Update – April 21, 2011: Victoria Strauss Claims Amazon Rankings Are Not A Reliable Sales Indicator

“Amazon rankings are irresistibly obsession-making, but they are not a reliable way of judging sales.”

– Victoria Strauss

“It’s lovely to have two books out, even though they are re-published out of print books, rather than new ones. It is NOT lovely to be obsessively compelled to check my Amazon sales rankings every day. That’s one thing about having a book out that I definitely did not miss.”

– Victoria Strauss (Facebook Posting)

NOTE: They are not reliable but they are checked “obsessively” every day. There is also a Boycott & Petition on Victoria Strauss’ Books due to the unanswered Request to Reveal Evidence of  an police “Investigation” regarding a publisher. For more information CLICK HERE. Victoria Strauss and the SFWA have remained silent and have failed to produce proofs.

If you have received a hefty advance from a “traditional” publisher, this proposition (above) is an easy one to make. In addition, if your own most recent book release (The Arm of the Stone, released January 1, 2011) is not even ranked on Amazon and not even producing data on Amazon . . . in the interest of public relations and marketing . . .  this is also a desperate proposition to make to the Kool-Aid drinking minions looking for wisdom from the Grand Master. Let’s not overlook the other struggling sales. Granted royalty statements may be the best provider of actual sales, but Amazon Sales Rankings do matter and the historical data is an excellent benchmark to measure the success (or failure) of your book(s). For example, since there isn’t any traceable Amazon data on the hard copy, the e-book version of The Arm of the Stone does provide some insightful information if you do the math.

Current Rank	7-Day Average	30-Day Average	90-Day Average	Lifetime Average	Best Rank	Worst Rank
188,244	130,578	154,157	153,794	153,794	29,518	232,102

Rank Copies Sold/day 1 3000 10 650 100 100 1000 13 10,000 2.2 (11 copies every 5 days) 100,000 0.2 (1 copy every 5 days) 1,000,000 0.006 (3 copies every 500 days) 2,000,000 0.0001 (1 copy every 1000 days) April 4, 2011 Update (Note Publisher has launched a free download on its site) Is this resulting in cannibalization of sales? Current Rank 7-Day Average 30-Day Average 90-Day Average Lifetime Average Best Rank Worst Rank 185,953 139,952 147,912 151,608 151,608 29,518 232,102 April 5, 2011 Update Current Rank 7-Day Average 30-Day Average 90-Day Average Lifetime Average Best Rank Worst Rank 194,018 139,952 147,912 151,608 151,608 29,518 232,102 April 6, Update Current Rank 7-Day Average 30-Day Average 90-Day Average Lifetime Average Best Rank Worst Rank 201,658 147,032 147,655 154,387 154,387 29,518 232,102 Date Amazon Ranking Barnes & Noble Ranking Apr. 7, 2011 29,980 Unavailable Apr. 8, 2011 28,479 Unavailable Apr. 9, 2011 72,807 Unavailable Apr. 10, 2011 98,450 Unavailable Apr. 11, 2011 123,800 Unavailable Apr. 12, 2011 140,804 Unavailable Apr. 13, 2011 155,609 Unavailable Apr. 14, 2011 168,127 Unavailable Apr. 15, 2011 176,349 Unavailable Apr. 15, 2011 179,734 Unavailable Apr. 16, 2011 184,040 Unavailable Apr. 16, 2011 186,248 Unavailable Apr. 17, 2011 190,976 Unavailable Apr. 17, 2011 193,176 Unavailable Apr. 18, 2011 197,675 Unavailable Apr. 18, 2011 198,531 536,110 Apr. 18, 2011 199,834 Unavailable Apr. 19, 2011 202,873 Unavailable Apr. 19, 2011 204,381 Unavailable Apr. 20, 2011 207,548 Unavailable Apr. 20, 2011 208,469 537,793 Apr. 21, 2011 212,373 Unavailable Apr. 21, 2011 212,479 538,911 Apr. 21, 2011 212,282 538,911 April 21, 2011, Hard Copy Update Date Amazon Ranking Barnes & Noble Ranking Apr. 18, 2011 No data available 795,179 Apr. 20, 2011 No data available 807,948 Apr. 21, 2011 No data available 811,550 Apr. 21, 2011 No data available 813,553 Apr. 21, 2011 No data available 813,553 Are you starting to get the picture here now? Less than one copy, on average, every five days. Amazon Sales Rankings don’t matter? Have some more Kool-Aid. Contrary to Victoria Strauss’ opinion, there is a logical mathematical equation that proves that there is more validity in actual science (and proofs) versus mere rhetorical and salvation-based opinion. The equation can convert the Amazon Sales Rank into the actual number of sales on a weekly basis. The formula is: Sales/week = e to the power (10.526-(.87*sales rank) To put this into an Excel spreadsheet: =EXP(10.526-(0.87*LN(rank))) Contrary to Victoria Strauss’ statement that Amazon Sales Rankings “are not a reliable way of judging sales,” this data has been actually vetted by four scientific studies that reviewed 1000’s of various titles. In addition, the authors of these studies found a direct and predicable relationship between the Amazon Sales Rankings and the actual Ingram sales data. In conclusion, Amazon Sales Rankings are a valid benchmark to measure and predict your book sales. Don’t be convinced by rhetorical statements, ignorant conjecture or opinions when scientific evidence is readily available. This is science not Science Fiction. It really causes you to wonder . . .  how much longer is a publisher willing to grant advances, invest in an author when there’s little return on the investment? We’ve also added Victoria Strauss‘ book, The Garden of the Stone, which was released February 21, 2011 for additional edification. Best Rank Worst Rank 7-Day Average 30-Day Average 90-Day Average Lifetime Average 42,605 214,661 157,936 127,771 127,771 127,771 April 5, 2011 Update Current Rank 7-Day Average 30-Day Average 90-Day Average Lifetime Average Best Rank Worst Rank 201,077 145,421 133,646 129,514 129,514 42,605 214,661 April 6, 2011 Update Current Rank 7-Day Average 30-Day Average 90-Day Average Lifetime Average Best Rank Worst Rank 206,586 166,473 139,558 133,565 133,565 42,605 214,661 Date Amazon Ranking Barnes & Noble Ranking Apr. 18, 2011 98,897 Unavailable Apr. 18, 2011 108,434 Unavailable Apr. 19, 2011 124,196 Unavailable Apr. 19, 2011 134,576 Unavailable Apr. 20, 2011 146,044 Unavailable Apr. 20, 2011 153,003 291,686 Apr. 21, 2011 164,512 Unavailable Apr. 21, 2011 165,320 351,941 Apr. 21, 2011 166,604 351,941 April 21, 2011, Hard Copy Update Date Amazon Ranking Barnes & Noble Ranking Apr. 18, 2011 1,336,083 Unavailable Apr. 18, 2011 1,367,378 Unavailable Apr. 19, 2011 1,404,121 Unavailable Apr. 19, 2011 1,444,892 Unavailable Apr. 20, 2011 1,478,280 Unavailable Apr. 20, 2011 1,509,263 Unavailable Apr. 21, 2011 1,547,972 Unavailable Apr. 21, 2011 1,551,636 Unavailable Apr. 21, 2011 1,556,799 Unavailable References “Power Law Converting Amazon Sales Ranks to Units Sold « Nimble Books LLC.” Nimble Books LLC. Web. 29 Mar. 2011. <http://www.nimblebooks.com/wordpress/2006/06/power-law-converting-amazon-sales-ranks-to-units-sold/&gt;. “Why Your Self-Publishing Service Probably Didn’t Cheat You.” Writer Beware™ Blogs! Web. 29 Mar. 2011. <http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2011/03/why-your-self-publishing-service.html&gt;. “Wired Blogs.” The Long Tail. Web. 29 Mar. 2011. <http://longtail.typepad.com/the_long_tail/2005/08/amazon_methodol.html&gt;.