<P> At least one scientific approach to creating bestsellers has been devised . In 2004, Didier Sornette, a professor of geophysics and a complex systems theorist at UCLA, using Amazon.com sales data, created a mathematical model for predicting bestseller potential based on very early sales results . This information could be used to identify a potential for bestseller status and recommend fine tuned advertising and publicity efforts accordingly . In 1995, the authors of a book called The Discipline of Market Leaders colluded to manipulate their book onto the best seller charts . The authors allegedly purchased over 10,000 copies of their own book in small and strategically placed orders at bookstores whose sales are reported to Bookscan . Because of the ancillary benefits of making The New York Times Best Seller list (speaking engagements, more book deals, and consulting) the authors felt that buying their own work was an investment that would pay for itself . The book climbed to #8 on the list where it sat for 15 weeks, also peaking at #1 on the BusinessWeek best seller list . Since such lists hold the power of cumulative advantage chart success often begets more chart success . And although such efforts are not illegal, they are considered highly unethical by publishers . </P> <P> Bestsellers have gained such great popularity that it has sometimes become fashionable to purchase them . Critics have pointed out that just because a book is purchased doesn't mean it will be read . The rising length of bestsellers may mean that more of them are simply becoming bookshelf decor . In 1985 members of the staff of The New Republic placed coupons redeemable for $5 cash inside 70 books that were selling well, and none of them were sent in . </P> <P> In April 2013 Penguin Random House was created to become the world's largest publisher . The two major shareholders are Bertelsmann (53%) and Penguin Group (47%) owned by Pearson PLC . </P> <P> Other major publishers include Thomson Reuters, Reed Elsevier, Wolters Kluwer, Hachette, McGraw Hill Financial, John Wiley and Sons, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan Publishers, and Harlequin Enterprises . </P>

What does it mean to be a bestseller