The Making of a Bestseller

How To Get A Book Published

People are fascinated with bestselling authors, who have become every bit as much celebrities as rock musicians or motion picture stars. Their names stare at us everywhere, from the bookstore displays and airport or grocery store newsstand racks. We read about the incredible amount of money they make and the (seemingly) glamorous lives they live. Through some mysterious process most of us don't understand, they take blank pages and turn them into gold.

Brian Hill and Dee Power interviewed over 50 successful authors, publishers, editors, agents, book reviewers, and other experts to find the answer. The Making of a Bestseller: Success Stories from Authors and the Editors, Agents, and Booksellers Behind Them presents a comprehensive look at the publishing process from start to finish. Authors and would-be authors, individuals in the publishing industry, and passionate readers will learn:

 How bestselling authors approach the craft of writing and marketing their books

 The many different paths authors take to the top of the list

 The impact a first bestseller makes on an author's life

 The workings of the selection process, from the query letter to the decision to publish

 How publishers know a book has bestseller potential

The agent's role in helping create a bestseller

 Factors and events that influence whether a book makes the bestseller list, including TV "reading book clubs," the review process, publicity, marketing programs, and timing

 How Hollywood impacts the reading public

While there are scores of books on how to write, publish, or market a book, there hasn't been a book that pulls together a comprehensive look at the entire publishing process from the bestseller perspective. Who better to tell the story than those who are involved at the very frontlines of publishing?

The road to the top of the bestseller list is a fascinating journey, with much at stake for everyone involved. We will show the tension, surprises, and joy as all the elements fall into place to build a winning book. We hope to make the reader feel what the author feels as the process unfolds.

One might think of The Making of a Bestseller as a giant panel discussion (fortunately not everyone talks at once). When the reader finishes this book, he or she will really understand what separates a bestselling book from all the others that are published. Avid readers of fiction and nonfiction will find fascinating stories behind some of their favorite authors' works.

 

What Do Bestselling Authors Have In Common?
Nine Characteristics That May Surprise You.

 By Dee Power

 In writing "The Making of a Bestseller: Success Stories From Authors and the Editors, Agents and Behind Them," (Dearborn Trade, 2005), we wanted to find out what separates the publishing industry elite, the bestselling authors, from all the thousands and thousands of writers who aspire to someday make the bestseller lists.  We interviewed 24 of today's most popular authors, some of whom have endured on the bestseller lists for decades.  As a group, these authors have sold more than half a billion books. It turns out that writing talent is not the only separating factor; in fact it may not even be the most important factor.

 
Find out what you as a writer may have in common with bestselling authors like  Nicholas Sparks, Catherine Coulter and Susan Elizabeth Phillips and what you can learn from them.

 
1. Perseverance Is Key

 Nearly all bestselling authors faced the same struggles early in their careers that less successful, even unpublished authors, face. Immediate success is rare. One distinction of bestselling authors is that they do not get as discouraged by lack of early success. They persevere. Their desire to succeed is enormous. Bestselling authors often have to demonstrate the patience and stamina to write a number of books before achieving notable success.

 
2. They Write, And Write And Write….

 The productivity, the writing output, of bestselling authors is much greater than the average writer's. They have the discipline to get up each day and produce high quality work. They don't wait for the muse to tap them on the shoulder. Some authors' literary production is phenomenal, such as Catherine Coulter, who wrote "Point Blank," she has produced over fifty bestsellers so far in her career. 

 3. They Like To Write And Write And Write …

 They would rather write than do anything else. It's not just that successful authors are more disciplined, though that is part of it; they simply enjoy writing more than other writers do. Many aspiring authors enjoy the idea of writing, not the hard work itself. Bestselling authors seem to thrive on the hard work, and they work much harder than we might suppose.  Iris Johansen, author of "Countdown," writes two books a year, not because she has to but because she couldn't not do it.  Writing is her passion.  

4. Promotion Is Constant

 Bestselling authors never stop promoting their books, no matter how successful they get. Many still market at the grass roots level, not just through national TV or radio interviews. They take the time to visit and meet individual bookstore managers at both chain stores and independents. They never relax and believe they have "made it."  After ten bestsellers, including "The Notebook," Nicholas Sparks still tours with every new book.

 
5. Marketing Is Critical 

Even if they have never taken a business course in college, they have an innate sense of marketing concepts such as brand building and product differentiation. They closely watch trends in the literary marketplace. They understand what it is about their books that readers respond favorably to. They take a strategic approach to their careers and they realize that much more goes into being a successful author than the writing itself.  Carly Phillips big break came when Kelly Ripa recommended "The Bachelor" on The Kelly & Regis show.  It wasn't just luck that landed her the recommendation, but a concerted effort on her part and her publicist's part.    

 
6. Fans Are An Important Asset

 
Bestselling authors listen closely to what their readers say, and try very hard to meet or exceed their fans' expectations, but they do not necessarily pay close attention to what reviewers or book critics say. They don't even necessarily expect good reviews. Word of mouth support from readers and booksellers is more important to them than reviews.  Linda Fairstein, the author of "Entombed" and the Alexandra Cooper series, loves book signings.  At her level of success she doesn't have to do them but she loves talking to her readers. 

 
7. The More Success The More Pressure

 Bestselling authors face more pressure as they get more successful. As they rise to the top, there are increasing demands on their time. Top authors lead three very different lives. First, the quiet, solitary scholarly life of being a writer. Then participating in the team effort within the publishing house to make the book the best book it can be. This involves learning how to take advice from and collaborate with the professionals within the publishing house. Finally, the author must participate in the very public life of trying to sell books to the mass audience. They have to master all three lives if they intend to continue to achieve bestseller status.  Susan Elizabeth Phillips worked for a month without a day off when "Ain't She Sweet" was released.

 

8.  They're Grateful

 Bestselling authors are keenly aware how fortunate they are to have arrived at the top of their profession. They sincerely appreciate their loyal readers.  They recognize that they have been chosen to receive a strikingly rare, special distinction by a bustling, competitive marketplace. The success, fame and financial rewards that have come to them are often beyond the most extravagant dreams they had when they first sat down to write a book. Christopher Paolini credits  the support of the teachers, librarians, booksellers and fans, for the success of his first book, "Eragon".

 
9. There Is No Single Profile For A Bestselling Author

Bestselling authors are seldom the top graduates from prestigious university writing programs. Writing may have been a second or third career for them, and the publishing industry values authors who bring life experience to their work, in fiction or nonfiction. Bestselling authors span all age groups, many different professions and varied educational backgrounds. There is no single profile for what a bestselling author looks like.

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 </b>The Brass Ring or the Bottom Rung</b>

24 million adults in the United States consider themselves creative writers but less than 5% have ever been published anywhere. 172,000 titles were released in 2005. It has been estimated that at any one time there are between 5 to 6 million manuscripts looking for a publishing home. Many writers are turning toward publish-on-demand (POD) houses like iUniverse, AuthorHouse and Publish America to get their books into readers' hands. About 25,000 titles will be released by POD houses in 2006. Does a publish-on-demand book, sometimes called vanity or subsidy publisher, help a previously unpublished writer get closer to the brass ring of a commercial publishing contract? Or does it bump them down a rung on their climb up the publishing ladder?

Writers often comment that a publish-on-demand book will at least "get their name out there" or that a POD book will show that they are capable of writing a 50,000 to 100,000 word manuscript. But does a POD book really help get a writer commercially published? That question was asked of nearly 60 successful literary agents in the Hill and Power 2006 Survey of Literary Agents.

These agents' collective opinion is that a publish-on-demand book seriously hurt an author's chance at being commercially published. Agents were asked to rate their response from 1 - significantly hurt, to 5 - significantly helped. The average rating was 2. 28% declared a POD title to be neutral (a rating of 3) but half of those specified that a POD title would only help if the sales reached a significant level, from 5,000 to 10,000 copies. Just a handful of publish-on-demand titles have reached that level of sales. The average number of copies sold for a POD title is around 100.

The book publishing industry has never been easy to break into and these same literary agents see the environment getting a bit more challenging in the next year or so for unpublished writers. Combine that with the significantly increased number of unsolicited submissions agents say they're receiving and writers need every boost they can get toward agency representation and the ultimate goal of commercial publication.

Unfortunately, contrary to what quite a few writers think, that boost isn't going to come from a publish-on-demand book.

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