Thanks to all of you, The 4-Hour Chef will now be featured on all of the big bestseller lists: The New York Times (available to the public shortly), The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly.
THANK YOU!!!
I’m honored to have the opportunity to write for you, and it’s been an amazing trip. It always is. I’ve known some of you since 2007! Seems like a lifetime ago, and I hope to be alongside you for decades to come. Your reviews are what keep me going during the most stressful times.
On that note, let’s look at the week in review: this launch was very different and very challenging. I couldn’t have done it without you, the tremendous online and offline support, including Hastings and the indies backing this book. Without B&N at the party, my team and I had to innovate and experiment to even scratch the lists. Unorthodox bookselling avenues were created (Panera, BitTorrent, etc.) and many new things were learned.
For instance, BitTorrent conversion is NUTS. Of 210,000 downloads (of this bundle) earlier this week, more than 85,000 clicked through “Support the Author” to the book’s Amazon page. We all had to triple and quadruple check that to believe it. Even at a 1% conversion after clicking an effective “buy now” link, that translates to 850 books… and BitTorrent is only accelerating. Wow.
I also came to understand the hard costs of producing The 4-Hour Chef.
This book, a full-color 672-pages at $21-35 end-user pricing, would have been impossible or nearly impossible to produce outside of Amazon Publishing. Marketing and merchandising muscle aside, I owe them tremendous thanks for the most important element of all: paying for exactly what I wanted my readers to have. In the end, product is king. Marketing might get you on the list for a week, but only good content will keep you selling for years. They allowed me to showcase the best of what I had to offer.
To that point: I’m in this for the long-haul, and my goal is never to be a “one-week wonder” on the lists.
I have zero interest in approaching pub date like opening weekend for a big movie. Both of my previous books are still going strong, and my proudest accolade is perhaps the least known. Here it is: there are only two authors (excluding the author/authors of The Bible) who currently have two books in Amazon’s “Most Highlighted Books of All Time” top-10 list: Suzanne Collins of The Hunger Games and me. Crazy but true. Many, many months ago, The 4-Hour Body was #1 for months.
I would love to add The 4-Hour Chef to that top-10 list. That list, which reflects readers’ feeling after buying, is much more important to me than the bestseller lists, which can be gamed. I know exactly how the black-hat folks do it, and I choose not to participate.
Regardless, and much to the chagrin of my critics, I’m just getting warmed up.
This leads us to…
Those bestseller lists — what happened exactly?
For the vast majority of you, the following will be boring. In fact, it’s pretty boring to me, but I need to understand the minutiae. If you’re an author, I’d highly suggest that you get familiar with the lists. They can be fickle and (sometimes) seemingly irrational beasts.
First, here is my previous primer on the basics of the bigger lists.
Next, before we delve into details, a fundamental piece of advice: start-up-style iteration isn’t just for product. It’s also for distribution.
I did NOT pull all my eggs into this first week, precisely because I wanted to iterate distribution. Since I am being boycotted by Barnes & Noble and others, it was unclear which of my sales would be counted or discounted by BookScan and others. I therefore reserved a lot of powder in the keg for later use, once lessons were learned.
It was a good thing I did.
See, I’m as obsessive about book data as I am about tracking physical data. In a single ongoing spreadsheet, I have weekly sales for every channel and every outlet for all of my books since April, 2007.
A few basic observations:
• BookScan only represents 25-30% of the market for most major bestsellers, but its rankings are relatively true, making it a good measure to sort out the variations in the NYT.
• USA Today is the only list that mixes ALL formats, including but not limited to eBooks. Â
• The NYT Advice list is the only major nonfiction list that doesn’t track eBooks for “Advice, How-to, & Misc.” This means all how-to books and cookbooks are omitted, among others.
• On the main NYT “nonfiction” print list (not “Advice, How-to, Misc.”), O’Reilly was listed as #2 and the #1 book sold half of what he did on BookScan.
• On the ALL formats USA Today list, the #1, #2 and #3 NYT books were at #24, #70 and #35 respectively, all below The 4-Hour Chef‘s #13 ranking.
Pretty odd arithmetic all around, huh? This leads to…
A few observations and questions to the universe:
– Isn’t it odd that 4HC was the #1 non-fiction book sold on Kindle last week, and the #1 ebook on The Wall Street Journal list, but it doesn’t even show up on the NYT ebook bestseller list?  Why would that be?
– If the NYT list doesn’t reflect what people are actually reading, what does it reflect? Will they adapt to the times (and full spectrum of non-fiction) or be replaced? I would wager they have a matter of months to decide.
– The NYT does not appear to accept Kindle sales for my book, as it’s from a “single vendor.” That’s really too bad, since Amazon is the largest seller of ebooks in the world. It should be noted that Amazon offered The 4-Hour Chef to Barnes & Noble for their Nook device, and they declined.
– The 4-Hour Chef sold more than 60,000 copies in print and ebook its first week, which would likely put it at #1 on the NYT combined list if its ebook sales were counted. The media is overlooking this print-to-digital mix change and hanging on to the outdated notion that bestseller status = solely print retail sales. I sold more than twice Bill O’Reilly, who had an estimated less than 10k eBooks and was #1 on the NYT eBook list.
– Amazon sold more Kindle copies than print copies of The 4-Hour Chef. My first-adopter demographic is made up of readers who are embracing digital and driving digital growth, so this is not only relevant, but also strategic. We know, for instance, that week-one ebook sales of 4HC were more than week one ebook sales of The 4-Hour Body (over a 30% increase from my last launch, using the 21,000 number on hand), which given my audience–and it could very much be argued the future of book publishing–is a trend in the right direction.
###
None of this is sour grapes.
If I were in this for one week, it might be, but I have big bombs held in reserve, all to be used soon enough. I want The 4-Hour Chef to become a movement, and that will take years to reach full potential, not weeks.
I’m in no rush.
This is a ready, fire, aim-type of game. There is a lot more to come, so keep watching. If B&N would like to join the party, I’ll have a glass of wine waiting. Either way, it’s going to be one hell of a party.
Onward unto the breach!
The Tim Ferriss Show is one of the most popular podcasts in the world with more than one billion downloads. It has been selected for "Best of Apple Podcasts" three times, it is often the #1 interview podcast across all of Apple Podcasts, and it's been ranked #1 out of 400,000+ podcasts on many occasions. To listen to any of the past episodes for free, check out this page.
Comment Rules: Remember what Fonzie was like? Cool. That’s how we’re gonna be — cool. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Brian Oberkirch for the inspiration.)
Congratulations!!!
Congrats Tim – love the intro video, by the way!
Congrats! Making these lists are VERY well deserved. I’m loving the new book.
It was a pleasure meeting you tonight! Thanks for taking pictures and signing my copy of 4HC. It was easily the highlight of my year.
Can’t wait to see where things continue to go!
Great work time. I am really enjoying new book.
Tim,
“Myths and Microwaves” – any thoughts on BPA in cans?
You (and Tucker Max) make authorship look badass. Godspeed.
Know of a good SIMPLE tutorial for a Luddite type on how to buy this on Amazon and slide it onto my Nook? Thanks! (Loved your first two books; got one on my Nook and one in hardcover.)
I use a free program Calibre. (Google it) And it can convert your ebooks to the format needed for your device.
..Or you could get a Kindle for $119!
Thanks! I’ll give that a try.
Congratulations Tim. Long may your success continue. I look forward to all your books now and believe you are in the vanguard of change in the publishing world.
I pre-ordered the book from Amazon and then bought the Kindle edition to read on my iPad because although I love print–and prefer print (because I am old)–carrying the thing around to read at spare moments during Turkey Weekend became a PITA. Tim, considering how you chose your title and cover art in the past, I’m sure you did experiments to see at what book-weight people would give up and buy digital…
Congrats Tim on your success and all your hard work, which has changed my life as well as many others.
I know you are measuring your success based on the NYT lists etc but I also think you measure it in lives changed. A short testimonial from me since I do think 4HC is awesome 🙂
Tonight I start archery lessons based on your meta-learning principles. My husband and I have broken it down into parts and been trying to work with the questions you recommend asking pros. Our aim is to win a national competition in the next year.
We also moved to slow carb eating this year, not quite as hard core as you, but
1) always eating protein for breakfast
2) gluten free all the time
I’ve lost 8 kgs and my husband has lost 12kgs – happy times 🙂
After reading the 4HWW several years ago, I started building my own blog and business online, and I am now a fulltime author-entrepreneur and have been 15 months out of the “day job”, plus I’m location independent.
Thanks again for all you do.
Joanna
Congrats, Tim! Meanwhile I will be waiting for the audio book version. Hopefully you’ll be the one to read it.
Congratulations Tim – AMAZING achievement!
Hi Tim.
A few thoughts
*you should probably admit you are a bit sad about making the best seller lists- you have written before how important it is and for example from your bio “He’s also author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, The 4-Hour Body” NYT is the only metric you used to demonstrate the success of 4HB
*you should strongly consider launching your next book/maybe even the current one as a free ebook on bittorrent. I think especially with 4HC, there is a real difference between owning the ebook and the book ( I have both because I live in australia and 2 weeks waiting for a tim ferriss book is not acceptable!) as the book is so much more useful when making recipes.
You would get a HEAP of publicity if you used this method, and by releasing it only as a pdf you wouldnt have much of an effect on ebook sales (as kindle has so many other benefits like syncing and highlights).
You have said before that most of your money is made from after-book effects like professional speaking etc. so i think any loss in revenue would be made up by a better spread of the idea.
Cheers
-Michael
Tim, you’re a literary gangsta and publishing rebel. Keep on rockin’ the boat, you beast!
Excellent news Tim, congrats. I just received my own copy yesterday from Amazon US and I’m loving it. Was very pleased to see you still have the Helle Harding and are taking good care of it 🙂
That knife rocks! Thank you again!
I can’t wait to see what else you have up your sleeve.
Anouther Intersting metric I bet would be how many folks like myself bought both the hard copy and the kindle version.
Absolutely. I’d love to know this. Will take a look…
Raises hand. 🙂
I did. Put in the order for the hardcopy via an Aussie site, but couldn’t wait so ordered the Kindle one via amazon as well. OMG Tim, you’re angling for a Guinness Record for biggest single book published, aren’t you? I’m going to have to set aside most of a shelf for just your 3 books alone.
After reading the ‘cricket cycle’ intro to everyone I know (even though I’m a veggie, I loved it!) I was up to the number/consonant mnemonics on the ebook when my hardcopy finally arrived yesterday. I’ve barely put it down, and the way you’ve used colour to help organise the book I can see is going to make it almost as easy to search as the electronic version. It’s my new addiction. The pictures are fantastic – and today’s lunch was North African Eggs, properly ‘snotty’ 🙂
PS Thanks SO much, Tim. This book has finally given me the missing link to cope with eating healthy (and regularly) in a time-starved, commuting life. Let’s see more cookbooks divided into prep and pickup!
*Raises other hand*
I’m not attached to printed books. But I am attached to reading stuff the way authors intend them to be laid out.
So…yeah I got sold on that.
I bought both.
I bought both.
Congratulations Tim, I guess its time to concentrate on some R-and-Archery for a while?…
Awesome news Tim…I just got my copy yesterday & have not been able to put it down!
Can’t wait to see how much my cooking skills improve in a couple of weeks!
Cannot wait my 3rd Bible shipping to Taiwan..
You know what my no.1 and no. 2..
🙂
Well done on all your success so far. I believe that your innovativeness and creativity will allow you to achieve any goal.
Your a beast brother! Your passion for detail and excellence is infectious an keeps me motivated. Can’t wait to read 4HC!
Congrats Tim , I’ve got all 3 of your books, I love them all.
I’m more organised , travel lighter , am slimmer , & much stronger due to the first 2 books and the blog. And I’m looking forward to tackling the recipes in your new book.
Something else that I get from your writing ; the feeling that I can tackle anything – and succeed.
Looking forward to what else you have in store…
Hats off Tim!
Your innovation and explicit communication strategy are an inspiration. You are the cutting edge of learning, and you do it with swagger.
Love the style, crave the next move.
Much love from Long Island,
Alissa
Hey Tim,
Congrats on the current (and future) success of the 4HC! I received my 25 this past Monday and working on distribution. I cannot wait to learn Portuguese this year. I would like to thank you for the Kindle (received last night) and goodies…Christmas came early!
Quick question, any word on the video contest winner? I keep searching your site and the web to no avail.
Thanks again for amazing material to read! Ciao.
Congrats! I personally like the hard copy better, and recommend that to my friends over the e-book…
I have no interest in cooking (already enjoy what I can cook). The sole reason I am reading this book is the stuff you wrote about other than cooking. Those pieces are priceless.
Congrats again, Tim! The book is beautiful. I can’t wait to see what’s next.
love, Love, LOVE this book – it’s fascinating! I highlighed the crap out of my kindle version! (I rarely highlight passages.) Congrats on the success. I saw your bit on Dr. Oz (had the day off and the TV was keeping me company while I cleaned house) and it stopped me in my tracks. Bought the book the next day and had read the enitre tome cover to cover in less than 2 days. That might be a record. I keep passing the recommendation on to others. It’s that good.
Oh, don’t forget about sites like Goodreads…
I knew you would do it, congrats! And yeah, the intro video is priceless. 🙂
Pura vida!
Congrats Tim! Proud to have purchased all of your books in their first week. You have given me far more than that in value over the last 5 years. I bought the print and kindle editions of 4hrchef and for anyone trying to decide which is better, go for the print. The kindle version is great, but print is unreal. All color and with tons of photos. Cooking is one of my main hobbies for years and I was able to get a lot of new info here. Love the Thomas Keller story about the rabbits.
Keep rockin’ it my friend. You’re revolutionizing the publishing arena and as always keeping your readers first, a true go-getter!
Congrats Tim! The new book is awesome. It completes the triology. Healthy. Wealthy. Wise. Learn anything.
Dude this is awesome, It’s pretty incredible what you have done..Go pour yourself some Malbec and take it all in. Take a trip, I hear the Seychelles are lovely this time of year, you deserved it man.
Sounds like a wonderful plan 🙂
Congratulations, Tim!
Kudos, too, for making this 4-Hour Chef book a great hybrid example of how the “new” business model can succeed.
When you (or anyone) make good art–or products–a most significant majority of customers will eagerly support the work at a fair price with their hard-earned money. (And who wouldn’t consider less than $5 for a Kindle version totally fair!)
While the trailblazers in the new paradigm have been Moby, Sigur Rós, Björk, Radiohead, and Stephen King with their pay-what-you-want-price releases, your hybrid execution makes a lot of sense: the best of both traditional and new approaches.
The paradigm continues to emerge: will be interesting to see it solidify into reliable performance metrics that reward the artist(s).
Cheers!
Congratulations Tim!
This is great news…I hope every author and publisher is paying close attention 🙂
thanks for the book! Excellent as expected.
and thank you for sharing the info about the “Lists”. Not boring in any way.
Look forward to more.
I went to B&N and asked for 4HC knowing they don’t carry it. The lady searched for it on her computer and it did pull up a picture of 4HC, but instead of saying they don’t/won’t carry it, the computer said that they were sold out in all locations. It did give her the option to special order me a copy but I didn’t want pay almost double Amazon’s price. Maybe this shows that they may carry it in the future???
HI Tim,
I received my copy a few days ago ! I have not put it down, I cooked my first meal Osso Buko it was sublime 🙂 The aroma in the house was amazing and my husband and son loved it! Cooking this made me feel so good and hearing how much they enjoyed it was such a blessing! I am looking forward to cooking more dishes and learning many new things!
Deb
Hey Tim, loving the book so far.
Question: Any tips on using the DSSS system for academic subjects (in my case Psychology Bsc) rather than a language or a skill?
Cheers pal, congrats from the UK
My hat is off to you Tim. I was harsh in the comments about the explanation video for the book, but at the end of the day you have produced another literary masterpiece. You are the James Bond of authors if James was to drink wine.
Has it really been since 2007? Time flies. Cheers to another few decades to come.
Tim, given your recent success with Amazon publishing and non-traditional publishing, would you recommend a first-time author, whether it be non-fiction or fiction, to go the same route you did and avoid the status quo like Barnes and Noble etc?
I am finishing my first book right now, and it is a fiction novel. I am interested to hear your opinion. I don’t have a blog or followers. I would love your input.
I can’t believe I am just getting on board. I just bought the 4HB a few weeks ago and I have been going strong since day 1, seeing incredible results. I feel like a missionary going around from person to person at the gym preaching the good word. Can’t wait to read 4HC, I am sure I will be running around with both books in my hands trying the help people see the light. Congrats and thank you for creating such an effective approach to…well, pretty much everything!
Awesome – I knew you would do it.
Long live the content ~
Keep it going Tim.
Tim,
Kudos to you for this achievement. I think you have proven yourself in for the longhaul it is really whether or not the traditional thinkers want to join in on that haul.
Love the article prior to this on the channels that helped you get the 4HC out there. I would really be curious to see which channels actually gave you pushback on helping besde Barnes and Nobles.
We spoke about this briefly at your Panera Bread signing on 5th Ave about the Culinary schools that wanted to charge you to come speak.
It was a pleasure meeting you hopefully your 70 person dinner went out without a hitch.
Bryan
Congratulations on your success!
Your book promotion interviews have been a great, by the way, found amazing people like Derek Sivers (“HECK YES…or no”) and methods like ‘primacy and recency effect’ thanks to them.
Mate, since I met you in 2006 I have watched you take an idea and turn it into a best seller. You have now put 3 books on the best-sellers lists, in three totally different genres, in just 5 years.
It is staggering. You my friend are an inspiration. And if you aren’t quite ready to give yourself a big pat on the back, I am…..
WAY TO GO TIMOTHY FERRISS!!!
C
Congrats Tim! I was waiting to hear this good news. And thanks for helping to make my Christmas shopping easier this year i.e., lots of 4HC books going out 😉
Good going there Tim.
I just recently Kindled up on the 4 Hour Body (what the hell) and I’m getting the 4 Hour Chef book for Crimbo.
I had an idea from reading the 4 Hour Body and it fits in with your idea of learning. I’m a physicist/rocket scientist by training and I also don’t like to dick around to much when experimenting (that’s the Belfast man in me)
What I was wondering is would it be possible to knock 20 shots of novice/occasional golfer’s game (as in hits 100 and above, playing once or twice a year) by only focusing on the 80/20 of golf –
Namely – you lose most shots in the short game
More exactly – you lose most shots in the chipping game.
I’m sure other readers who are golfers would know this. If you can chip within 1 m of the hole you don’t need to be a good putter. And if you can get within 120 yards of the pin you can use a 7 iron. Consistent chipping makes up the extra shot on the fairway.
It may have been done before but I’m thinking you may only need a 7,9,wedge (54 maybe) and a putter. Also the swing doesn’t need to be full, just consistent.
I have a feeling the secret ingredient is light deadlifting (improves leg and back stength – which also improves elasticity of the spine). Possibly also quick body tension before shots to relax muscles.
Anyway, it would be one of those 4 Hour experiments to do.
I’m going to have a whack at it when I get done with Pavel’s training (the one with just bench, deadlift and squat). It works pretty well.
Keep rocking mate.
Tim,
Congrats and thanks for sharing all this inside information with us. I appreciate you!
Mark
Just a quick stat, two people from Honduras (myself included) have bought your book!
It’s really amazing, thank you for the three wonderful books!
P.S. With the amount of lives you change and impact, who cares about lists!!
Any chances of you writing a 4 Hour Musician?
I have your two first books in Brazillian Portuguese, hope to get’em signed by you soon
Congratulations for the sales
This is epic. Time to for a few mini retirements..
I got 3 copies (2 presents for the family) so I could participate on the Live Q&A and it was well worth it. The last Q&A you did, that I remember was at least 2 or 3 years ago and I’m looking forward to the next. Lots of practical advice and I like that you moderated it yourself.
It was cool to see you on Derek’ Halpern’s page Social Triggers, you both regularly give so many actionable tips, hard for me to understand why you have haters.
ps: To those who doubt his language learning advice, Tim’s German has very good pronunciation unlike most Americans who might know lots of vocabulary but then plateau and stagnate when it comes to actual sounds.
Awesome, great work Tim. Looking forward to seeing what other marketing you have coming.
I had 4HWW on audio, but bought all 3 hardbacks for this release. I took a t-shirt into the office on Monday and folded it in 2 seconds. Needless to say, but I got a lot of “how the hell…?” They’re on there way to get the book. They’ll figure out it’s on the blog later. Thanks so much for these last 2 years of reading, including references (Walden, 80/20…). Waiting for the 4HHusband…
Hi Tim, I got the book and I must admit the book is damn pretty.. I can’t believe Amason makes money at that price as the cost to print it cant be cheap. I wish the language learning seciton was a little more detailed/longer but I realize that wasn’t the focus of the book. Maybe a future book idea – Language learning 🙂
Side note – I’m going to start the Slow carb diet as I’m currently going through 4 Hour body book. I need to drop some and get in shape after a 2 year low back pain journey that just started for me around 35y/o(my story is pretty much exactly yours). I’ve gone through most of those back pain solutions/exercises/methods you mentioned in 4hour body during my journey(I’ve tried all kinds of the best doctors/specialists/alternative health,etc….and after 2 years and mucho $$$ and no relief I was told to just live with it or get back surgery…..
Anyways, long story short. I talked to a sport med back guy who worked with Pro-MMA athletes and he referred me to a book that completely healed my back. I went from not being able to run/jump/cough for almost a year to being able remove back pain and jogging within 3 weeks just from doing the exercises in this book(15minutes 3x a week). I still can’t believe how devastatingly effective their system is for core strength/back pain relief. The book is only $15 on amazon and is called “Foundation: Redefine Your Core,…….by Dr Eric Goodman”. They have a website too FoundationTraining.com that has some videos (but book is cheaper on amazon).
They work with lots of pro athletes and Olympians and have unbelievable success rates with chronic back pain sufferers that had tried everything.
I just wanted to mention it since I didn’t see it mentioned anywhere here and I know if any readers have had back pain that this is the only solution that worked for me(any only cost $15 and I seriously tried everything).
Brian
Oregon
Congrats Cowboy!
I believe it is all manipulated and can be bought. I praise you for questioning the whole thing with class and leading people to draw their own conclusions about these inconsistencies.
Wising you many more sales!
So I was in a B&N today and asked a clerk if they had copies of 4HC for me to look at as I was thinking about buying one. He went to a computer and did a search and looked to see if it was available in any B&N store in Louisiana. It came up negative, but he seemed surprised.
With 4HC being on these best seller lists, I have to think that B&N employees will pick up on it soon and questions why it’s not displayed. Just a thought…
Well done on another success Tim. I haven’t worked a four hour week since reading that book but my business has certainly benefitted.
Keep updating the references to keep the content relevant for your ‘long run.’
Could always use a hand in the kitchen to keep things interesting so I’ll be investing in your new book.
Hi Tim,
Congrats! I know you read all of the comments in you blog so I figure this would be the best way to reach you.
I pre-ordered 4HC as soon as it was available to pre-order. I can’t remember when exactly that was, (a year ago or more?). But, by the time it was actually available, the CC I used to pre-order 4HC on Amazon which, only gets charged when the product ships, had expired or was reissued due to Bank of America sucking at customer security. I had to go back onto Amazon and submit a new CC to get the book I pre-order a year earlier. Though, I was happy to do this, others might not be. I have a hard time believing I was the only person this happened to.
Unless you had some ulterior motives like, testing customer interest, (which knowing you, you probably did) I’d suggest making the pre-order available much closer to the actual release date to avoid possibly losing sales due to CC on file with Amazon expiring or being reissued. That’s just my 2 cents.
Cheers,
Henry
P.S. I’m happy to see you have a recipe for beef heart in the book. I now know how to prepare the beef heart that’s been sitting in my freezer for several months.
Do you have a numerical goal for the number of 4HC books you want to sell?
I’m not too into cooking but 4HC is still “all that and a bag of chips.” I’ve learned so much from your astounding prose/advice/wisdom ( i am not quite sure how to define what it is you’ve got …. but it’s incredible, however you define it ) and plain old charisma. I am feeling so confident that thanks to you, 2013 will be my company’s best year, even though 2012 has been amazingly great! And it was just a few conversations with my trainer that brought me to you…. That’s serendipity! Thank you for enriching my perspective and heaping on the confidence I truly needed. You rock! rob clemenz in new orleans
I just ordered my hard copy from Hong Kong! Looking forward to reading it!
I read 4HWW Back in my first year of college, in 08… really changed my outlook on life.
Now I’m setting up my first muse and hopeful that it succeeds… if not then I’ll try again until I do!
Tim – I am one of those early adopter followers of you that purchased the kindle edition, but I fully intend to own the physical book as well (it’s on my Amazon wish list for Christmas). It would be very interesting to know the conversion of digital to print buyers. Pricing the kindle edition at $4.99 sealed the deal for me that I would get the Kindle version and the print book. It was just too good of a deal to pass up even though I was willing to wait until Christmas to receive the print edition.
wow…sure sounds like mystery and intrigue…I enjoyed reading the above. I’m a newbie author..attempting to make sense of it all…thinking…maybe ther eis no sense..lol…best wishes!.
Mine is on it’s way from Amazon. LOVE the video. Reading 4hb now. Keep it coming and thanks for sharing your journey.
Bonjour Tim,
Jack C, his lovely wife Inge and I spent the day together a few years ago here in Paris, while you were getting ready to launch the Four Hour Work Week. He told me about this other “student”, you, who like me knows how to live and experience life. I forgot about it, but then did eventually get the book… I loved it and said “Hallelujah” someone else who doesn’t like the question “what do you do for a living”… Anyway, I have a been a silent fan for the last few years.
Until now, I am really excited about the 4HC and know that you are more international minded than what is going on right now. But, I still can’t buy the book here in France. I thought after the first week went by that it would be possible, but nothing yet, not even the ebook, which, I imagine you would agree is ridiculous, an oversight or part of a bigger plan.
I wish you all the best and I wanted to read it, implement it and make a case study of myself to become a “world class singer”. I figure this is the best way to test it, because I know everything else in life is possible. In my mind, this is the biggest thing to tackle. So please, please, please make it so the rest of the world can get hold of the book. There are a couple hundred US ex-pats in France and then plenty of others allover the beautiful planet. You have a friend in Paris, next time you come over.
Blessings and continued success, Greg
Sorry, Couple of hundred thousand ex-pats.
I just got my book. I love you and all the work you do. Incredibly inspiring you are!. The only thing that made me a bit sad was how almost 85% of the recipes in your book where all meat. I did not read the 4hour body so I get that this is part of your health program. I am vegan and it is a diet and choice that works for me. It was a bit hard to flip through the pages and see so much carnage I must admit.
So I will give it a try- still vegan but will see if through your pages I learn about being a faster more effective learner. My suggestion if you decide to take it on is to write about how vegetarians and vegans could still benefit from this book. I am sure that you have noticed because you follow trends and are very smart, that more and more people in the world are not consuming animal products or less of them. I would be happy with your response and insight around this since I am one of your biggest fans. Much love Tim keep doing good work!
I’m very curious if anybody else caught the big marketing lesson in this post, which would apply regardless of what kind of business they are in.
Thanks for sharing, Tim. This is very interesting info. Clearly the publishing industry is going to have to wake up and smell the 21st century sometime or deserve going the way of the dodo bird. I think the $5 Kindle upsell offer for print buyers was genius. I buy most of my books on Kindle now, but a few (like yours and most computer programming books) I really like to have in both formats. Up-selling customers with a digital version in addition to the print version is a great profit driver for publishers and authors that adds real value for readers.
BTW, the book is really beautifully done. Congratulations to you and your book production company. I’m quite enjoying both versions – it’s the most fun I’ve had with a cookbook since Jessica Seinfeld’s Deceptively Delicious. Recognition on the best seller lists is a well-deserved honor.
Congrats on the achievement, it was always going to be an uphill struggle, but you are bringing laser guided missiles to the knife fight started by the print industry 🙂
Congratulations and thank you for another great book! I’m reading it cover to cover right now and it full of golden nuggets. I ordered this book a year ago (since then I had moved so it got shipped to the wrong address!), and it was worth the wait! You’ve been my inspiration since 2007!
Congratulations Tim!
Congratulations Tim. Big fan here from Singapore. Bought a copy of your recent book and got it shipped over from Canada. It looks amazing and I can’t wait for exams to be over to immerse myself into your new book.
Keep going strong Tim, can’t wait to see what adventure you will share and bring us on next!
I bought it on kindle, too. LIke some others, I’m much more interested in the learning theme than cooking itself.
What did you do to get banned by B&N? Hard negotiations or violate some rule?
Sweet! Thanks for all the inspiration. My husband, our two boys, and I are all enjoying a healthier lifestyle. Our kids are wanting to eat things that are ‘HealFY’.
And, we love the analysis! We have workout charts for us now too. And it’s all about the data with our backyard chickens. Tracking their progress lets us know how healthy they are too!
Read your other two books and from all these great comments looks like I will have to put this on my reading list as well. Love the video! That kid is great.
Tim – Just read the front page article about you in the Sunday S.F Chronicle. You’re brilliant my man!
Here’s an outstanding idea my wife just had — How about Tim Ferris dominates the show “Survivor”? The motto is “Outwit, Outlast, Outplay…
Do it.
Tim, Congrats. I have to say I am impressed but not surprised. Your journey is one of marketing magic and the unique ability to connect with your readers and fans. You inspire people to become better at “living”. Some of us are still learning how. Talk about a true culture shift. I look forward to shaking your hand one day and thanking you in person.
Thank you,
Greg Mason
(replacing previous comment)
Thanks, Tim – you’ve inspired me to create my own Muse, now I hope to follow your steps to good food!
-John
I’ve got the Kindle version of 4HC and plan to get the hard back version as well. There is no other author or book I can think of that I buy multiple copies in different formats. Ebook for travel and showing people, hardback to have at hand for quick referral and to browse. Knitting books used to be the only other form I bought that way, but now I’m learning to be comfortable using digital knitting books for instruction.
Congrats,
And that kid is badass. I needed that.
Thanks
Tim, you are the FREAKIN MAN! I started reading your books with the 4-hour body, and even though you told me not to read cover to cover, I did anyway (it was your disclaimer that made me do it!). I then read the 4-hour Workweek, and it helped me revolutionize my business (I think I am doing good for a 23 year old college drop out, I started my business at 20). I pre-purchased the 4-hour chef, and I read the whole thing cover to cover the day it came out. I will drink your cool-aid, and really enjoy its anabolic, thermo manipulating, life hacking effects, so please never poison it!
Thanks for writing a new book. I’ve read your other books so far but have not been able to capitalize on the techniques. I’m thinking if I read this new one then read the others in reverse order I might get somewhere. Learn how to learn, get my body right, and finally grow wealthy. I think that’s the way it will work for most people but you had to do it in reverse order to bring it to the world. I’m probably just talking stream of conscious out of my ass. God Bless Tim! (and his helpers!)
thanks so much for making this available on Kindle. The price break is much appreciated in my underemployed/working-toward-4-hours-per-week status. So far so GREAT! I love to cook, and I’m always excited about ventures into the “primitive skills” arena, so your book is one great big TICKLE.
You rock!
Congratulations, Tim! I love this book. I’ve been feverishly reading it and can’t put it down. Love the pictures and the way you’ve broken it down into colors/belts. Way to beat Stieg Larsson on having two books in Amazon’s 10-ten “Most Highlighted Books of All Time”!
What are the big bombs coming??! Okay, at least tell me when, smile..
I bought three print books and the eBook. I’m on page 105 and it’s AWESOME so far. 5-Star review on Amazon as well.
Not only is the information great, but the book is visually beautiful and.. educationally ergonomic? Let’s just say the design is optimal for learning and retention.
Thanks Tim!
David
Great work Tim! You are pioneering and innovating in ways that have important implications for all publishers, marketers, and future writers!
I’m particularly interested in the lessons in this for writers looking to publish non-fiction. I look forward to hearing more about what you have to share about your experience. As you know, there are very big questions right now in writing and publishing which have nothing to do with quality of content (we’ve still got that one in pretty good shape), but audience, marketing, format, and distribution.
I also look forward to greater discussion on how and from where food is sourced. Many of us know now how horrific the mass meat and mass dairy industries are. It’s an emotionally difficult topic that’d best be served by intelligent, moderate voices.
Thanks so much for furthering the conversation about health and nutrition with your valuable stories! Eat good food (consider what “good” is) and have fun in the kitchen – the kitchen is a fun room! (not so complicated or daunting, as some of us sometimes think.)
– Joe
I bought the Kindle version with the intention of learning about accelerated learning. But now I am interested in cooking!
I love reading on my new Kindle Paperwhite, but I think I will also end up buying the hard copy as I can tell I am missing out on a lot by seeing pictures in black and white.
I can’t help but thinking of the people who bought this as a cookbook when you get to the section of you gutting the deer/ grabbing pigeons in the park and ripping them apart with your hands!
Haha you’re a nut man, I hope we can party someday.
Josh
I’m on day 3 of the slow carb diet and already really struggling! Plus I haven’t lost any weight yet. I’m not bagging it, I’m fully open minded and trying to continue cause I want to believe it. Just scared at this stage, cause I’m finding it so hard psychologically and physically to stick to the diet and hoping I will see reults by the end of the wk at least. Any other women out there who have reaped the benefits?
I thought (originally) that B&N was not carrying paper copies because they weren’t offered an electronic version? Although, looking back, I’m not sure why I think that (I can’t find it in an earlier post).
But I see here it says they were offered an electronic version for the Nook.
And they do sell it on-line.
What’s their reasoning?
Congrats! It seems like now would be a great time to drop the price on t4b to $4.99 for kindle. A lot of new people have probably purchased t4c, so the jump in new sales should be decent.
Hi Tim,
Is there going to be a proper ebook release? I was *really* disappointed with the Kindle edition. The tables, photos, etc are all missing.
Having text that states: “As you can see in the Photo” or “use a spice alternative from the table” is disappointing when you can’t see said photo or table.
Congrats Tim!
You make it look soooo easy! You’re my case study. Looking forward to the amazing continuing saga…..
Tara
Just got my physical copy. Quite a tome! I’m looking forward to a new critical breakdown of my dream lines to workout how to acquire some of them!
Congrats on besting the established players. Can’t wait to see the rest of your strategy unfold…
Congrats Tim on your new book. Your SCD works for me. More than anything I’m impressed by your marketing strategies and have been observing before you wrote a blog here. I really wish if you could write a book on it or atleast I could learn ’em but I think it can’t be learned. I’m curious how you can do it so well!! I’m so fond of marketing strategies, product promotion, etc as I’ve studied it.
Do you advice start-ups regarding marketing strategies / business development? Thanks.
4H work week stolen book idea in Swedish. 2 Swedish fans of the 4H work week have recenlty published a book (free copy download) that seems to be s summarized version of the 4 H work week but where they pretend that they are behind the text. Did someone hear of this? Check it out:
inc fryshuset se : sa har kan du starta foretag