How to Create a Bestselling Novel (2000)

http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/pickover/bestseller.html

by ColinWright • 12 years ago

77 23 12 years ago

sprott.physics.wisc.edu

FlailFast3• 12 years ago

These are great heuristics, but having spent an awful lot of time writing, I find that---on occasion---there's reason to violate them. But I suppose every great rule is defined by its exceptions.

As an aside, glad to see this focus on the technical aspects of language and not some growth-hackery marketing spiel.

woah• 12 years ago

Hyperbolic title

cstross• 12 years ago

Hmm.

Misses out all of the business side of being, like, a working novelist -- understanding what publishers do and how the retail chain works, marketing and sales, contracts, agents and editors.

Misses out the key point that while the author is the prime creative mover, a manuscript is not a book and it takes a lot of people to make a "bestselling novel", from the clerks in B&N who like it and order in extra copies and tell customers about it, to the editor who believes in it enough to push the P&L sheet as far as it will go and who then goes up in front of a marketing meeting and pitches it hard. And the cover design and the flap copywriter (and if you think that stuff doesn't matter in the age of Amazon you've got a rude awakening due).

None of Pickover's advice is bad, but it's very much Programming 101, here's how we write "hello, world" in Python. (Congratulations! You're a programmer now! So for an encore, you can write an interrupt handler for an embedded controller in assembler ...)

seferphier• 12 years ago

Agreed.

Having the great product != bestselling novel.

FlailFast3• 12 years ago

Still, seems like a case of "necessary but not sufficient." (Although given some truly awful writing that becomes "bestseller" material, perhaps not)

And I like the focus on the "product" side of writing---we read so many articles on promotion/marketing here (though generally on the startup side of things) that we often lose sight of the power of good copy.

Not to say I disagree, I just found the post refreshing, even if only in a "hello world/writing" way.

jakejake• 12 years ago

A more appropriate title for the article would be "How to improve your writing" but I suppose that's not very dramatic. Perhaps the title of the article was actually the first lesson in a wax-on, wax-off kinda way and we all missed it?!

jonnathanson• 12 years ago

It's good advice in the abstract, and at the very least, following it won't hurt an aspiring novelist. At the same time, following the advice to the letter won't guarantee anything. As you point out, there's a business behind selling books. Most unsolicited manuscripts are probably pretty bad, but even the good ones aren't guaranteed to get past the slush pile.

For more business-oriented advice, I'd suggest the following:

1) Write great books. Rather than elaborate, let's leave it at that. Writing great books is table stakes. If you aren't sure your manuscript is great, show it to as many people as you can, and get no-bullshit opinions. Show it to any professionals you may have access to. Go to workshops. Etc. If you're pitching agents or editors on your first, second, or even third draft, you're rolling dice loaded heavily against you.

2) Have a specific audience in mind. Do your homework here. Understand how the publishing world divides and categorizes fiction markets. This matters not only for your query letter, but for your book itself. If a publishing exec can't make sense of where your book fits into the market, she's not going to take a chance on it. Understand the rules of the categories. For instance, what's the difference between Young Adult and New Adult? What gender is your protagonist, what age, and do these fit your intended audience and category? Publishers will expect them to, and their expectations will be specific. Learn how they think.

3) Have a "platform." This is increasingly important nowadays. Your "platform" is publishing industry-speak for the sum of your online and offline presence. Have you appeared in the media? Do you write short stories, or even fan fiction, with a reasonable following? How active are you on YouTube or Twitter? Bonus points if you are telegenic. 2x bonus points if you are young. But even if you're neither of those things, build a following as best you can. Participate in fiction communities, subreddits, and workshops. If you're a fantasy or sci-fi writer, go to cons with your work in hand. Blog, and maintain a readership or mailing list. Publishers are very risk-averse, and they want people who are prepared to hustle on behalf of their novels.

4) Be prolific. If you're the kind of person who can produce 2-3 novels in the time it takes an ordinary writer to produce one, you're at a significant advantage. This is especially true if you're self-publishing. Self-publishing is a catalog game; your goal is to build up an audience by constantly producing new work. One-and-done is a terrible strategy for self-publishing.

5) Try to find a mentor. Not just for your writing, but for your platform. It doesn't need to be Stephen King, or William Gibson, or Suzanne Collins, or anyone of that stature. A successful midlist author can be a great mentor. A fanfic icon can be a great mentor. Anyone whose writing your admire, and who has the ear of an audience you intend to publish for, can help you out significantly.

Of all these bits, however, #2 is the most frequently (and perilously) ignored.

andrewflnr• 12 years ago

I literally just bought a kindle book in large part because the cover caught my eye, as in a couple hours ago. That and the reviews and sample. But, yes, the cover definitely matters, even if it's never actually printed.

stuaxo• 12 years ago

And yet, Dan Brown ..

overgard• 12 years ago

I'm curious, I know Dan Brown tends to be considered a hacky writer, but how many of these rules does he break?

FlailFast3• 12 years ago

I think he tends to follow them pretty well, but the trouble with Dan Brown isn't his technical writing; he breaks this unwritten rule: "don't make your story arc the same in every single book you publish."

I loved the first Dan Brown novel I read. I moderately enjoyed the second. Within 50 pages of the third, I knew exactly how the rest of the story would pan out and who was the hidden antagonist. Once you know the formula, the magic is gone.

psychometry• 12 years ago

I present to you my favorite blog post of all-time, The Dan Brown Code: http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/000844.h...

bcl• 12 years ago

It forgets step 0. Write every day.

morkfromork• 12 years ago

I'll wait for the movie version.

ChuckFrank• 12 years ago

If this was the secret recipe to making an Instant Bestselling Novel, then Paul Bussard's Stinger Stars

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19246309-stinger-stars

would be an international hit. It hits every single one of his points exactly (C1&C2 falling in love / Nat Geo setting / Short sentences, Crisp Dialogue, etc.)

But the fact is that it's actually much harder than just writing it. The attention span of the world is short, and people are looking to read what other people are reading. It's a winner take all world, in books, music, movies and websites. It's hard for a single book to move the herd. Many people have to help.

(full disclosure - I PMd the title)

Elizer0x0309• 12 years ago

The title has so many oxymorons I couldn't even click it (straight to comments to post this).

imjk• 12 years ago

I know nothing about writing novels so I can't attest to the legitimacy of any of this, but I do wholly believe that a lot of what's considered art can be be formulated for success, at least commercially.

marincounty• 12 years ago

I honestly don't know how anyone could make a living by writing books these days? Besides the obvious; like publishers don't pay like they used too, your book will be traded on p2p? Oh and what to write? Let's see, If you have a child's mind you might be able to come up with the next Harry Potter, or some psycho babble self help book? I don't know, but am always saddened by what Americans do read. I didn't read the article, but stay away from vanity press(Bertram Capital--Author's solutions).

cup• 12 years ago

I would have thought writing was the easy part and getting a publishing house to pick it up would be harder. I mean how do you approach someone to get your book looked at?

etep• 12 years ago

How I Became a Famous Novelist by Steve Hely

zhte415• 12 years ago

There is a great book and audio series by Stephen King, called On Writing.

I was certainly aware, but never much a fan of his, until this, but for anyone interested in writing, I highly recommend having a read / listen.

http://stephenking.com/library/nonfiction/on_writing:_a_memo...

seoguru• 12 years ago

"There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are." --W. Somerset Maugham

HackyGeeky• 12 years ago

Great !!! Great collection. English isn't my mother tongue, hence this helps me for sure.

How to Create a Bestselling Novel (2000)

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