September’s list sheds light on a depressing reality: The market for copycat, fake, and deceptively titled books is alive and well on Amazon, perhaps even flourishing in a way it hasn’t before.
In the self-published print bestsellers list, we’ve retained the data exactly as we received it from Bookstat (excluding box sets). Browsing through, take notice of the repeat occurrence of several titles. The best example is A Navy SEAL’s Bug-In Guide, which appears three times:
- The original version by Joel Lambert, published on Jan. 1, 2024, takes the number-one slot.
- It also appears at number 13 by James Landers, published on Aug. 23, with a slightly amended subtitle.
- It appears a third time as part of the top 70 titles we receive from Bookstat (we only publish the top 50). This third one is authored by Mark Reynolds and also carries a slightly different subtitle, published on Sept. 4.
So what’s going on here? The Joel Lambert version is published by Claude Davis, who is also the author and publisher of other continually bestselling titles such as NO GRID Survival Projects and The Lost Book of Herbal Remedies. The James Landers version can no longer be found at Amazon, but as of this writing the Mark Reynolds version is still kicking around in multiple iterations, along with other books carrying the same title, trying to build off the success of the Lambert title. It doesn’t appear these books directly copy material from the Lambert book or behave as true counterfeits, although they might be AI-generated knockoffs. Most trick people into buying them and deliver little substance, while a handful appear to carry good-quality information and are capitalizing on the successful title and concept of the Lambert book.
Claude Davis’s NO GRID Survival Projects also appears three times. The original is listed at number seven, published on Dec. 1, 2021; it appears again at number 30 by Rowan Mercer, published on Aug. 18, 2024, and again (unlisted) in the top 70, by Patsy T. Butler, published on Aug. 2, 2024. If you search for it, Amazon will turn up all manner of No Grid Survival Projects by many authors, mostly with decent reviews.
Claude Davis’s books sell at relatively high price points ($39) and are not available via Amazon Prime. In fact, we found legitimate websites devoted to selling the Davis titles direct to consumer. Perhaps this is Davis’s solution to the Amazon copycat problem? If so, it may have created a feeding frenzy at Amazon.
Since book titles themselves can’t be protected under copyright, this problem puts Amazon in something of a pickle. At what point do they crack down on bad actors who try to steal away sales from a bestselling book in an unethical but maybe slightly legal manner?
Some other bestselling titles where this is occurring:
- For those who don’t keep up with celebrity news: A memoir purportedly written by the late Kim Porter about her abuse by Diddy (Kim’s Lost Words) was published and quickly removed by Amazon due to controversy over its authenticity. However, you can still find books on Amazon with this title, and they’ve made the Hot Sheet print bestseller list: one by Jamal T. Millwood, published on Sept. 6, appears in the number-two position. At number 38 you’ll find a version by Annie Frink, published on Sept. 23, with a slightly modified subtitle. As of this writing, those editions have been taken down, but other fakes have taken their place. (The Millwood version is on the Hidden Gems list as well, at number four.)
- Unauthorized Barbara O’Neill books: Barbara O’Neill Natural Herbal Remedies Complete Collection by Roberta Lane, published on June 18, 2024, is in the number-eight position; other variations are at number 10 and number 23 by different authors. Barbara O’Neill books have been part of the Hot Sheet bestseller list from the start, but there are only a handful actually authored by her: Self-Healing by Design, Sustain Me, and Second Chance. Over the last several months, a range of people have started using O’Neill’s name to create “complete collections” of her remedies and recipes to capitalize on her soaring popularity on TikTok and other social media. (TL;DR: She is not considered a credible source of health information and is a controversial figure.) In an Instagram post announcing her latest book, the caption notes, “There are still lots of people using Barbara’s name to sell books that she has not authorised.” It’s a wonder she doesn’t do something to stop the activity, because a lot of money is being made using her name.
Browse the September 2024 bestseller lists.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
