What Do Bestselling Authors Have In Common?
- Posted by Essays Blog in Essays Blog |
- March 7th, 2009 |
- Comments
Nine Characteristics That May Attack You.
In writing “The Making of a Bestseller: Achiever Stories From Authors and the Editors, Agents and Behind Them,” (Dearborn Business, 2005), we craved 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, any of whom have endured on the bestseller lists for decades. As a group, these authors have oversubscribed more than half a billion books. It turns out that writing endowment 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Nearly all bestselling authors faced the same struggles early in their careers that less booming, even unpublished authors, face. Immediate achiever is rare. One distinction of bestselling authors is that they do not get as discouraged by lack of early achiever. They persevere. Their desire to follow is enormous. Bestselling authors often have to demonstrate the patience and endurance to compose a number of books before achieving notable achiever.
2. They Compose, And Compose And Compose
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 activity. They don’t act for the muse to dab them on the berm. Any authors’ literary production is phenomenal, much as Catherine Coulter, who wrote “Point Blank,” she has produced over fifty bestsellers so in her career.
3. They Like To Compose And Compose And Compose
They would rather compose than do anything else. It’s not just that booming authors are more disciplined, tho’ 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 activity itself. Bestselling authors appear to flourish on the hard activity, and they activity much harder than we might assume. Iris Johansen, author of “Countdown,” writes cardinal 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 act promoting their books, no matter how booming they get. Many allay market at the grass roots level, not just finished national TV or radio interviews. They accept the time to call 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 allay tours with every new book.
5. Marketing Is Critical
Even if they have never appropriated a business course in college, they have an innate meaning of marketing concepts much as brand building and product differentiation. They closely follow trends in the literary marketplace. They believe what it is about their books that readers respond favorably to. They accept a strategical approach to their careers and they realize that much more goes into being a booming author than the writing itself. Carly Phillips big break came when Kelly Ripa recommended “The Bachelor” on The Kelly & Regis appear. 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 have, and attempt real hard to meet or exceed their fans’ expectations, but they do not necessarily pay close attention to what reviewers or book critics have. They don’t even necessarily expect good reviews. Grapevine activity from readers and booksellers is more important to them than reviews. Linda Fairstein, the author of “Entombed” and the Alexandra Cooper broadcast, loves book signings. At her level of achiever she doesn’t have to do them but she loves talking to her readers.
7. The More Achiever The More Pressure
Bestselling authors face more pressure as they get more booming. As they rise to the apical, thither are increasing demands on their time. Apical authors lead III real different lives. First, the quiet, confinement scholarly life of being a writer. So participating in the group effort inside the publishing house to make the book the best book it can be. This involves learning how to accept advice from and collaborate with the professionals inside the publishing house. Finally, the author must participate in the real public life of trying to sell books to the mass audience. They have to master all III lives if they intend to continue to achieve bestseller position. 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 apical of their profession. They sincerely appreciate their loyal readers. They recognize that they have been chosen to receive a strikingly rare, primary distinction by a bustling, competitive marketplace. The achiever, fame and financial rewards that have come to them are often beyond the most extravagant dreams they had when they first sat down to compose a book. Christopher Paolini credits the activity of the teachers, librarians, booksellers and fans, for the achiever of his first book, “Eragon”.
9. Thither Is No Single Profile For A Bestselling Author
Bestselling authors are rarely the apical graduates from prestigious Lincoln writing programs. Writing may have been a 2nd or 3rd career for them, and the publishing industry values authors who bring life experience to their activity, in fiction or nonfiction. Bestselling authors motion all age groups, many different professions and diversified educational backgrounds. Thither is no single profile for what a bestselling author looks like.