ResultSource is a San Diego-based book marketing company that conducts "bestseller campaigns" on behalf of authors. The company states "'We create campaigns that reach a specific goal, like: "On the bestsellers list," or "100,000 copies sold.'" For example, for a negotiated fee ResultSource will guarantee that a book becomes a bestseller. It does this through bulk book buying programs designed to manipulate the metrics used by

Nielsen BookScan BookScan is a data provider for the book publishing industry that compiles point of sale data for book sales, owned by The NPD Group in the United States and the Nielsen Company in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, India, Sou ...

and the New York Times Best Seller list, among other strategies. As a result of ResultSource's business practices,

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econo ...

has stopped doing business with the company. The company was founded by Kevin Small. The details of ResultSource's business are private and few in the publishing industry will speak openly about it. "It's no wonder few people in the industry want to talk about bestseller campaigns. Put bluntly, they allow people with enough money, contacts, and know-how to buy their way onto bestseller lists." However, some information has come to light. In 2014, the ''Los Angeles Times'' published a story titled "Can bestseller lists be bought?" It describes how author and pastor

Mark Driscoll Mark A. Driscoll (born 1970) is an American evangelical pastor and author who founded the now defunct Mars Hill Church. He is the senior and founding pastor of the Trinity Church in Scottsdale, Arizona, which was founded in 2016. In 1996, D ...

contracted with ResultSource to place his book '' Real Marriage'' on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list for a $200,000 fee. The contract was for ResultSource "to conduct a bestseller campaign for your book, 'Real Marriage' on the week of January 2, 2012. The bestseller campaign is intended to place 'Real Marriage' on the New York Times bestseller list for the Advice How-to list." To achieve this, the contract stated that "RSI will be purchasing at least 11,000 total orders in one week." This took place and as a result, the book was successfully ranked #1 on the hardcover advice bestseller list on January 22, 2014. Driscoll later published an apology letter.

References

{{Reflist Marketing companies of the United States Book publishing in the United States Companies based in San Diego Ethics and statistics

See also

References