World Famous Comics: The Making of a Bestseller: Success Stories from Authors and the Editors, Agents, and Booksellers Behind Them
The Making of a Bestseller: Success Stories from Authors and the Editors, Agents, and Booksellers Behind Them
By: Brian Hill, Dee Power Publisher: Kaplan Business Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Kaplan Business Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 272 Publication Date: March 01, 2005 Release Date: March 01, 2005
According to Bowker, there are over 150,000 books published in the U.S. every year. Less than 1 percent of the books published make the bestseller list. People are fascinated by bestselling authors who have become every bit as much celebrities as rock musicians or film stars. Through some mysterious process, these individuals take blank pages and turn them into gold. And many authors do this over and over again. For authors, earning a spot on the bestseller list is the grand, often elusive prize at the end of many years of work. But what makes a bestseller happen? Brian Hill and Dee Power interviewed over 50 successful authors, publishers, editors, agents, book reviewers, and other experts to find the answer. The Making of a Bestseller: Success Stories from Authors and the Editors, Agents, and Booksellers Behind Them presents a comprehensive look at the publishing process from start to finish. Authors and would-be authors, individuals in the publishing industry, and passionate readers will learn: * How bestselling authors approach the craft of writing and marketing their books. * The many different paths authors take to the top of the list. * The impact a first bestseller makes on an author's life. * The workings of the selection process, from the query letter to the decision to publish. * How publishers know a book has bestseller potential. * The agent's role in helping create a bestseller. * Factors and events that influence whether a book makes the bestseller list, including TV "reading book clubs," the review process, publicity, marketing programs, and timing. * How Hollywood impacts the reading public. To provide a broad spectrum of experience, interviews are included with authors of nonfiction and fiction, as well as first-time novelists to serial bestsellers. In addition, avid readers will find fascinating stories behind some of their favorite authors' works.
Packed with real world information and advice As the unpublished auhor of two novels I have read dozens of books about writing and publishing. Most either regurgitate tiresome old addages ( write everyday; use rejection as a motivator) or worse are filled with false hope and flowery descriptions of how to raise your craft to the level of great literature (usually written by other frustrated authors who have either not been able to publish fiction or who have published but not sold well).
This book is written witht he insight of two seasoned veterans of the publishing business who share their experience and knowledge with anyone willing to read. We learn about the ins and outs of the best seller list and are given a strong dose of realism about our chances af making the list or of getting published in the first place. Realistic but not discouraging the authors are carefully temper our enthusiasm so that we an absorb the information in a way that we can make useful.
In the end this book gives many clues to how to be the excption and crack the best seller list while preparing us for the long road that we must travel to have a chance. Write a good book and be persistant in our efforts in getting published are the themes that stand out the most after reading this book and if we as writers do that then we should be satisfied in our efforts regardless of our comercial success
Eye Opening, But Title Can Mislead "The Making of a Bestseller" is like getting a front row seat in a panel interview with various bestselling writers, their editors and agents, and a few publishers. Newbies get great insight about how the publishing industry operates. The best parts of this book are, to me, the reflections shared by authors about their experience when they "made it big." In a lot of ways, "The Making of a Bestseller" responds to those who are curious about what it's like to be in the heart of the action.
Given the cover price of "The Making of A Bestseller," however, I was expecting more than just pearls of wisdom. The title gave me the impression that the book would reveal the process, the specific strategies used by publishers in the packaging and marketing of a particular bestselling book. Or, at least, practical knowledge one would need to navigate the industry. Yes, one would be able to spot a tip here and a gem of advice there, but it's not the true focus of the book.
So the three stars is really about the cover price vis-a-vis its contents. The information the book holds is top quality, but not enough to justify the expense.
Realistic Insight for Any Would-Be Book Author Dee Power and Brian Hill have put together a fascinating look at bestselling authors and what it takes. They interview a number of bestselling authors, booksellers and editors about what made the difference for a book to become a bestseller. Here's a few quotes from the book:
"Now we know: The "secret bestseller sauce" is made up of this key ingredient--a great book." p. 88 Then on the next page: "in our survey, agents on average said they accept 2 out of 1,000 submissions. A senior editor with a top publishing house told us she accepts 1 out of 100 submissions that she receives from agents. If we combine the two, it means that there is a 1 out of 50,000 chance of a new book by an unknown author making it from the author's word processor to successfully attracting an agent, and then on to the contract stage with a publisher."
See what I mean about realism into the pages of this book?
Yet the tone is not discouraging but informative and helpful to stimulate would-be authors to excellence in their writing, in their pitches to editors and in their promotion efforts. I learned a great deal from this book and recommend it.
Backstage Pass Brian and Dee's book is like having a one-on-one conversation with today's top fiction and non-fiction writers.
What questions would you want to ask them? ...How do you stay focused? ...What quality is present in all "good writing"? ...What is the life of an author truly like? ...How did you get into writing? ...Where do you get your ideas?
Chances are good that whatever your question Brian and Dee asked it.
The Making of a Bestseller is a book that you can pick-up, read for a few minutes, and get something out of it. If you want a book that delivers a step-by-step marketing strategy this is not the book for you. However if you want to get a glimpse into the mindset of today's top authors buy this book.
This is a book you'll want to read again and again. You'll feel like you just had a scintillating dinner conversation with some of the top players in the publishing industry. This book is firmly grounded in reality and offers so much more than a pseudo-"sure-fire formula" for hitting bestseller lists-- it offers real insight into the ways success flourishes. This is a book you'll want to read again and again to glean new pieces of wisdom each time.
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