Why Doesn't Sci-Fi Hit the Bestseller Lists?

Pomeranian writes "Sci fi readers often deplore book bestseller lists -- because review editors actively ignore many sci-fi sales, since they don't consider that stuff "popular", even though sci-fi titles often sell in far greater numbers than "serious" highbrow lit. But this all might change soon, with the launch of Bookscan: New technology that tracks actual sales at the cash register with greater precision than ever before. When similar technology launched in the music industry ten years ago, it proved the popularity of "new country" and hip-hop overnight. This story in the Washington Post wonders: Will Bookscan do the same thing to sci-fi? NOTE: this is a *shameless* self-aggrandizing plug, because I wrote the Washington Post story! But I figured it'd be of particular interest to Slashdot readers" CD: While I'd love to see lists that are more reflective of reality, I don't think that a pure unadulterated list is in the interest of the reading public. When I worked at Waldenbooks many moons ago, we would commonly receive copies of one book, Dianetics, from the publisher, with our (And our competitors) sales stickers already on them. While this was an extreme case, it does serve as a cautionary tale about the lengths some will go to manipulate the numbers.

Comments

Re:Still not the whole picture.

[jonbrewer]

Thanks for the response. (really!)

I don't disagree at all with using an alias. In fact, I have one of my own, though not for Slashdot use. :-) I don't, however, pretend to be (an obscure fictional character from an Ayn Rand book) when I interact with others online!

I was just a little frustrated by the pains the author hadtaken in pretending, and the utter futility of their methods. Before commenting the first time, I reviewed all posts by "Sir Elton John." (I was curious.) I was disappointed because it all seemed so formulaic:

Post #1: As a popular musician
Post #4: I find the clouds charming and psychadelic...reminds me of London, 1966
Post #5: Bernie and I actually did write that
Post #6: As a fellow musician
Post #7: As a professional in the popular music industry
Post #8: As someone "in the business,"
Post #9: As someone who was to some extent in the "public eye" during the first science fiction boom

Intelligent, interesting posts with subtle hints and a less obvious alias would be a better way to troll as Elton John. But this person really seems to want to convince the reader (via brute force) that they are, in fact, "Sir Elton John."

uugh. I don't get it. But then again, I rarely understand why people do things.