If you’re a writer, it’s fair to assume you’d like to write a bestseller. In my 12-plus years of experience as an editor for a major publisher, bestseller status is the Holy Grail of the writing trade, and it’s not just an ego thing.
Hitting the bestseller lists is an emblem of the impact a book is having.
Bestsellers are not just about fame and money; in fact, writing a bestseller guarantees neither. They are about having an impact on society.
Bestsellers are world changers.
By definition bestsellers are rare. Whether it’s the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, or Publishers Weekly, the value of these lists is in direct relationship to the fact that they are limited.
So what does it take? How do you make it onto a bestsellers list? In this post I discuss the key elements to writing a bestseller, including a little known secret that can have a significant effect on book sales. Mind you, this post is not about how to buy your way onto a list. It’s about how to get there organically.
The makings of a bestseller can be divided into internal and external factors. Internal factors are those within an author’s realm of influence. External factors are those beyond the author’s control but which an author can still capitalize on.
Platform
An essential internal factor is platform. Platform is an author’s ability to promote his or her own book. The bad news is it takes time to build a platform. The good news is, if you’re willing to work hard over a period of time, an influential platform has never been more accessible than it is right now. Check out Author Media’s terrific platform-building tips.
Excellent Writing
Another important internal factor is excellent writing. It’s true that many well written books do not hit the bestsellers list. It’s also true that most books that hit the list are well written, especially those that stay there for a while. In short, if your book is not well written, it probably won’t hit the bestseller lists. My favorite books on the craft of writing are Stein on Writing, Bird by Bird, and The War of Art.
The Wild Card: Luck
One external factor is luck. How big a role luck plays in the life of any bestseller varies, of course, but let’s face it, some books get lucky. Oprah selects your book for her Book of the Month Club. A video or blog post goes viral. You can’t predict these things, they just happen. It’s important to note, however, that luck is often a friend to books that otherwise are worthy of attention.
The Little Known Secret: Write a Book the World Needs
This is the external factor that many authors don’t consider and is so, so important. If you write an excellent book and have a decent platform that you then leverage to promote your book, chances are the book will do fine. It will sell moderately well, and both you and your publisher will be happy.
To write a bestseller, though, often you have to say something unique that the world is ready to hear. In ancient Persia when recently crowned Queen Esther is deliberating about whether to intervene for the Jewish people before the king, her guardian, Mordecai, asks, “Who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Esther’s moment had arrived. Bestselling books are often those that have been written for such a time as this. Write a book whose moment has arrived.
How to Write a Book Whose Moment Has Arrived
Let me sketch out some possible steps for writing a book whose moment has arrived:
- Study all the bestselling books on your topic. Obtain a good working knowledge of the main things that have been said in your field of inquiry.
- Survey and interview lots of people. Do your research. Ask anybody and everybody what their thoughts are about your particular topic, particularly those who have written about it.
- Ask, “What hasn’t been said or emphasized that should be?” Based on all your research and intuition, what does the world need to hear?
- Ask, “What would constitute a watershed message in this area?” The message has to be both unique and sincere. We all know when someone tells us something that sounds too good to be true or smells of ulterior motives.
- Test the waters. Write some blog posts or articles that deliver your message. Don’t worry about letting the cat out of the bag. If your idea has legs, people will want a book-length treatment of it.
- Write the book. You’ve done your homework, composed your message, and refined your delivery. Now go, brave writer. Who knows but that you have come to your royal keyboard for such a time as this?
One More Thing
Let’s say you do all the above, and your book fails to hit the bestseller lists. Then all you’ve done is created a signal contribution to your field that will still help quite a few people. That’s worth doing no matter what.
My Special Gift to Author Media Readers
I put together a resource kit especially for Author Media readers, just because I love the whole endeavor of empowering authors (like you), and I enjoy hanging with Thomas Umstattd! Visit www.DoYourArt.net, drop your email address, and I’ll send you some things I’m preparing specially for you. Here’s what you’ll get:
- A 3-minute video in which I discuss bestselling books that were written “for such at time as this.”
- The 21-Day “Do Your Art” Challenge, which will help you stay motivated and keep moving on the road to publication.
Thanks so much for reading this post, and don’t forget to check out www.DoYourArt.net.
You are such a great encourager, you keep me doing my art for sure.
Good! Because your art is so worth doing, Lisa!
Great info, Chad. Love and appreciate you! It was fun to see/hear you again at Re:Write.
Write on,
Kurt
Thanks, Kurt! Enjoyed getting to hear you reflect on what publication has meant for you at Re:write. You’ve had quite a journey! Keep after it.
Thanks so much for the tips and encouragement! So helpful 🙂
You’re most welcome, Kiera! Thanks for letting me know you found it helpful.
Thank you for the encouragement and advice :). I’ve been working on platform for a year now–what is considered a good starting platform for a Christian non-fiction author who is ready to send our a book proposal? Is there a magic formula ;)?
Congratulations on getting to the stage of sending out our book proposal. Working on a platform is great, but working on it for a year may be a bit excessive. Platforms should be a aid not a deterrent.
Hi Chad, This was a really interesting post! I’ve never thought about writing from a “bestseller” perspective – I’ve always assumed that the Christian market is pretty niche as it is. But when I think about the ones that have broken through, they are almost always from popular pastors who have become authors. That made me ponder if, perhaps, another factor on your list here would be expertise/credibility. The relationship between expertise and platform is one I’ve thought a lot about lately.
Many people have a large platform without specific expertise, yet I can’t see such people having a bestselling book (unless we’re talking about hundreds of thousands of fans built over many years). Then there are people with small platforms but specific expertise (e.g., pastors, philosophers, professors, etc.) who, with the right concept at the right time, can make it huge. That would lead me to guess the following:
–If you have a specific professional expertise that relates to your writing AND you have the right concept at the right time, you have the *potential* to make it big through traditional publishing even with a modest platform.
–If you have a large platform (say, 20,000+ followers) but no specific professional expertise that relates to your writing, the right concept at the right time might lead to a book contract, but the expectation will probably be that it will be limited to doing “moderately well.”
Obviously, the real world is not so black and white, and there are always exceptions, but I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on this relationship of platform, expertise, and sales potential. They seem integrally related, yet I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone address the issue of expertise in the context of platform goals.
Did that make any sense at all? 🙂
Once again, Natasha, your question knocks it out of the park by adding a separate category, namely expertise, to the calculus of a best seller. Your conclusion is right. Things get awfully grey and murky when you start to try to parse things out. Certainly we can say expertise is more important for some books than others, or rather that we need a broad definition for expertise if it’s going to apply in every case. What’s Donald Miller’s or Anne Lamott’s expertise for example? Expertise and credibility are certainly important factors.
So good.
Chad, thank you so much for your blog. I used to make my living as a writer and owned a post production company, but life happens and for years I retreated into a protective shell. I’ve recently felt it’s time for my story to be told and have been checking back into the world of words. So, many of my connections are retired or dead. I’ve become a big fan of self-publishing, but this particular book requires a big publishing house. I’m enjoying all your blogs I’ve read so far, but if you can direct me to any specifically that deal with publishers I’m all eyes. I also will be researching agents, so any tips in that direction are welcomed as well. And just incase you’re wondering, I’m the woman who turned the Menendez brothers in for killing their parents, and while they play a big role in my story this is not about them as much as it is about how I came to be in possession of the knowledge that put them in jail, and the anatomy of power and how it nearly ended my life, and how claiming it saved me.
I’m looking forward to more of your tips.
Judalon
I like the part of “for such a time as this!” That should be very inspiring for any writer. Thank you for bringing that out.
What you say sounds accurate, Chad. I have to ask, though. How do books like “Fifty Shades of Gray” fit into the picture? If you’re right, it’s a very sad comment on “for such a time as this!”.
Sigh.
Unfortunately the phrase “for such a time as this” applies in multiple ways, including in the direction of culture’s baser desires. But I think it’s important to note that while I’ve not read 50 Shades, it is likely tapping into very legitimate, even wholesome, yearnings we all have. Yearnings for wholeness, dignity, and intimacy for example. Now it takes those desires and runs with them to dark places, but we ought not miss their wholesome core. And we might ask ourselves, how could a novelist craft a story that encourages wholesome destinations for such universal yearnings?
Chad, I appreciate not only the practicality of your article but the heart behind it. Your suggestion to “test the waters” is especially helpful to me. Thanks for sharing your wisdom and experience!
You’re welcome, Ryan! Glad it was helpful to you.
Chad! You totally rocked this post. Especially love the “How to Write a Book Whose Moment Has Arrived”. What insight. Special gift at the end even? Wonderful.
Thanks, Alysa! Your encouragement is priceless.
Hello, Chad. So interesting I came across this post recently and again tonight when I recognized your photo from the makeover on Michael Hyatt’s Platform University. “I know that guy!” What a small world, even on the internet 🙂
Am revising my non-fiction book and pondering your thought “What does the world need to hear?” Good advice for those of us wanting to make a difference in our world today.
So, nice to meet you and see you at Platform!
Good to meet you too, Patricia! Always fun to bump into a fellow Platform U student.
I’m writing a book called the kid in me I’m hoping through my life experiences I can change peoples lives and give them that little ape k of hope not yo give up BC I lived it! its about my life the trials and tribulations I have had to face sexual abuse, rape, bullying, almost dying from restaurant food Bourne illness and lung fluke parasite that completely stopped me from breathinh . I have an agency interested ibw never done this before.what words of wisdom can u offer me I would greatly appreciate it. I would like to change lives all over the world.
Hey chad, I wanted to know if you could help give me pointers on my book I would greatly appreciate especially from a legend as wise as you are thank you, Kim powell
Great advice! I will share on my social media sites as a resource for authors. Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Chad I too enjoyed reading your tips and I believe people thirst for knowledgeable first hand experiences and feel it is almost crucial to have a successful book:)
Thank you, i am very much a beginer, i am working,on a nonfictional book. I find all of the litterature,that you’ve made available,very helpful. I will definitely look forward to more.