Author James Patterson accuses New York Times cooking Best Sellers list in blistering letter to ed

James Patterson has accused the New York Times of ‘cooking’ her List of bestsellersnoting that the newspaper appears to be basing the list not just on sales, but rather on another complicated methodology.

Patterson first raised concerns last weekend in a tweet in which he expressed suspicions about how the list was calculated.

What’s up with the @NYTimes bestseller lists? Has anyone besides me noticed that @MikePompeo’s book has sold more copies than 6 titles on today’s list?’ he asked.

And last week, JD Robb’s novel (that’s Nora Roberts’ pseudonym) wasn’t on the fiction list, even though it still sold more than four other titles. Does the Times mean the best for their target group with ‘bestseller’?’ He wrote.

As an author, Patterson, who claims to be a left-leaning political independent, has flourished like few others, publishing several bestsellers each year, including novels and children’s books.

Patterson took to Twitter to voice his concerns after noting that some books with lower sales made the list, while others with higher sales did not.

He is ranked with JK Rowling and a handful of others as one of the world’s richest writers.

But after the New York Times failed to respond to his tweets, the 76-year-old wrote a formal letter to the paper’s editor, but received no response.

“They told my publisher that they weren’t relying solely on ‘raw’ sales. And they refused to read the letter,” he explained in a tweet on Sunday, posting the entire letter.

Patterson, who is arguably the world’s most prolific writer, with more than 400 titles to his name: thrillers, non-fiction on topics ranging from Jeffrey Epstein to the Kennedys to ER nurses, plus true crime novels, stories for children and young adults. adults, spoke of his longstanding support for the paper before making his point.

“I’ve been a reader of The New York Times for a long time. Since 1971, when I first moved to New York City, I’ve devoured your paper. Each. Single. Day. …I am also an author and have paid special attention to your book review section and to the bestseller lists it contains. As a reader of the newspaper, I know that sometimes mistakes are made,’ he began.

Patterson’s books have been ranked more than 4,000 times on the NY Times bestseller lists and are #5 this week

According to BookScan, Walk the Blue Line, left, all but three books on the New York Times list of 15 were sold out last week. Meanwhile, a book by former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did not make the list, despite six other books that did appear on the list selling better.

“A spirit of self-criticism and getting it right is all too often absent from your bestseller lists,” said Patterson.

“Your statement in the fine print that ‘the panel of reporting retailers is comprehensive and reflects sales in tens of thousands of stores of all sizes across the United States’ should be reassuring. But that is not it. Because it’s crazy. Tens of thousands of bookshops?’ he wrote of the claim in disbelief.

“The real problem is where you say, ‘Sales are statistically weighted to reflect and accurately represent all outlets relative to the entire country.’ Because here you are suggesting that your process is statistically rigorous. And it just doesn’t. As the country’s bookstores and our publishers have known and can prove for years, too often your lists are beyond the realm of the statistically possible let alone plausible.”

Patterson explained how one of his latest books, “Walk the Blue Line,” which chronicles first-hand accounts of American law enforcement, surpassed all but three books on the Times’ list of 15. .

Patterson posted his letter to the New York Times editor on Twitter after the newspaper decided not to publish it

“I’m asking you to please cut it out,” Patterson pleaded with the NY Times about his methodology

Patterson said the book sold better than the bottom seven books on the list, according to BookScan, but his book didn’t make it.

“Someone’s not very good at math,” he joked.

He also noted how a book by former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo failed to make the list, despite the fact that six other books that did make the list had sold better.

“Perhaps I’m foolish in thinking that ‘bestseller’ is a measure of what’s most popular with my fellow book-buying readers, as opposed to a value judgment made by the Times about the method by which the books were sold. Anyway, I’m asking you to please cut it out.’

In response to a question from DailyMail.com regarding the author’s claims, a New York Times spokesperson explained the publication’s approach.

“We responded to Mr. Patterson to let him know that we take his concerns seriously and are always reviewing our methods of compiling the bestseller lists to ensure we are serving our readers in the best possible way.

“Our bestsellers lists are based on a detailed analysis of book sales from a wide variety of retailers, tens of thousands of brick-and-mortar stores of all sizes, and countless online booksellers to best reflect what’s selling in the United States. For more information about the confidential reporting process or how books make our lists, see our methodology and this bestseller list explanation.

“We have and will continue to monitor Mr. Patterson’s latest books. Over the past 15 years, Mr. Patterson has been on our bestseller lists more than 4,000 times.”