A literary or musical work that achieves a high sales volume is classified as a best seller.
The English expression best seller is recognized by the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ) as a literary or musical work that is very successful at a commercial level . In other words, a book or a music album becomes a best seller when it reaches a high level of sales.
Although the RAE accepts the notion, the Fundación del Español Urgente ( Fundéu ) suggests using the term superventas . Therefore, to refer to a novel or a record with a high number of copies sold, one can speak of both a best seller and a superventas.
It should be noted that some dictionaries include the word bestseller . Its meaning, of course, is the same and is linked to the number of copies sold of a book or a music album.
When a work becomes a best seller
It is important to note that there is no specific figure that a work must surpass in order to be considered a best seller. The notion is broad and abstract and is often used as a marketing strategy for promotional purposes.
The thousands or millions of copies sold are the main support for a best-seller. This popularity, however, is not related to quality or critical recognition. A novel may be a best-seller because it sold millions of copies because its author is famous or because of a successful promotional strategy, but the work may be considered to be of poor quality by specialists.
Of course, neither of the two extremes is valid for judging the quality of bestsellers: it would not be appropriate to say that all works that sell millions of copies are mere commercial products created with the specific aim of raising money, but neither would it be appropriate to say that all of them are masterpieces simply because they have been so successful on the market.
Many people approach literature through best sellers.
Sales forecast
There is always a certain degree of randomness in the sales of a product, something that exceeds the calculations and predictions of market analysts. Many times, an item that is created to calm the public's anxiety until the release of the one they are really waiting for becomes a resounding success and the company is forced to change its plans, while it may also happen that the product on which they place all their expectations reaches a disappointing number of sales.
Similarly, artists cannot know with certainty how their works will perform in the marketplace , and it is therefore somewhat childish to think that all best-sellers were created with the purpose of emptying the pockets of millions of people . Regardless of the quality of a book, a film, or a music album, there may be a deep desire to make it, a true commitment to the art, and none of these elements infallibly ensure commercial success.
In other words, it is not enough to hear the term best seller to know the quality of a work: just as with a work that has not sold a single copy, each person should approach it and make his or her own judgment, which may be contrary to that of another without this being a problem. Perhaps the only negative aspect of bestsellers is the fact that a large part of the public considers them the best option, and ignores all those creations that have not sold as much.
Bestselling Authors
Dan Brown 's "The Da Vinci Code" , JK Rowling 's "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" and EL James' "Fifty Shades of Grey" are some of the top bestsellers published in the 21st century .
In all these cases, millions of copies have been sold, making the books extremely popular.