# Holy Cats! Vicki and I made The New York Times bestseller list!!!



## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

Hey guys, it happened again! The New York Times let me on the list despite my status as a self-published author. And this time I made it onto two lists, the ebook list at #9, and the print and ebook combined list at #12. I am so wildly happy!!! This may never happen again (and if it does, I promise I'll stop yapping about it). But I just had to tell you this time. Nancy 

Just realized that Vicki, Victorine Lieske, made the list too with her novel, Not What She Seems! Congratulations!!!!! (Feb 27, 2011)

Hi Everybody,

I just found out I made the list, even though it is their policy not to add self-published authors. But since I formed my own publishing company to publish my novel, it appears they can't exclude me! I found out there is an article at Publishers Lunch (a daily newsletter for publishers and agents) about me sneaking onto the list.

Anyway, I am floored and laughing!

Thought you would like to know.... I realize others deserve to be there (and more than me) and I'm sorry they are not. But at least they couldn't keep me out!!! Yea!!!!

Nancy


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## JRainey (Feb 1, 2011)

Congratulations, that's incredible news! Break out the champagne!


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

I just think this is hilarious!

And yes, I'll definitely drink something, more likely coffee or tea though. Too early here for anything more.

Thanks!

Nancy


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## Chris Culver (Jan 28, 2011)

Congrats!  That's exciting news!


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## Nell Gavin (Jul 3, 2010)

Really stupendous! One question: did you just get your own imprint through Bowker when you got your ISBN? Or did you actually start your own publishing company?


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## Valmore Daniels (Jul 12, 2010)

That's so rad!


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Hah! Congratz!


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

No, I actually formed my own publishing company, just like any other. I was required to order at least 10 ISBNs. I'm going to try and copy paste what they said at Publishers Lunch. Just give me a minute.

Nancy

************************************************************************** 

In Second Week, Self-Published Novel Sneaks Onto NYT eBook Bestseller List

Though the stated policy for the New York Times new ebook bestseller lists indicates they will not count self-published books, in the second week of the new charts a self-published author has slipped through. Nancy Johnson's HER LAST LETTER, a 99-cent ebook, appears at position No. 31 on the "also selling" roster for fiction ebooks. The title was issued by Johnson's own Penwyck Publishing, and is the company's only title. As Johnson writes at Amazon:

"After I wrote my first novel, I was able to find a great New York literary agent, and I was thrilled. At the time, I thought I had it made. But though several big publishers took interest, nothing came of it, and my book never sold.... In the end, I formed my own publishing company. It was the best thing I could have done."

This week the Times does list Lisa Gardner's Alone, still promotionally priced at 99 cents, at No. 24. (The ebook has been No. 1 on the weekly Kindle lists for both weeks of the Times' listings but did not appear the first week. And it remains No. 1 today on the Kindle, Kobo and Sony lists. It came back onto the USA Today bestseller list at No. 137 on Thursday.)
NYT list
USAT list

********************************************************************************


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## Guest (Feb 14, 2011)

Congrats, Nancy!


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## JJWestendarp (Nov 2, 2010)

Congrats. I think that last line shows, in some way, how many indies are being excluded from the NYT list, if your ranking can drop over 100 spots over at USA Today.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Yay!!! Fantastic news. Congratulations.


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## Cate Rowan (Jun 11, 2010)

Bwahahaha, that rocks on so many levels! CONGRATS!


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

Congrats! I must admit it made me chuckle though.

So all we have to do to get on the list (besides writing a good book, getting a good cover and blurb and a lot of sales) is form our own publishing company. Funny in a bizarre sort of way.

But good for you!


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

Anyway, I'll be framing that one!

I do think it is so funny that though The New York Times intended to exclude all of us, I managed to sneak onto the list.... That must have struck Publishers Lunch as funny too, or at least newsworthy.

Thanks, everybody! I've been reading all the posts about the lists lately, and this was the last thing I expected to happen!  

Nancy


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## starhawk (Sep 24, 2010)

Nancy C. Johnson said:


> Hi Everybody,
> 
> I just found out I made the list, even though it is their policy not to add self-published authors. But since I formed my own publishing company to publish my novel, it appears they can't exclude me! I found out there is an article about me sneaking onto the list at Publisher's Lunch.
> 
> ...


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## R. Doug (Aug 14, 2010)

Love to hear of someone beating the NYT Bestsellers List at their own game.  That is marvelous.


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## HelenHanson (Sep 13, 2010)

Well Done!!!

Eventually, their rules will change.  In the interim, enjoy it!!!

Congratulations!!


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## Kathleen Valentine (Dec 10, 2009)

Bravo for you...


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## Karen Fenech (Jul 1, 2010)

Nancy, that is huge! Congratulations!  I'm so happy for you. : )

Karen


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

Thank you, Star, hope you like the book....  

And yes, R. D. that's what amuses me the most. I found a crack and slipped through. Hee hee

And thanks to all my friends here, old and new! Yes, it appears things are changing rapidly.

Nancy


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## matt youngmark (Jan 11, 2011)

Fantastic!


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## ToniL (Sep 9, 2010)

ha ha Wicked!  that's great!


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## Dawn McCullough White (Feb 24, 2010)

That's great!!!!  Congratulations!!!!!!!!!
Dawn


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## MosesSiregarIII (Jul 15, 2010)

That is fantastic. Way to freaking go!


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## Beth O (Jul 9, 2010)

Love it, Nancy!  Good for you for "sneaking in."  Congratulations!


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## Jan Hurst-Nicholson (Aug 25, 2010)

Think I'll start a publishing company called 'Indie Publishing' and you can all use it!


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## CaitLondon (Oct 12, 2010)

You go girl. A NYTs bestseller is quite the tag to add onto your promo. Be sure to print out a copy.

Best and congrats,


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

I have to admit, the only reason I started my own company is because I saw no other way to do it. I didn't want to use any of the companies like Author House, though I thought well of them, because I wanted to keep control. 

I didn't even find out the option of going P.0.D. (print on demand) until later. I was that green.

If I were starting now, I would go with CreateSpace and Kindle Direct, of course, because of the tremendous cost savings! I looked at those stacks of books stored all over my house and thought ... how in the h*** am I going to sell all of these books! 

And now ... this has happened as a result. Huh. Guess you never know. I would not suggest forming your own company. It's not cheap by any means, and has a huge hassle factor!

Nancy


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## JMelzer (Mar 21, 2010)

That is so awesome. Congrats!


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## 25803 (Oct 24, 2010)

Woohoo, Nancy!!!!!!  Congratulations!!


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

CaitLondon said:


> You go girl. A NYTs bestseller is quite the tag to add onto your promo. Be sure to print out a copy.
> 
> Best and congrats,


Yes, I'll buy a great frame for it, Cait!

Nancy


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## kcmay (Jul 14, 2010)

ROCK ON!!! Huge congrats, Nancy!!


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

And a Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

Nancy


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## SuzanneTyrpak (Aug 10, 2010)

So cool!


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## JenniferBecton (Oct 21, 2010)

Congratulations! I love it.   Frame it up, baby!


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## Mark Feggeler (Feb 7, 2011)

Congratulations!


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## Lucy Kevin (Jan 22, 2011)

That is absolutely fantastic! You're going to have to add New York Times Bestselling Author to your cover now!

Lucy


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## A.R. Williams (Jan 9, 2011)

Congratulations!

It seems the barriers continue to fall to what Indies can accomplish


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## LCEvans (Mar 29, 2009)

Yay! Now go celebrate.


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## TLH (Jan 20, 2011)

That's awesome! What a way to sock it to the establishment.


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## JulianneMacLean (Feb 5, 2011)

That's fantastic news, Nancy!!  You deserve to be there!  Pop open a bottle of champagne!


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## John Twipnook (Jan 10, 2011)

Congratulations!


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## ZombieEater (Nov 2, 2010)

Great job, Nancy! Regarding the whole "start your own pub house" thing, I did it also. Maybe more of us can sneak in through the back door that way.


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## Katie Salidas (Mar 21, 2010)

Way to go! That's fantastic.


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## HelenSmith (Mar 17, 2010)

Yay! Congratulations.


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## Philip Chen (Aug 8, 2010)

Congratulations!


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

Ha!!!! I *love* it!!!

Congratulations! You definitely deserve it. 










Vicki


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

I'm a mess right now. I can't find something I had in my hand a few minutes ago. Aaaagggg! Just finished talking to my sis. She got me even more worked up!!!

And really, thanks so much for helping me enjoy this!

Vicki, love the little yellow guy!!

Nancy


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## WestofMars (Sep 16, 2009)

Nice job, Nancy!


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## Laura Lond (Nov 6, 2010)

You show them!    Congrats!!!


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

Lucy Kevin said:


> That is absolutely fantastic! You're going to have to add New York Times Bestselling Author to your cover now!
> 
> Lucy


OMG, Lucy. You're right! How awesome is that! My daughter Angie is going to redo my website soon too, so yes!

Nancy


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## Ryl (Nov 25, 2010)

How exciting!! Congratulations, Nancy.


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## Imogen Rose (Mar 22, 2010)

AWESOME!!!!!!!!  Congratulations!!!


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## E.J. Stevens (Feb 8, 2011)

Congrats Nancy!  That is fabulous news. 

xx,
E.J.


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## rsullivan9597 (Nov 18, 2009)

WAY TO GO!! Just one more reason why you should publish as a company rather than as an individual.  I wonder if Amanda can change her books over.


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

Thanks again, Ryl, Imogen, E.J., Robin, and everybody else who has congratulated me here!

(I found the thing I lost, fell on the floor.... Not losing my head completely yet.)

Nice to have you guys around.... I've read and reread everyone's post. You all are so truly special. I may frame this whole kindle board thread as well!!

Nancy


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## Mel Comley (Oct 13, 2010)

Now that's what I call initiative!


Congratulations


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## FictionalWriter (Aug 4, 2010)

I saw that too at Publisher's Lunch!!! I was wondering how someone could 'sneak' onto the list. Anywho, HUGE Congratulations!!! Well done. 



Nancy C. Johnson said:


> Hi Everybody,
> 
> I just found out I made the list, even though it is their policy not to add self-published authors. But since I formed my own publishing company to publish my novel, it appears they can't exclude me! I found out there is an article about me sneaking onto the list at Publisher's Lunch.
> 
> ...


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## Morgan Gallagher (Feb 13, 2011)

Awesome, and interesting that if you are under a small press, you qualify.  Very interesting!


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## JeanieL47 (Oct 20, 2010)

Congrats Nancy!!!


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## Tammie Clarke Gibbs (Dec 30, 2010)

Awesome!! Congratulations!!! Maybe this is just a sign of great things to come...
Tammie


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## jenwylie (Feb 10, 2011)

That is so wonderful! Congrats to you!!!


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## Sharlow (Dec 20, 2009)

Your a New York Times best selling author now! Awesome and congrats on such a big achievement. That really shows how good your doing, if you had any doubts before, I hope there all gone now.


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## Monique (Jul 31, 2010)

Brava! Brava!


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

Thanks!

Going out to celebrate Valentine's day and this....

Nancy


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## Mike Dennis (Apr 26, 2010)

Great news, Nancy! Congrats.


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## Abigail (Apr 27, 2010)

I am so so pleased for you. Way to go girl... Only in my dreams.


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## MJWare (Jun 25, 2010)

I know I'm echoing everyone else, but Wow, just wow. When I saw the title to this thread, I wasn't sure I'd even read it right--Congratulations!


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

One word:

AWESOME!!!


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## Jamie Case (Feb 15, 2011)

Delurking to say congratulations! Enjoy it. No matter what PL says, you didn't sneak in...you were invited in.


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## Shayne Parkinson (Mar 19, 2010)

Well done, Nancy! That's great.


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## Chris Northern (Jan 20, 2011)

Oh, WOW!  That is so utterly cool. You are made of pure AWESOME!


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## WizardofWestmarch (Jan 12, 2011)

That's both awesome AND hysterically funny.  Congratulations!

Considered adding something to your cover that says "NYT Bestseller"?


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## Karly Kirkpatrick (Dec 13, 2010)

Very cool! Congrats!


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## Maud Muller (Aug 10, 2010)

Happy for you! Congrats!


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

Jamie Case said:


> Delurking to say congratulations! Enjoy it. No matter what PL says, you didn't sneak in...you were invited in.


LOL, loved that word "delurking" Jamie. Thanks for the congrats.... Yes, no matter how I got there, I'll take it.

Thanks to everyone who posted. I just enjoyed some pasta and a nice evening out at the local Italian restaurant. Feeling good....

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone.

Nancy


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## BrianKittrell (Jan 8, 2011)

*calls the NY Times*
Operator: NY Times, how may I help you?
Me: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Operator: Sir
Me: .....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Operator: ...
Me: Click.

This is so freaking funny and amazing at the same time. LOL! Congrats!


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

BrianKittrell said:


> *calls the NY Times*
> Operator: NY Times, how may I help you?
> Me: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
> Operator: Sir
> ...


I SO agree with you, Brian! And now you've made me laugh again!! Nancy


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## tonyaplank (Jun 14, 2010)

Congratulations, Nancy! You so deserve it! The Times' insistence on excluding self-published authors is deceptive to the public anyway. I'm glad the system kind of righted itself in this way.


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## CJArcher (Jan 22, 2011)

Good on you, Nancy!  I'm very pleased for you.  I can't stop laughing though.


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## BrianKittrell (Jan 8, 2011)

Nancy C. Johnson said:


> I SO agree with you, Brian! And now you've made me laugh again!! Nancy


hehehe Now, we wait to see what they do. The two obvious possiblities:

1) Pull it from the list and ignore it like it never happened.

or

2) Leave it there and ignore it to keep any additional publicity from developing.

I always find it hillarious how New York, in almost every way or institution, is trying to keep indies from making something of themselves. It's so very anti-American. "There's no room for you on our list, little man." Hahahaha!


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

It's their list, they can do what they want, I guess.  

Hey, if my lovely coach turns into a pumpkin, and the prince tosses my glass slipper, I still got to go to the ball!!!!!

Nancy


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## Julie Christensen (Oct 13, 2010)

Nancy!!!!  I couldn't have happened to a nicer person or better book!  I'm so happy for you!  That is fantastic news!  You are leading the pack and breaking new ground.  Bravo!!!!!


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## John Hamilton (May 6, 2010)

Amazing, Nancy.  Good for you!


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## TiffanyTurner (Jun 8, 2009)

Nancy, 
Wow! Just wow! It's so great to see what Indie break outs are happening on the board. That's the thing I love about this board. Not only can you share that you are a NY Bestseller, we can live it with you on the board. This made my day too. Glad to see an Indie making it even when the traditional publishing industry is trying their best to try to block accomplishments. You're inspiring me to soldier on and scream from the hilltops, I'm an Indie author, so there. 

So, do you think you'll climb up the Bestseller List from the publicity? I'm dying to see if you go up the list now.


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

No idea, Tiffany.... But if this is as good as it gets, I'm not complaining.

Nancy  

Thanks again you guys for all the good wishes.   

Night all.... Zzzzzzz


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## Jamie Case (Feb 15, 2011)

BrianKittrell said:


> hehehe Now, we wait to see what they do. The two obvious possiblities:
> 
> 1) Pull it from the list and ignore it like it never happened.
> 
> ...


3) Change the policy [must be published by a third party publisher]

Or they may not change it at all because starting your own publishing company is not a trivial thing.

I don't think the New York Times is going out of their way to keep indies out. They are just trying to protect their brand. Until indie books are mainstream what is their motivation for adding them?

Secondly, as indie authors have found out, if you keep a book price low you can attract a lot of value shoppers who are first and foremost attracted by your price rather than your content. That means that indie authors can outsell mainstream authors on volume alone. This spells static to the New York Times. Amazon wouldn't mind if the same books sat on the Kindle bestseller lists for the next 10 years. After all they get money from each sale. But if that happened to the NYTimes, the list would lose its value and people would stop consulting it and stop buying the paper to read the book review or listening to their NYTimes Bestseller podcast(which is where they make their money).

I don't think they do it to go after the *little guy*. When J.K. Rowling sat on top of the list too long and they realized that she could potentially have seven books sitting in their top ten endlessly, they created the children's list (children's fiction had never outsold adult fiction for that long before). When she dominated the children's list, they created the the series sub-list. They did that to the biggest-selling living author, so I don't think it's about going after the little guy. And she didn't accuse the Times of being anti-Brit.

They also exclude textbooks and books on the required reading lists of public schools, which would dominate the lists if they didn't, and pushed advice and how-to their own list when they started to dominate. If the Times didn't jigger with the list, this is what the list would look like from now until eternity:

Intro to Psych by Charles A. Academic
Calc 1 by Charles A. Academic
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Get your man back now girlfriend by Molly Matchmaker
Lose 10 1bs in 10 minutes by Sally Skeleton
William Shakespeare's Complete Collection by Academic Press
Sparkly Vampires 1 by Peg Paranormal 
Sparkly Vampires 2 by Peg Paranormal
Sparky Vampires 3 by Peg Paranormal
Celebrity X's Tell-all by Person who is not Celebrity

*Then again, I'm a New Yorker and the Times is my hometown paper so I'm biased...


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

Those are some very good points, Jamie.

I didn't know that about J.K. Rowling either.

Nancy


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## lstrange (May 21, 2010)

Congratulations!!

Whether you are self-pubbed or with a small press, this is a fantastic step forward. They are many amazing authors on the market today that deserve more widespread recognition.

Best of luck for the future.


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## 13500 (Apr 22, 2010)

Nancy, that is awesome! I just read the item on Publisher's Marketplace, then saw this thread here. 

Whoohoo! 

Congratulations,
Karen


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## BrianKittrell (Jan 8, 2011)

Of course, but the fact that NY Times says they do not allow indies on their list does say something against the little guy, everything else aside.

Anyhow, I think that it's great you made it there. lol


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## bellaandre (Dec 10, 2010)

Huge congrats, Nancy! I'm telling everyone I know about you and your book that did the "impossible".  Nice work!!

Bella


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

Thanks so much, Istrange, Karen, and Brian!   

And Bella too! Yes, it does appear that the impossible was made possible. 

Still seems like a dream.... 

Nancy


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## Jamie Case (Feb 15, 2011)

BrianKittrell said:


> Of course, but the fact that NY Times says they do not allow indies on their list does say something against the little guy, everything else aside.
> 
> Anyhow, I think that it's great you made it there. lol


No. All it says is that they don't want their list to be static. Insisting otherwise, unless you personally know Sam Tannenhaus and he told you different (and if you do tell him hi, I'm a big fan) makes you sound insecure. Actually it makes you sound entitled _and_ insecure, which is illegal unless you live in Brooklyn.

They don't want their list to be dominated by any one class of book. 
Because of its pricing, indie fiction would dominate their list if they counted it. Ergo, they don't allow indies. 
Because of their perennial nature, religious texts would dominate etc. Ergo they don't allow religious texts.
Because of their popularity, comics would dominate etc. ergo they don't allow comics.*

The Times shows no love to Jesus, Allah, Jehovah, Buddha, Batman or Superman. Indie authors are in good company.

Rather than sniping at the Times, I think it would be more useful to band together to advocate for an indie sub-list that would pit like against like, as the other sub-lists do. *This is what the graphic novelists did and in 2009 they got their own list. Because, everything else aside, all the congratulations in this thread and Nancy's excitement prove that authors do still want to get on the Time's list.


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## Ray Rhamey author (Jan 6, 2011)

Applause, applause! Clearly you had a book worth reading, though--there are plenty of "indie" people who formed their own publishing company to publish their works--me included (FtQ Press). Cheers!


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## seakiev (Nov 2, 2010)

Congrats Nancy, that is a wonderful accomplishment and very inspirational!


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

MORE Happy dancing for you, Nancy!!!!  This is so utterly cool I think I'll dance too!  

May the good news just keep comin'!

Karen


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## BrianKittrell (Jan 8, 2011)

Jamie Case said:


> No. All it says is that they don't want their list to be static. Insisting otherwise, unless you personally know Sam Tannenhaus and he told you different (and if you do tell him hi, I'm a big fan) makes you sound insecure. Actually it makes you sound entitled _and_ insecure, which is illegal unless you live in Brooklyn.


hahahaha!!! This made me laugh out loud, and I nearly woke the baby up in the next room. You must warn me!



> They don't want their list to be dominated by any one class of book.
> Because of its pricing, indie fiction would dominate their list if they counted it. Ergo, they don't allow indies.
> Because of their perennial nature, religious texts would dominate etc. Ergo they don't allow religious texts.
> Because of their popularity, comics would dominate etc. ergo they don't allow comics.*
> ...


Speaking of J.K. Rowling being on the list forever more unless taken off, I wonder if they're going to end up doing the same thing to Stieg Larsson. He's been there somewhat foreverish himself, from what I remember, rest in peace.

Sure, it would be cool to be on the list, I won't deny that. I've simply resolved myself not to worry about being on the list since the chances of that are greater than a snowball's chance of survival in hell. If I get on there, it would be more of a freak of nature sort of thing. Like Nancy, it would induce those feel-good feelings and a few laughs, but I would have to remember to carry on. As someone just starting out, I have to put my priorities where they need to be. I don't think Nancy was worried about it, either - she obviously put a lot of work into getting her book selling well, and the Times list was probably more of a side effect than an active attempt.

I'd be willing to help lobby for a sub-list for indies. It could be great fun, and I'd be interested to see the outcome of that. I'm an ENTj personality, though: I'm not allowed to create any kind of organization or group of people, but I'm allowed to help run/lead one that has been established to make it soar.


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## David McAfee (Apr 15, 2010)

Wow! Congratulations!


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

Thanks, David!  

And also to Ray, Seakiev, and Karen, whom I noticed I missed here, and to all of you I wanted to thank personally during the craziness two days ago....   

Nancy


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## LarryEnright (Nov 27, 2010)

Fantastic!!!


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

Yes, it truly is....

Thanks, Larry


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

Okay, forgive me for going on and on, but I just can't believe this has happened again!!!

Nancy


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## 25803 (Oct 24, 2010)

Nancy:  I'd be going on and on, too!  This is so completely exciting!  Major congratulations!!


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## Cheryl Shireman (Feb 11, 2011)

Holy Cats indeed!

I am so happy for you. Thank you so much for sharing this with the rest of us.

I am doing a little New York Times Bestseller List dance for you (imagine really cool dancing....).

Congrats!

Go get 'em Nancy !!!!


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

Thanks, Kathy and Cheryl!

I know, there's no way I can just run around the house yelling about it!

Nancy


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

Congratulations again!!  

Vicki


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

Hey, post a link, I wanna see!

Vicki


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

Okay, Vicki, I'll try to post a link. My daughter already Facebooked it, so I can grab that link. Wait a sec....

http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2011-03-06/e-book-fiction/list.html

http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2011-03-06/combined-print...

Hope this works now. The second link here doesn't work for me, but it does on Facebook. Not sure what I'm doing wrong.

Nancy


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

Woot!  Look at you!

And what??... How did I get on that list??    I thought they didn't list self-published authors.

Vicki


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## Mark Adair (Dec 4, 2010)

That's wonderful and hilarious, Nancy. Good for you.


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

Well, I guess there's always an exception to every rule ... so I'm thanking my lucky stars that I seem to be the one! 

And thanks, Mark!

And I love the way they described my book! Some good writers over there at the Times.

Nancy


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## Monique (Jul 31, 2010)

Vicki & Nancy, that's so awesome. I wonder how they're creating the list. It's not how they said they were.


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

No idea, Monique

But I'm certainly not going to question it.....  

Nancy


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

OMG, Vicki  

I just got that. There you are too! Oh WOW, congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I didn't see the "how did I" remark and just now my silly brain registered it!

Way, WAY COOL!!

Nancy


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

Thanks, Nancy!  I'm still in shock!  

Vicki


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## Mark Adair (Dec 4, 2010)

Nancy C. Johnson said:


> OMG, Vicki
> 
> I just got that. There you are too! Oh WOW, congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> ...


Okay, tell the truth you two. You snuck into their headquarters didn't you? Altered their software, and took out the can't be self-pubbed check.


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

No, it had to be Vicki. She's good at that stuff. But I talked her into it! Hee hee

Nancy


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## K.C. Neal (Jan 5, 2011)

Wow, that is incredibly exciting! BIG congrats to both of you!! (Is it weird that I'm this excited for people I don't even know?  )


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## Kenneth Rosenberg (Dec 3, 2010)

Wow, that's fantastic for both of you!  This has got to make the NY agents and publishers sit up and pay attention, right?  It's their own beloved NY Times!  You'll definitely have to let us know if you start hearing from them.


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

LOL Mark!!  That cracked me up!

The only thing I can think of, is they used the USA Today list.  And I don't know why they didn't catch that I'm self-published.  Ha on them!  

Vicki


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

Oh, I think they are way smarter than that.   They saw it. They just let us on....

So thank you The New York Times!!

So very incredibly nice of you!

Nancy


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## Nichole Chase (Feb 25, 2011)

I'm pretty new here, but just wanted to say you had a brilliant idea   Way to go! NY times best seller list? That is a dream come true. Enjoy it.


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## AnnetteL (Jul 14, 2010)

Holy Schmoly! Coongrats to both of you! 

I love that you both slipped through the self-published rule. Hahaha! From now on, you'll be able to put "NY Time Best-selling Author" after your name. No one can take that away from you.

Booyah!

I wonder if the Times will eventually create a self-pubbed list . . .


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## Shayne Parkinson (Mar 19, 2010)

Even better news! Well done, you two.


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

Thanks, Mark, K.C., Kenneth, Nicole, Annette, and Shayne!

Yes, it is a dream come true and quite an honor....

Nancy


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## Mary Pat Hyland (Feb 14, 2011)

Nancy (& Victorine),
This is unbelievably AWESOME! We _all _ celebrate with you. You give us such hope. Champagne all around!
*Sláinte!*


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

Thanks, Irish!

Yes, it's cork popping time!

Nancy


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

Thank you, everyone.  This is truly amazing!

Vicki


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## Beth O (Jul 9, 2010)

Congrats Vicki & Nancy!  I hope you're both breaking out the bubbly.  This is truly an awesome accomplishment.


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## Linda Ash (Jul 13, 2010)

Nancy C. Johnson said:


> This may never happen again (and if it does, I promise I'll stop yapping about it.


Please, don't ever stop yapping about something so huge - if it happens more, we want to know about it!! Congratulations!!


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

Thanks, Beth and Linda! 

Now I have to find a couple papers somewhere! Another item for framing!! I need to have proof!

Nancy


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## Will Write for Gruel (Oct 16, 2010)

Victorine said:


> Thanks, Nancy! I'm still in shock!
> 
> Vicki


Ha. I'll bet. It must seem a bit surreal. Congrats to both of you.


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

Yes, surreal is a good word for it. Thanks, Asher.


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## FictionalWriter (Aug 4, 2010)

Congrats to  you both!!! Now you can stick that all over your website. Hehehehe


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

Yes, Beverley, and won't that be sweet!! 

My daughter is designing a new website for me soon, so that will work out nicely....

Thanks, Nancy


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## Blodwyn (Oct 13, 2010)

This is just the most awesome and encouraging thing ever. Congratulations!!!!


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

Thanks, Elizabeth!

Yes, so many more opportunities for writers since Amazon came to our aid!

I really can't thank them enough!!

To this day, everyone's eyes light up when I say my book is on Amazon.

P.S. I need to run some errands, but I'll check back later on....

TTYL, Nancy


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## Michelle Muto (Feb 1, 2011)

HUGE congratulations are in order to Nancy an Vicki!

They can literally put NYT Bestseller on their books now!

Is there a link or something to see it? It'd definitely be smile worthy!


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## SuzanneTyrpak (Aug 10, 2010)

This is absolutely, amazingly, fantastic news!!!


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

On a related note, I'd like to announce my newest 99 cent title, Her Last Letter is Not What She Seems. But until it takes off like crazy, super-crazy-awesome congratz to you silly NY Times bestseller people


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> On a related note, I'd like to announce my newest 99 cent title, Her Last Letter is Not What She Seems. But until it takes off like crazy, super-crazy-awesome congratz to you silly NY Times bestseller people


If these boards had a "like" button, I would have clicked it!  That made me giggle.

And here's the link: http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2011-03-06/e-book-fiction/list.html

Vicki


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## bellaandre (Dec 10, 2010)

HUGE congrats to both of you - Vicki, what an incredible surprise that must have been. I'm so proud of both of you.

And David...I'm still laughing at that title!  

Bella


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## j.m.zambrano (Jul 16, 2010)

Huge congratulations to Nancy and Vicki!  You both so deserve it.  Thanks for giving us all hope of realizing our dreams!


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## Cate Rowan (Jun 11, 2010)

W000000000T!

Heh, I hope the NYT soon realizes their "no self-pubbed people" rule is not only silly, it's a failure.

Personally, I also hope the NYT does *not* do a separate self-pubbed list. Indies are showing the book world that they can make it to same list as trad. pubbed authors. I think that's an excellent thing.


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## OliverCrommer (May 17, 2010)

Congratulations!

That's certainly a big milestone and is a big cause for celebration.


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## Herc- The Reluctant Geek (Feb 10, 2010)

It's time to do the dance of joy!

http://www.youtube.com/embed/GfPg5LjGYz8

Congrats to you both 

(can't get the silly youtube thingy to work )


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

Thanks, you guys!  I agree Cate, I do hope they soon list all of the indie books that deserve to be on there.

Vicki


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## Chris Northern (Jan 20, 2011)

That's brilliant! The times they are a-changing. (no pun intended, honest).


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## tonyaplank (Jun 14, 2010)

Wow, that's so awesome! Congratulations to you both! 

But why are they still not including Amanda? Because Vicki published with CreateSpace, as did Amanda. Do these people just not know anything about CreateSpace, or are they intentionally keeping Amanda off the list? Maybe she's received so much press already that they know she's self-published and are on the lookout... It's just weird. 

Anyway, I'm thrilled two authors have now made it. Hopefully they'll soon realize how devoid of sense their rule against including self-published books is, and apparently how hard it is for them to enforce!


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

tonyaplank said:


> Wow, that's so awesome! Congratulations to you both!
> 
> But why are they still not including Amanda? Because Vicki published with CreateSpace, as did Amanda. Do these people just not know anything about CreateSpace, or are they intentionally keeping Amanda off the list? Maybe she's received so much press already that they know she's self-published and are on the lookout... It's just weird.
> 
> Anyway, I'm thrilled two authors have now made it. Hopefully they'll soon realize how devoid of sense their rule against including self-published books is, and apparently how hard it is for them to enforce!


I have no clue as to why Amanda and John Locke are not on that list. They both are outselling me.

I'm wondering if I made it on the list by accident. Maybe someone was drunk when they put the list together. 

Vicki


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## Debra Burroughs (Feb 17, 2011)

Victorine said:


> I have no clue as to why Amanda and John Locke are not on that list. They both are outselling me.
> 
> I'm wondering if I made it on the list by accident. Maybe someone was drunk when they put the list together.
> 
> Vicki


I'm sure no one was drunk or did it by accident. I'm so very happy for you, Vicki! Great job!


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## Dana Taylor (Jan 8, 2010)

Congrats--

Everytime I troll the top sellers on Kindle--you and Vicki are always there! We knew you when. 

Dana Taylor


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## MrPLD (Sep 23, 2010)

Victorine said:


> I'm wondering if I made it on the list by accident. Maybe someone was drunk when they put the list together.


Well you're there now, no going back, even if you tried you probably couldn't put this genie back in the bottle, struggling against it would likely make it grow bigger with infamy.

Paul.


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## SHauzelSailo (Mar 9, 2011)

Wow, wow, again wow. Congratulations to you Nancy, and also Vicki.
I am so happy that you did, self pubished/independent authors did. 
I am a great fan of independent authors.

I came to know about you when Sharlow post this thread on authonomy http://www.authonomy.com/forums/threads/72065/two-selfpublished-authors-make-it-to-the-n-y-times-best-seller-list/
Yes, I was very very happy and It encouraged me a lot as I have great goals and I was stronger than ever when I read that on authonomy.
I have great goals.

So unfair that NYT exclude self published authors.
But maybe they are changing to become fair that they begin by including both of you.
Let's pray that they are fair.

(... I realize others deserve to be there (and more than me) and I'm sorry they are not. )
When you said this, you show you really deserved it by the grace of God. 

Is there any special thing that you do to get on the NYT list and rank on Amazon? Would you share us what you do, so that we may also get high sales and rank, and also on the list? Or, any tips?
I believe it will help all of us if you share us your experiences, what you do to succeed.

God bless you more and also all the others, anyway.
S. Hauzel Sailo


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