Best-selling Authors Statistics

Online platforms have simplified the process for authors from various backgrounds to publish their works in multiple formats, reducing reliance on traditional publishers. Nevertheless, best-selling authors still tend to lead the sales charts annually, primarily with titles in the Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi, and Thriller genres.

Best-selling fiction authors by estimated sales

Analyzing demographics reveals that American and British authors account for 70% of the top-selling fiction writers.
William Shakespeare holds the title of the best-selling fiction author of all time, with sales estimated between 2 and 4 billion copies.
Remarkably, he achieved this with just 42 different works. Additionally, among the top-selling fiction authors based on estimated sales, 13.33% have published over 500 titles.

#	Author	Nationality	Number of books	Estimated sales
1	William Shakespeare	British	42	2 billion – 4 billion
2	Agatha Christie	British	85	2 billion – 4 billion
3	Danielle Steel	American	179	900 million+
4	Harold Robbins	American	23	750 million – 750 million
5	Dr. Seuss	American	44	700 million+
6	Enid Blyton	British	800+	600 million+
7	Barbara Cartland	British	723	500 million – 750 million
8	Georges Simenon	Belgian	570	500 million – 700 million
9	Eiichiro Oda	Japanese	104	516.5 million – 516.5 million
10	J. K. Rowling	British	22	500 million+
11	Nora Roberts	American	200+	500 million+
12	Sidney Sheldon	American	21	370 million – 600 million
13	Gilbert Patten	American	209	125 million – 500 million
14	Akira Toriyama	Japanese	66	298 million – 438 million
15	Leo Tolstoy	Russian	48	400 million – 450 million
16	Alexander Pushkin	Russian	17	350 million – 400 million
17	Dean Koontz	American	91	325 million – 400 million
18	Jackie Collins	British	25	250 million – 400 million
19	Horatio Alger	American	135	200 million – 400 million
20	R. L. Stine	American	430+	100 million – 400 million
21	Stephen King	American	77	350 million+
22	Paulo Coelho	Brazilian	28	320 million+
23	René Goscinny	French	108	300 million – 340 million
24	Jirō Akagawa	Japanese	500+	300 million – 330 million
25	Jeffrey Archer	British	33	250 million – 330 million
26	Louis L’Amour	American	101	230 million – 330 million
27	Erle Stanley Gardner	American	140	100 million – 325 million
28	Edgar Wallace	British	175	300 million – 310 million
29	Janet Dailey	American	93	300 million – 310 million
30	Jin Yong	Chinese	15	100 million – 300 million

Best-selling female authors

Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie is recognized as the best-selling fiction author of all time, with estimated sales exceeding 2 billion copies of her books.
Her sales figures are surpassed only by The Bible and the works of William Shakespeare.

Charlotte Brontë

Charlotte Brontë gained literary fame with the publication of her novel Jane Eyre in 1847.
The book is estimated to have sold over 2 million copies.
A film adaptation of Jane Eyre was released in 2011 and has grossed nearly $35 million as of 2022.

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Colleen Hoover

Colleen Hoover has sold over 20 million books in total. In 2022 alone, she sold 8.6 million print copies.
Starting her career as a self-published author, she remains independent of any specific publishing house.

Danielle Steel

Among currently living authors, Danielle Steel is recognized as the best-selling fiction author of all time.
As of 2022, her annual income is estimated to surpass $20 million, and her books have sold over 900 million copies worldwide.

Delia Owens

Her debut novel, Where the Crawdads Sing, has sold over 12 million copies worldwide.
As of 2019, it was ranked #1 on Amazon’s most-sold fiction books list.
The novel was adapted into a film in 2022, which grossed over $140 million globally.

Diana Gabaldon

Her eight-book series Outlander has sold over 50 million copies as of 2021.
The latest installment, Go Tell the Bees That I’m Gone, sold nearly 183,000 copies within its first week of release.
As of 2021, her estimated net worth is $110 million.

Harper Lee

Harper Lee is renowned for her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, which has sold over 40 million copies
. By the 1990s, the book was selling at a rate of over 2 million copies annually.
Her other publication, Go Set a Watchman, sold more than a million copies in its first week of release and became HarperCollins’ fastest-selling book in history.

J. K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling is globally recognized for her Harry Potter series, which has sold over 500 million copies.
She has also been voted America’s favorite author. The eight Harry Potter films, adapted from her books, have collectively grossed over $9 billion worldwide.

Jane Austen

Jane Austen’s books have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.
Her most popular novel, Pride and Prejudice, has sold over 20 million copies alone.
During her lifetime, Austen earned an estimated $66,398 from her writings.

Kristin Hannah

Hannah’s best-selling novel, The Nightingale, has sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide.
As of 2022, her net worth is estimated at $12 million. Additionally, Firefly Lane premiered as a Netflix original series in 2021, starring Sarah Chalke and Katherine Heigl

Madeline Miller

Her novel The Song of Achilles has sold 2 million copies as of 2022.
Its sales saw a significant boost in 2021 after gaining popularity in the TikTok book community known as “BookTok.”
Miller’s subsequent title, Circe, sold 134,000 copies across all formats.

Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts has sold an estimated 500 million copies of her books. As of 2022, her annual earnings are believed to exceed $30 million.
Additionally, she has sold over 1 million copies of her books in Kindle editions.

Taylor Jenkins Reid

Although The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was published five years earlier, it sold over 500,000 copies in 2022.
In total, more than 5 million copies of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books are available in printed editions. Additionally, four of her titles have been or are being adapted for TV or film.

Toni Morrison

Beloved (1987) is considered one of the most significant works in American literature.
As of 2019, Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon had sold 570,000 copies.
At the time of her death that same year, her net worth was estimated at $20 million.

Best-selling male authors

Dan Brown

Dan Brown’s books have over 200 million copies in print.
As of 2009, his best-selling title, The Da Vinci Code (2003), had sold more than 80 million copies.
The 2006 film adaptation of the book grossed over $760 million worldwide.

Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss’ books have sold over 700 million copies worldwide.
Despite being released in 1960, Green Eggs and Ham sold over 338,000 copies in the USA alone in 2020.
Although Dr. Seuss passed away in 1991, his works still generated $33 million in earnings during 2020.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby, published in 1925, has sold over 30 million copies and continues to sell around 500,000 copies annually.
Two modern film adaptations of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s works—The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) and The Great Gatsby (2013)—have together grossed over $650 million at the box office.

J. R. R. Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien’s books have sold over 150 million copies in total.
Film adaptations of his works have earned more than $5.5 billion at the box office.
Additionally, his book The Lord of the Rings was voted the book of the 20th century by UK Waterstones customers.

James Patterson

James Patterson has sold over 425 million copies of his books and is regarded as the best-selling modern author.
In 2020, he earned over $80 million, making him the highest-paid U.S. author for that year.

John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath has sold at least 14 million copies.
A special edition of the book was auctioned for $47,800 in 2007.
Another of Steinbeck’s significant works, Of Mice and Men, has sold upwards of 7.5 million copies.

John Grisham

John Grisham’s books have sold over 300 million copies.
He is estimated to earn $21 million annually.
Additionally, his film adaptations have grossed over $645 million at the box office.

Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman’s books have sold over 45 million copies in total.
This includes more than 30 million graphic novels and 10 million novels.
He is particularly renowned for his Sandman series of graphic novels, which has sold upwards of 30 million copies.

Paulo Coelho

Worldwide, more than 320 million copies of Paulo Coelho’s books have been sold.
He is best known for The Alchemist, which has sold over 150 million copies, making it one of only nine books to exceed 100 million copies sold.
Its audiobook version, released in 2005, has sold over 2 million copies.

Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan’s books have sold over 190 million copies worldwide.
His Percy Jackson series alone has sold over 180 million copies.
Following the release of two movies based on the series, Riordan’s book sales more than doubled.

Roald Dahl

More than 250 million copies of Roald Dahl’s books have been sold.
From his movie adaptations, his books have made more than $750 million.
Netflix purchased the Roald Dahl Story Company for more than £500 million in 2021.