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# Thoughts on Best-Selling Authors
- URL: https://www.philsimon.com/thoughts-on-best-selling-authors/
- Published: 2020-07-23T12:29:46.000Z
- Updated: 2025-10-06T22:51:02.000Z
- Description: Why I'm persnickety about this amorphous designation.
- Author: Phil Simon
- Tags: Publishing, Ethics, Rush, Zoom For Dummies

Now that *Zoom For Dummies* is out, I can claim that I'm a best-selling author.

It's not hard, as long as I put my ethics on hold. I only need to my limit definition of *best-selling author* to a specific category on a popular website, as I've done below.

![](https://content.screencast.com/users/ThePhilSimon/folders/Default/media/97d94e91-fdc7-48a5-977b-17e6e365fad2/screenshot.png)

And here as well. I certainly wouldn't put *Zoom For Dummies* in the computer-science bucket, but who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth?

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/2025/05/zoom-for-dummies-ranking-1.jpg)

> Shame on authors who make such specious claims.

Sadly, plenty of authors don't even do that much. That is, they prominently make this specious claim without a scintilla of proof. [Here](https://i.imgur.com/9Ssl6sm.jpg?ref=philsimon.com) is one of them. Trust me: When it comes to book sales, this particular individual is no Michael Crichton, Michael Lewis, or Malcom Gladwell.

Not even close.

[Phil Simon: Why I Don’t Blog Every DayJust because you can doesn’t mean that you should.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/icon/cropped-newlogo-95.png)Phil Simon![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/thumbnail/everydamnday11-1.jpeg)](https://www.philsimon.com/blog/social-media/why-i-dont-blog-every-day/)

## Simon Says

Look, I'm happy that *Zoom For Dummies* is finding an immediate audience. Seriously. You'll never hear me claim otherwise. In fact, the promise of my two new [books](https://www.philsimon.com/books) heavily influenced my decision to leave ASU a few months ago.

Still, climbing to the top of a niche category is a [far cry](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2J72bub%5FCA&ref=philsimon.com) from landing on the *New York Times* best-seller list. If *Zoom For Dummies* organically sells tens of thousands of copies and my [BookScan](https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/industry-expertise/books/?ref=philsimon.com) numbers reflect that fact, then I'll reconsider my stance. Until then, I'll proudly go old school. I won't make questionable claims about my book sales.

And I'll sleep just fine at night. (Well, at least what I consider sleeping.) There's more than enough dishonesty and shading of the truth these days.