Q&A: Sales Figures for the Rabbi's Books
Sales Figures for the Rabbi's Books
Question
Hello,
I’d be glad to know whether the Rabbi has any data regarding book sales:
Science of Freedom.
God Plays Dice.
The Trilogy.
Truth and Unstable.
I’m simply interested in knowing two things:
- To what extent the Rabbi’s writings attract the public.
- To what extent these topics attract the public.
Best regards, Ehud
Answer
I don’t remember exactly. God Plays Dice sold several thousand copies (I think 7,000-8,000). Science of Freedom sold 3,000, and Truth and Unstable around 2,000. The Trilogy sold about 850 sets. But I’m not sure that necessarily indicates fields of interest. There’s marketing and distribution involved (The Trilogy wasn’t distributed through Yedioth, but privately).
In any case, it seems to me that if you’re looking for ratings, I’m not the best address. 🙂
Discussion on Answer
While we’re at it, I’ll add another remark. They once said that China is a one-disc country (one person buys and everyone else copies or uses it). And that Israel too is a one-disc country. So Bnei Brak is a one-book city. My impression is that hundreds and even more people in Bnei Brak read Two Carts, but almost nobody bought it. Some went even further: they came to me and asked to borrow it. 🙂
In my yeshiva alone, at least thirty people read Truth and Unstable from the same copy…
Personally, I got Two Carts from a friend, and I bought Science of Freedom second-hand, so it’s really hard to gather data.
http://forum.otzar.org/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=52044&p=644939#p644939
I can add, based on what I saw with my own eyes, that at least with the earlier books there was a fairly significant gap between the number of copies and the number of readers. One of the most battered and stained books I’ve ever read in my life was Two Carts. Afterward I bought it, and the first two books passed through at least three more hands after mine, until they stopped updating me, and to this day I hope they’re not in the lost triangle of socks. If the audience that consumed the early books is mainly what I think it is, namely yeshiva students, then—and I know this not only from myself—that’s a peak period in life in terms of being broke, all the more so when it comes to the habit of borrowing books from libraries and friends.