Melville House Books

According to this “Quasi-Scientific” survey by New York Observer reporter Paul Young, it’s “tough to say.” He offers the following survey of last week’s New York Times bestseller list:

Hardcover Fiction

1. Changes, by Jim Butcher (@longshotauthor); 19 following, 7593 followers, 762 listed, 527 tweets
2. The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. No Twitter account!
3. Caught, by Harlan Coben (@HarlanCoben); 240 following, 8215 followers, 463 listed, 984 tweets
4. The Walk, by Richard Paul Evans (@richardpaulevan); 2 following, 101 followers, 6 listed, 155 Tweets
5. A River in the Sky, by Elizabeth Peters. No Twitter account!

Hardcover Nonfiction

1. The Big Short, by Michael Lewis. No Twitter account!
2. Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang, by Chelsea Handler (@chelsealately); 17 following, 42766 followers, 654 listed, 27 tweets
3. The Bridge, by David Remnick. No Twitter account!
4. This Time Together, by Carol Burnett. No Twitter account!
5. The Pacific, by Hugh Ambrose. No Twitter account!

The more obvious–but perhaps more important–conclusion: “being a best-selling author sure seems to help one attract [Twitter] followers.”

Kelly Burdick is the executive editor of Melville House.