The gold standard for success as an author is to make the New York Times Best Seller list. That’s the big brand banner that publishers, authors and readers want to see on the front cover.
It shouts “Read Me! I’m certified!”
How does an author accomplish this feat? What does it take for a book to become a bestseller? Some of the answers are right there in the list. So let’s drill down and and see what can we uncover about writing, getting published and appealing to readers.
♦ What’s the single most important thing an author can do to get on the list? Scroll down for the answer from a writer whose book has been on the coveted list for 117 weeks.
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6 lessons from the New York Times bestseller lists
1. The list is widely diverse
The New York Times now publishes 23 separate bestseller lists. The lists range from Combined Print & E-Book Fiction and Non-Fiction, to Hardcover, Advice, Political, Business,and Children’s books. They include everything from literary novels to thrillers, memoirs, romances, mysteries, sci-fi paranormal books, YA and middle-grade, self-help and how-to, religious, inspirational books, and many others.
The lesson:
Don’t worry about following any so-called trends. There’s tremendous variety and no dominant category of successful books. Put away the notion that if you’re story doesn’t have a vampire or get-rich quick scheme, it’s going to die on the vine. Trying to anticipate what category of book will be selling by the time your book is written or published is a waste of time.
2. Book length varies
In my work as a developmental editor, authors ask me frequently “How long should my book be?” or “I’ve heard no book can be over 300 pages.” My response has always been that a book should be as long as it needs to be and no longer.
What the New York Times lists reveal is a broad range of lengths in both fiction and nonfiction. Kathryn Stockett’s best selling novel The Help is a heavyweight at 544 pages, while Blind Faith by CJ Lyons is 392. On the nonfiction side, Heaven is for Real by Todd Bupo is only 192 pages, but Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand is 496.
The lesson:
Don’t pad or cut to fit any arbitrary length for your book. If you have nothing else to say – stop. If there’s more essential story or information – keep going. I always do recommend, however, that a book should include nothing that will be never missed, so avoid any self-indulgent tangents or digressions.
3. E-books are the future
Earlier this year, the New York Times began running four new bestseller lists that include e-book sales, and it’s about time. The Association of American Publishers (AAP) and the Book Industry Study Group of Bookstats show unit sales growth of e-books increased a whopping 1039.6% between 2008 and 2010, with 114 million units sold last year. This number only includes those reported by traditional publishers, not all e-books sold by self-publishing authors, so the actual numbers are even greater.
The lesson
The old days when hardcover was king are over. You can sell large quantities of your book in a virtual e-book format that’s either self-published or traditionally published. Authors can pick their own formats and channels.
4. Self-published books can compete
Here’s an astonishing fact: Three books on the top ten titles on the Combined Print and E-Book Fiction Best Seller List are self-published: #4 Blind Faith by CJ Lyons, #5 The Mill River Recluse by Darcie Chan, and #6 The Abbey by Chris Culver. Wow. The speed with which self-published books have risen in acceptance and success is something traditional publishers never anticipated.
The lower cost of e-books have made waiting for mass-market reprints of higher-priced hardcover or trade paperbacks increasingly obsolete. AAP and Book Study Group reports show that mass-market paperbacks are down 13.8% during same period.“The people who used to wait to buy the mass-market paperback because of the price aren’t going to wait anymore,” says Liate Stehlik, publisher of Morrow and Avon at HarperCollins.
The lesson:
Think about self-publishing as an honorable and attractive option to the frustration of trying to find a literary agent and traditional publisher. Self-publishing is increasing exponentially. It’s not easier. You still have to write a good book and sell it largely on your own. But it’s faster, you have more control over it, and you get a bigger share of the profits.
5. Film and TV tie-ins are changing
The #1 hardcover fiction on NY Times Combined Print & E-Book Fiction list is The Help by Kathryn Stockett, the 544-page blockbuster novel about African-American maids working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi during the early 1960s. Originally published in 2009 it has spent 107 weeks on the Hardcover Fiction bestseller list. The film based on the book was released in August of 2011 with what these days is a modest budget of only $25 million. It’s a big hit, grossing more than $123 million to date in the US alone.
The lesson:
Think film, and not only if you’re writing a conventional thriller, mystery or romance. Don’t assume your book has no chance of becoming a major motion picture.
6. Bestselling authors are avid self-marketers
The top ten combined print & e-book fiction and nonfiction authors are able self-marketers, including famous writers with big track records, like Lee Childs, Kathy Reichs, James Patterson, J.A. Jance, John Grisham, and Johanna Lindsey. The newcomers are also at it, including Rebecca Skloot, Chris Culver, Darcie Chan, Alexandra Fuller, Erik Larson, and others.
The lesson:
No one can sell your book as well as you can, whether you already have a big platform or not. Publishers have finally realized that readers want to have direct contact with authors, not with publishers. They don’t really care who published the book but look for reading advice from book bloggers, online reviewers, websites, blogs, tweets and Facebook posts from people they know and trust.
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What’s the single most important thing a writer can do to make it to the list?
For an answer, we turn to Garth Stein, whose novel Racing in the Rain has been on the New York Time Trade Paperback Fiction list for 117 weeks, this week at #8.
“Well, not to sound simplistic or anything, but the single most important thing has to be having a good book, doesn’t it? I mean, I’ve heard there are clever ways to spend a lot of money to get on the list, and once on the list, there’s a little bit of self-sustaining momentum. But that doesn’t last unless it’s a good book and people want to read it and they buy extra copies for their friends and family and so forth.
I’m all about marketing and social networking and rah, rah, rah! And it takes a lot of work from a lot of different people, like the publisher, sales force, booksellers, and the author to land on a (or “The”) list.
But if the emperor has no clothes, the readers will see it right away. So write a brilliant book first.”
Thanks Garth. Easy to say, right?
What about you?
Do you monitor the bestseller lists? Or do you avoid them entirely? I’m interested in your own observations and insights as writers, which I hope you’ll share here in comments.
Claude,
A good blog attracts readers and their comments which opens the door for your responses. Gradually a community of followers builds up, meaning you’re constructing an all-important platform. A blog can also offer tips about writing and selling your book that help fellow-writers. And you can post samples of work-in-progress on your blog that solicit feedback and constructive suggestions, some of which can be very helpful in the ongoing process of revising your book before release.
Excellent post! I love the way you’ve drawn the lessons, very convincing. And as a self-published author I’m encouraged that the digital revolution removed the stigma that used to be attached to self-publishing. Indeed, one need not go to “vanity presses” at all, one can get control over the whole process from writing – book production – book promotion, and that’s very encouraging… though very tiring at times!
There’s a lot to learn from the best seller lists (number one lesson: write a good book!) but I think there’s a lot to learn from blogging too. I would vey much like to have your views on how running a good blog interacts (helps?) book marketing!
My past research on best seller lists indicated that some best sellers are really best distributed books. Authors and publishers have manipulated various lists, after finding out which bookstore’s sales were monitored for the lists. That’s why I’ve always been suspicious of the supposedly sacrosanct best-seller lists in any magazine or newspaper.
I love the lists as a reader.
I have to confess that as a writer, I don’t think about them. How can one direct their writing to get on a list? Sounds like twisting oneself into a pretzel.
That said, I would love to have readers validate my story by buying enough of my book so that it shows up on one or more of the lists.
As an unpublished author, I started checking the list to see what was popular and if my stories were like any on the list. It resulted in my discovery of an author that I had similarities with. I considered it as another tool for us neophytes to learn from.
When I go to buy a book or check out one from the library, I’m only interested in the content. Reviews don’t matter, and I don’t usually take note of the publisher or whether it’s a bestseller on some list. I will consider books that have been recommended by friends, family, etc., but ultimately pick ones that interest me.
As an unpublished writer, I avoid it because it feels too much like gazing up at Mt. Everest without cold weather gear. As a reader, I rely on reviews.
Alan,
I only read New York Times Bestseller’s and that’s something I learned quickly after I re learned to read (when my verbal communication didn’t quite happen).
It’s simply a good read as Stein says. Moreover, reading a bestseller is never a waste of time.
Sheila
How to get Word of Mouth to work, that is the question. Without exception, what gets titles onto lists is word of mouth. Get that, and you are cooking with gas. My titles do not all perform in the same way. The ones with word of mouth buzz better.
Alan,
Great post! I really agree with your point #6 that bestselling authors are avid self-marketers. Earlier this year, I coached two authors, Wanda Brunstetter (fiction) and Lysa TerKeurst (non-fiction), and helped them hit the New York Times bestseller list. Both of these ladies work tirelessly to engage their audiences and reach new readers. After being so successful, you would think they might rest on their laurels. But, they keep to a consistent marketing plan. They exude a love for their readers that is above the average author level…maybe that’s why they’re bestsellers.
Rob Eagar
WildFire Marketing
I have to say I have always been drawn to the bestseller list and have bought from it but, as is typical, you can only have so many there and there are hundreds/thousands out there that should be but aren’t…and I read more of them due to this. As an author, I take my cues from all writers. I learn the craft from bestsellers and not bestsellers. I’ve learned from them that the rules don’t always apply. There’s always someone who’ll best everyone…they took the narrow road and were blessed for it. So, I do my best. I don’t worry about length, I take useable feedback. I keep reading, researching and most of all writing. I’d love to be on the bestseller list one day but if not, I’ll be there with the rest of the dreamers and that’s okay too.
Thank you, Alan, for another insightful post. Your points about manuscript length are true, and interesting. I remember when Nicholas Sparks wrote THE NOTEBOOK, and, when the bestselling status continued, he mused if maybe it was because the story was shorter, easier to grab hold of as a reader. I always enjoy a book that tells the story and spares the unnecessary. I do watch the bestsellers lists, because there is a lot to be learned from the buying public, and from what works and what does not. But, it’s true, what Mr. Stein says: the story is king. His RACING IN THE RAIN was great. Thank you!
I absolutely love points 2 and 6. Writers should never ramble just for the sake of it. If what you say doesn’t move the story forward then forget it. Point number 6 should be at the front of every writer’s mind. No matter how much money, time, and effort you spend marketing the book, if no one wants to read it then it’s not going to sell.
Lauren,
Agents who prescribe to a formulaic length for a novel may be unfamiliar with what the bestseller lists reveal about shorter fiction or they haven’t read the substantial body of shorter classic literature that’s been around for years. Glad to hear that you found publishers who know better.
I totally agree with you that a manuscript should have no more and no less words than is necessary to tell the story. I don’t believe in adding words just to get a manuscript to within a certain word count range. However, I submitted the 40,000 word manuscript for my novel to ninety agents and editors earlier this year, and the feedback I got from several agents was that it’s too short by industry standards. I thought it was such a shame that they wouldn’t think twice about representing it because it didn’t fall between 80K-100K words. Thankfully, I found a few publishers who are interested in shorter works of fiction and submitted it there.
When I was young, I was walking down the creek and my toes pushed up a bed rock. It was colorful and nicer then most. I looked at it and said to myself. No one living has ever laid eyes on this rock. And then I thought, how many more there were like it, that no body will ever see. I also wondered if this was gold I’d have something special. Books are the same way. You mite find a good one, once in a while and never find a great one. It wasn’t until someone holled GOLD, will people become excited.
As a self published author, I don’t bother looking at the NYT best seller list. What I do look at is the Smashwords.com best sellers for ebooks and Kindle as well. It was nice seeing my romance novella “Cowboys and Olympians” at #1 on Smashwords for a short while, it gave me motivation to keep writing and now have 3 more books completed and awaiting editing. I can only hope that one day with enough marketing, I’ll be able to make a living off my writing. Until then, it’s a retirement check from the military and being a farmer–neither of which pays very well!
I don’t pay any attention to “best seller” lists and whatnot. I may glance occasionally but I don’t go by any lists when it comes to choosing reading material. Not to mention, usually what’s considered a “best seller” isn’t remotely what interests me.
Yes – I watch the best seller lists, and I look at books that are shortlisted for the Big Prizes. Then I read blurbs, reviews, recommendations. (And I find books in charity shops that I’d never have paid full price for, and often found gems!)
Kinda reminds me of the old Seinfeld joke, about going to a ‘Comedy Conference for Aspiring Comedians’, going up on stage, and putting up two words up in big huge bold letters: JUST WORK.
If you’re looking for a ‘trick’ to get on the NYT bestseller list, forget it, you’re missing the point.
And really, even the premise of ‘dying’ to get that NYT stamp on your book, is kind of a lark. Shouldn’t it be the goal and wish of every author to write something great, no matter what the ‘machine’ thinks? And since when is ‘bestselling’ representative of quality? Of course not. The most popular TV shows and Pop Music are mostly garbage produced by talentless hacks.
I love this line: But if the emperor has no clothes, the readers will see it right away. So write a brilliant book first
If you love your readers, you’ll pour your heart out into your next book, and if it’s great, they might tell their friends about it. Worry about the ‘glamour’ later. It’s way overrated.
I totally agree with Garth Stien. It’s all about the book. If it’s a good book the masses will come.
Great post!