Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – September 25, 2016

Want to write a bestseller? According to the Wall Street Journal (Sept 2, p D5) you should read The Bestseller Code, by Matthew L. Jockers and Jodie Archer. The authors designed an algorithm to "identify the DNA of bestselling novels," and here are some of their findings:

1.   A laboratory is a more compelling setting than a church

2.   Life in the classroom trumps partying on campus

3.   Readers largely prefer novels with dogs in them rather than cats

4.   Regular bestselling writers have a subject that is overwhelmingly important to their brand (think Grisham and Steele)

5.   Bestselling novels tend to have one or two topics which often feed off each other. Books that fail to hit often try to cram too many topics in

6.   The top-selling books have "human closeness," including everyday interaction between characters which can help vary dramatic pace and avoid melodrama

7.   The verb "need" is a much stronger indicator of success than the verb "want"

8.   The word "do" is twice as likely to appear in a best seller than in a book that has never hit the list

9.   Passive characters are "a big no-no" and readers want a character "to be" not "to seem"

10.  Geopolitical settings are arbitrary to success. People love to read about work and, contrary to conventional wisdom, sex does not generally sell.