How long does it take for a book to become a bestseller?
William Rodriguez
Updated on February 23, 2026
You may need to sell 10,000 copies in one week. Depending on the list, the different requirements can get tricky. If you want to be a bestselling author on the NY Times list, you must sell between 5,000-10,000 copies of your book in one week, but the sales cannot all come from one entity.