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'Best-Seller' — What Does It Mean to Be One?

The New York Times best-seller list used to be the gold standard of the publishing world. But these days, there is a proliferation of lists, and stores prominently display their own "best-sellers."

That begs the question: What does it mean to be a best-seller? And how important is that label to the publishing industry and its customers?

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Lynn Neary is an NPR arts correspondent covering books and publishing.