Pre-order takes spot on Amazon Most Read Chart as nine Kindle Unlimited titles hit Top 20

The newly established Amazon Charts are showing the growing power of Amazon Publishing and the Kindle Unlimited ebook subscription service.

There’s a pre-order from Amazon Publishing’s Thomas & Mercer thriller imprint in the Top 20s and nine titles available through Kindle Unlimited also on the new charts (week of May 28, although the charts are released on Wednesdays).

Dead Certain by Adam Mitzner has a release date set of June 1 so although pre-order sales might push it into the ‘Most Sold’ charts, how is it riding even higher in the ‘Most Read’ list?

The answer is it was picked by Amazon for its Kindle First promotional program. Offers on pre-release titles are sent out to a massive mailing list of readers. The books are usually available under the scheme at $0.99 or thereabouts before the official publication date.

As I’ve written in many articles on this website (use the site search with the term Amazon Publishing), Amazon Publishing imprints have pushed pre-orders to the top of the Kindle bestseller charts over recent years using marketing programs such as Kindle First.

There are nine titles on the Most Read Top 20 this week that can be read through Kindle Unlimited:

  • The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood at No 1 (Houghton Mifflin)
  • Beneath A Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan at No 4 (Lake Union — Amazon Publishing imprint)
  • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling at No 6 (Pottermore)
  • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling at No 7 (Pottermore)
  • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling at No 8 (Pottermore)
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows  by JK Rowling at No 13 (Pottermore)
  • Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling at No 16 (Pottermore)
  • Beach Lawyer by Avery Duff at No 18 (Thomas & Mercer — Amazon Publishing imprint)
  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling at No 20 (Pottermore)[clear-line]

Dead Certain will be joining those shortly as Amazon Publishing imprints are also made available through Kindle Unlimited when they’re officially on release.

It’s particularly interesting to compare the Amazon Charts Most Read list, which is compiled by tracking Kindle ebook page reads, with the current Bestsellers in the Amazon.com Kindle Store, which Amazon has been publishing for several years and which is updated hourly.

Here are the Kindle Bestsellers (morning of May 31):

  • 1: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (Houghton Mifflin)
  • 2: Dead Certain by Adam Mitzner (Lake Union — Amazon Publishing imprint)
  • 3: Promise Me Forever by Debbie Macomber (self-published by Debbie Macomber Books)
  • 4: Beneath A Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan (Lake Union — Amazon Publishing imprint)
  • 5: Persuasion (Curse of the Gods Book 2) by Jaymin Eve and Jane Washington (Self-published)
  • 6: A Merciful Death by Kendra Elliot (Montlake Romance — Amazon Publishing imprint)
  • 7: Their Lost Daughters by Joy Ellis (Joffe Books — independent UK publisher)
  • 8: Come Sundown by Nora Roberts (St Martin’s Press)
  • 9: The Hundredth Queen by Emily R King (Skyscape — Amazon Publishing imprint)
  • 10: Say You’re Sorry by Melinda Leigh (Montlake Romance — Amazon Publishing imprint)[clear-line]

There are only two Big 5 publishers on that list while there are five titles from Amazon Publishing, two self-publishers and one indie firm.

Here are the Amazon Charts Most Read (week of May 28)

  • 1: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (Houghton Mifflin)
  • 2: The Fix by David Baldacci (Grand Central)
  • 3: American Gods by Neil Gaiman (William Morrow)
  • 4: Beneath A Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan (Lake Union Publishing — Amazon Publishing imprint)
  • 5: Into The Water by Paula Hawkins (Riverhead Books)
  • 6: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling (Pottermore)
  • 7: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling (Pottermore)
  • 8: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling (Pottermore)
  • 9: Dead Certain by Adam Mitzner (Lake Union — Amazon Publishing imprint)
  • 10: It by Stephen King (Scribner)[clear-line]

There are just three titles which make it on to both of those Top 10s — The Handmaid’s Tale, Beneath A Scarlet Sky and Dead Certain. There are only two Amazon Publishing books in the Most Read Top 10 and five of the places are taken by Big 5 publishers, plus three from Pottermore, which I count as an ‘indie’.

The Most Read chart, remember, counts only pages read in Kindle ebooks. It illustrates the huge popularity of the Harry Potter books which have proved to be a massive attraction on Kindle Unlimited. It also contrasts with the Kindle bestsellers’ list which is constantly changing as it is updated hourly to track trending sales while the new Amazon Charts seem to have more stability so far. You can check out the charts in full at Amazon.

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