The DBW Ebook Best-Seller Power Rankings is a list of publishers whose ebooks have appeared on the weekly DBW Ebook Best-Seller list. The publishers are listed in order depending on how many appearances their titles made on the ebook best-seller list on a week-to-week basis.
The two largest trade publishers in the world controlled nearly two-thirds of all ebook best-sellers in the first half of 2014.
Penguin Random House and HarperCollins combined to appear on the Digital Book World Ebook Best-Seller list a combined 406 times out of a total of 650 possible, about 65%. Penguin Random House led the way with 250 best-sellers (40% of the total) and HarperCollins had 156 (nearly 25%). The two companies also combined for 19 No. 1 best-sellers out of 25 total. HarperCollins had 12, driven by the success of Veronica Roth’s Divergent in the first quarter, and Penguin Random House had seven.
Hachette, Amazon and Simon & Schuster rounded out the rest of the top five, combining for about 26% of the rest of the best-sellers. Self-published authors, if taken as a group, clocked in at No. 6, publishing 4% of the best-sellers, including a No. 1 best-seller.
The standings remained basically unchanged from the first quarter (see second chart below).
Related: First Quarter 2014 Publisher Power Rankings | 2013 Full-Year Power Rankings
Self-Published Authors
In the second half of the year, we will witness a drop-off in self-published best-sellers due to the effects of Kindle Unlimited and the methodology of the DBW Ebook Best-Seller List.
That said, it cannot be understated what an amazing accomplishment it is for even one self-published title to make the best-seller list. They are often priced far below traditionally published ebooks but that should not diminish the accomplishment of attracting hordes of readers over the course of a week (check the DBW list methodology; it’s not easy to make it).
There are publishers with hundreds of employees all pulling in the same direction — to publish hit books — that have not seen the same success in the first half of the year. Even after the methodology of the list changed, self-published authors continue to generate best-sellers, too.
Top Ebook Publishers | First Half 2014
| Rank | Publisher | Appearances | No. 1 Best-Sellers |
| 1 | Penguin Random House | 250 | 7 |
| 2 | HarperCollins | 156 | 12 |
| 3 | Hachette | 78 | 3 |
| 4 | Amazon | 60 | 2 |
| 5 | Simon & Schuster | 28 | 0 |
| 6 | Self-published | 25 | 1 |
| 7 | Scholastic | 8 | 0 |
| 8 (tie) | Harlequin | 4 | 0 |
| 8 (tie) | Macmillan | 4 | 0 |
| 10 (tie) | W.W. Norton | 2 | 0 |
| 10 (tie) | Harvard University Press | 2 | 0 |
| 10 (tie) | Fire Flower Publishing | 2 | 0 |
| 10 (tie) | Perseus Books | 2 | 0 |
| 14 (tie) | RosettaBooks | 1 | 0 |
| 14 (tie) | B&H Books | 1 | 0 |
| 14 (tie) | Kensington Books | 1 | 0 |
| 14 (tie) | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | 1 | 0 |
Second quarter ebook publisher power rankings:
Top Ebook Publishers | Second Quarter 2014
| Rank | Publisher | Appearances | No. 1 Best-Sellers |
| 1 | Penguin Random House | 128 | 7 |
| 2 | HarperCollins | 89 | 2 |
| 3 | Hachette | 36 | 2 |
| 4 | Amazon | 30 | 1 |
| 5 | Simon & Schuster | 16 | 0 |
| 6 | Self-published | 13 | 1 |
| 7 (tie) | W.W. Norton | 2 | 0 |
| 7 (tie) | Harvard University Press | 2 | 0 |
| 7 (tie) | Fire Flower Publishing | 2 | 0 |
| 7 (tie) | Perseus Books | 2 | 0 |
| 7 (tie) | Harlequin | 2 | 0 |
| 12 (tie) | Scholastic | 1 | 0 |
| 12 (tie) | RosettaBooks | 1 | 0 |
| 12 (tie) | B&H Books | 1 | 0 |
* Data provided by Iobyte Solutions. Contact Iobyte for more information on ebook pricing.