lists, she immediately backed away from such a move. The idea that buying those copies was cheating was news to her.
Ways We All May Have Cheated a Little
- Using photos from a Google search. It’s easy to Google the type of image you want to use on your blog, or as the perfect background for a meme. So many images pop up that you can efficiently find just what you had in mind. But the photo you’re choosing is copyrighted, even if you don’t see a copyright symbol associated with it. As a matter of fact, every photo you’ve ever taken is automatically covered by copyright law as soon as you snap it.
- Borrowing some great copy from someone else’s blog post. So much material is available to us, and it’s simple to copy and paste verbatim from their post to yours. Or in your newsletter. Laura Christianson, a website designer and online marketer, wrote an excellent blog post about why it’s illegal to copy and paste someone’s blog post into yours–and also what to do if someone pilfers your post or a part of it.
- Using more than one line of a song and two lines of a poem. That is, unless said song or poem is especially short. Then using a line or two might push the limits of whether the quotation is within the fair-use clause of the copyright law. Some poems have slipped into the public domain if they were published before 1923, but estates can renewed copyrights so this isn’t a hard-and-fast rule.
Or Cheated a Lot
- Borrowing someone’s great copy from their book and inserting it into your manuscript without appropriate attribution or permission. And, yes, this is done. Sometimes unintentionally.
I recall several years ago, Doris Kearns Goodwin, a presidential historian, bestselling biographer, and political commentator, was found having lifted hefty amounts of copy from one source for a manuscript of hers. After the discovery of the duplicated copy was made public, Ms Goodwin explained that she hires many researchers for her work, and one of the researchers had committed the plagiarism. Ms. Goodwin said she had unwittingly included it in her book.
Whether Goodwin knew the content wasn’t original, we’ll never know. But she was the one who paid a hefty price for it. News shows on which she regularly appeared as a commentator banned her for life. And her reputation in the publishing industry was tarnished.
How to Avoid Absconding with Others’ Material
A rather simple rule to follow is, when in doubt, ask for permission. Or ask if your behavior is appropriate, such as buying copies of your book at full price. Yeah, I know, that’s a pain. But considering the social censor, not to mention possible legal action, that you could face, it’s worth it.
What other actions could find writers saying, “I only cheated a little”? Have you ever found some material of yours being used without your permission?
TWEETABLES
How writers can end up in legal hot water–and how to avoid it. Click to tweet.
When an author ends up saying, “I only cheated a little” and other writerly pitfalls. Click to tweet.
To use an Old Testament phrase, it would be appropriate to “inquire of the Lord.” I can’t imagine laying a plan to artificially boost my book sales at the feet of Jesus and getting His nod of approval. I can, however, imagine Him responding, “Whose list is most important to you?”
Luke 10:20 (ERV): You can be happy, not because you have this power, but because your names are written in heaven.”
Such a good point, Shirlee. Asking Jesus what he thinks about a plan will provide a good guidance to direct our steps.
Another great blog post! What if your publisher offers you books at a discount for book signings and/or debut parties? 1) Is that okay? 2) Do those “sales” get calculated for lists and rankings?
Book signing sales only are applied to the lists if you work in conjunction with a bookstore, which would handle the sales for you at the event. Those would count toward sales reported to lists, but it’s a legitimate way to sell books and can be a real help to the bookstore. The author would be paid regular royalties on those sales and wouldn’t have to mess with collecting money from those who buy copies at the event.
It’s fair to game the system
’cause system’s gaming me,
and I won’t deign to listen
to your calumny.
It’s cool to cheat the IRS,
folks do it all the time,
and it’s justified redress;
they took much that was mine.
Yes, I go to church and tithe,
but not full ten percent,
for, you know, booze prices rise,
and last month I overspent.
There’s only one thing that I dread:
meetin’ God behind skyborne woodshed.
Great post. It brings to mind 1 Thessalonians 5:22 . . . “Abstain from every form of evil” (ESV). The KJV says, “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” As Christian writers, we must hold ourselves to the highest standards–avoiding even the appearance of evil. It’s a high order. But we have a high calling.
Janet, I have a question . . . which may be controversial because we all know this occurs a lot.
Is it legit, then, to offer your ebook free or for one dollar and then when there are a crazy number of downloads, to say you’ve got a bestseller?
Janet, an author who publishes traditionally doesn’t control the price set for the ebook. Publishers offer books at low prices, not to land a book on a list, but to introduce readers to the author and his/her other books.
If you self-publish, certainly you can generate tremendous sales by offering the ebook for a low price, and it could end up on a bestselling list. But astute publishers and agents have learned to ask, “What lists did the title appear on and for how long?” The answer helps publishing pros to understand more about what the term “bestselling” means in that instance. It’s a complicated world!
Janet, most indies who put their books on deep discount, like $0.99 and even free, do it for the same reason as traditional publishers. It’s meant to get new readers to try one of your books so they will fall in love with your writing and want to read (buy) all the others. Indies can afford to play the long-tail game, where a lower-than-launch but relatively stable sales rate extends out for months and even years. My first books are selling as well or better than they did at launch, thanks to fans of new releases going back to read older ones. That long, stable tail is much better for staying visible at Amazon than a massive surge at launch that then falls off steadily. Amazon’s “Best Sellers” are recalculated hourly based on an algorithm that looks at the most recent sales and sales over about 3? days (number changes..could be 7), so sales of a book can even fall off only to surge and hit “best seller” again months later. Amazon doesn’t distinguish between indie and traditional for the calculations; it’s only sales that matter. Read-through because you’ve built a base of loyal fans is at least as important to indies as to traditionally published, and maybe more so. If one book doesn’t launch as well as the one before it for some reason, it doesn’t mark the end because you won’t get the next book contract if performance slips. But every indie is running a business with only themselves to carry most of the load, so any freedom comes at a cost not all would want to embrace.
Great article! At least two people posted an entire article I wrote for “Today’s Christian Woman.” One of them attributed it to me, the other didn’t.
Churches often buy bulk copies of Bible studies from the publisher. Are those reported to NPD Bookscan? My guess is they aren’t because NPD showed 1/3 the sales that my publisher showed for the first three months of my last book’s sales. Does ChristianBook.com report their sales to NPD Bookscan?
Jean, I believe Christian Books does report to NPD. I honestly don’t know if sales direct to churches from the publisher are reported. My guess would be that they aren’t.
Great information! I’ve had material posted on blogs and even a church website without permission. Many times people just don’t understand copyright law, but that won’t save them from legal avtion. I was surprised to hear we could quote song lyrics at all. I’ve always heard not to quote ANY lyrics. I just paraphrase if it’s not in public domain.
Tracy, song lyrics are dicey to quote. But one line usually is okay. Copyright law seldom is specific; it’s all about how much of the whole are quoting. If a lyric consists of two lines repeated over and over, if you quote one line, you’ve used 50% of the lyrics–definitely a copyright violation.
Thanks, Janet, for the shoutout about my podcast episode/blog post. I so much appreciate you and your team, and all that you to do educate and encourage writers.
Your article was so helpful and clear, Laura. Thank you for writing it and doing so as a service to writers.
Wow! Yeah, accidentally doing something illegal is a great fear of mine. That is one reason why reading industry blogs and books and attending conferences are such great teaching resources!
Thank you, dear Janet, for the reminder and warning for us to be faithful and honest concerning all details of art, publication, and writing. And I appreciated your mention of photos being automatically copyrighted.
I was saddened when I discovered some people on the internet used a few of my nature photographs without permission. While imitation of art may flatter, thievery is a whole different matter.
And yet, most people are kind and thoughtful, and so I’ve never turned down an acquaintance’s request to “borrow” a photo. I’m happy to share when acknowledged for my work.
I hope I hear and heed all the copyright laws I’m supposed to follow too. I know what it feels like to be “robbed.” 🙂
Blessings ~ Wendy Mac
Thanks for this well-written article. I live in Canada, and have 3 novels released by a U.S. publisher. This year I released my first indie-book, only to discover that because of the Covid-19 pandemic, I couldn’t get author copies shipped over the border. My only option–if I were to have any print copies to sell–was to order them as a customer at full price. I ordered two batches of 25 books and soon realized I couldn’t afford to keep that up. It never dawned on me that by doing so I was “cheating” with sales stats, even a little bit. Happy to say I am now able to get my author copies the regular way again.
I got this website from my buddy who informed me about this web site and now this time I am visiting this
web site and reading very informative content here. https://www.timescapeusa.com/collections/buben-zorweg