A team of physicists has analyzed Amazon's book bestseller lists and determined that there are two main ways that books achieve success.  The study, published Friday in the journal Physical Review Letters and reported by the San Jose Mercury News, was done by a group of researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and Los Angeles. 

 

The first way that books hit the bestseller list is via an external event that gives a quick jump to sales that wears off just as quickly.  A favorable review, an Oprah mention, a major media announcement, a related death, were examples of this type of external event.  The second, which can take months but which also keeps books on the list for a much longer time, is due to the accumulation of many tiny events, such as the recommendations of many people who've read the book and enjoyed it. 

 

Pop culture retailers certainly see these phenomena in their own businesses, whether in the sales of graphic novels, games, DVDs, or other products.  Some media-driven sales are predictable, such as those caused by a movie release or other planned event.  Others are less so, such as when a news story about a particular storyline or product is suddenly picked up by a large national or many local media outlets around the country.  And some hits arise simply because the products are good ones that give large numbers of consumers a high level of satisfaction over a long period of time.  Both types of hits are valuable, but the long-terms hits can produce more predictable, reliable sales over a longer period of time.