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The Bestseller Experiment

Join author and screenwriter Mark Stay with coach and entrepreneur Mark Desvaux, as they discover the secrets to writing a bestseller and challenge themselves and you to write, market and self-published a bestselling book in just one year. Each week, they are guided by and interview million-selling, chart-topping authors, publishers on the inside, editors, agents, social media specialists, and many more big names who play a part in the bestseller process. From the writing to marketing, plotting to publishing, learn the secrets to help you write your way to the top of the charts.
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Now displaying: Page 11
May 18, 2020

Liz Moore is the NY Times bestselling author of Long Bright River, a novel ten years in the making that started with short stories, non-fiction sketches and community work in the neighbourhood where the story is set. All that due diligence led to one of the most acclaimed books of the year. Liz tells us how she crafts each of her books, and the Two Marks debate the pros and cons of the slow novel approach.

To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support

Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

May 11, 2020

Michael Connelly is one of the most successful crime authors in the world with over 60m book sales. Having just released his new Harry Bosch thriller, he shares secrets about developing characters & writing book series – in the back of a London cab!

May 8, 2020

Rachel Winterbottom is Senior Commissioning Editor at Gollancz and she also writes fiction as Rachel Winters. Rachel answers our listener questions on the editorial process, what editors are looking for, tropes, word count, social media, deadlines, publication scheduling, conventions and much more!

May 4, 2020

Ayisha Malik, author of This Green and Pleasant Land, gives us amazing tips on first drafts, sequels, publicity, social media and why writing commercial, comedic fiction doesn’t mean you can’t tackle big themes, and how being a ghostwriter taught her how to be a professional writer. We also catch-up on the good news stories from our listeners, and Mr. Stay has read the first draft of his wife’s debut novel and he gives his verdict...

Apr 27, 2020

In this week's episode from the BXP Archives... Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston tells us about his life and new bestselling memoir, A Life In Parts.

Apr 20, 2020

Bestselling author Mel Sherratt tells us why she never gave up after twelve years of rejection. Since then, Mel has been self-published, traditionally published and digital-first published… she’s done it all and sold over a million and a half books! She tells us how publishing her first book changed everything. AND we celebrate five millions words banked on the BXP2020 Challenge with a chat with Claire Burgess, who just completed the first draft of her novel after starting the challenge in January.

Apr 17, 2020

Heather Fitt is the founder of Overview Media and organised our recent blog tour for the audiobook of Back to Reality. Heather takes us through the benefits of a blog tour and how they are organised and answers our listeners’ questions on costs, genres, bloggers, the lengths of blog tours and what to do with all those reviews when it’s over.

Links

Heather on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LifeBookish
Overview media: https://www.overviewmedia.co.uk

Apr 13, 2020

Every November hundreds of thousands of writers start their annual challenge of writing 50,000 words in one month. It’s called NaNoWriMomo (National Novel Writing Month). We get to speak with executive Director Grant Faulkner in the hectic run-up to NaNoWriMo, who shares his tips for both first-timers and veterans who make up the world’s most incredible writing community and event.

Apr 6, 2020

We scrambled to put this episode together in which we try and put some positive vibes out into the world. We celebrate some of our listeners’ recent triumphs, we answer listener questions, discuss creativity, strategies for working from home, how to make the most of your day and why writing is so important. Sit back and forget the world’s woes for just a short while...

Sign up to the BXP2020 Challenge here: https://bestsellerexperiment.com/bxp2020/

Apr 4, 2020

Karen Inglis is a bestselling indie children’s author based in the UK. Her books have sold over 100,000 copies and in this Deep Dive episode she answers our listener questions on finding illustrators, printing, marketing, blurbs, age-ranging, the craft of writing children’s books and tips on running great school events.

To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support

Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Mar 30, 2020

We're delighted to welcome back Orion Publisher (and Editor of the Year nominee!) Emad Akhtar to critique our latest round of One Page Punch-Ups. These are pages sent in by our Chart Topper Patreons. We read them and critique them and all learn a little something that we can use in our writing.

Mar 23, 2020

In this week's episode from the BXP Archives... Best known for her novel Chocolat, which sold well over a million copies and was made into a movie starring Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche, Joanne has written over twenty books, including Runemarks and Gospel of Loki, which were based on Norse legend. We spoke with her about writing, aspiration and sheds.

Mar 16, 2020

BA Paris is the bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors, and with her new novel The Dilemma she takes a simple idea and digs deep with gripping effect. It’s this writing style that has sold over a million copies in the UK alone and made her an international bestseller. In a delightfully unassuming interview, she tells us how it all started when her daughters told her to do something for herself for once.

Mar 9, 2020

The Romantic Novelists’ Association celebrated their diamond anniversary last week with a glitzy award ceremony where four — FOUR! — of our listeners were nominated for awards. We spoke to them about the role the RNA has played in their careers, we bumped into our old friend Rowan Coleman, and we end with a very special interview with Milly Johnson, the evening’s recipient of the RNA Outstanding Achievement Award. Whatever your genre, there’s lots to inspire you here.

To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support

Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Mar 2, 2020

Steff Green has written over 30 books since 2015. Her career started with a near-miss with a major publisher, but she struck out on her own and now she’s an award-winner, a USA Today bestseller, and passionate about her storytelling.

To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support

Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Feb 27, 2020

Ahead of our main episode with James Swallow in a few weeks, we have this exclusive Q&A with James where he answers our listener questions on working in rooms with other writers on series like The Black Library, and he gives us great tips on pace, characterisation, balancing realism and the fantastic, writing for games, and how you can make your world tell the story for you.

To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support

Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Feb 24, 2020

In this week's episode from the BXP Archives... From farrier to million-selling indie author, USA Today bestseller, and writing machine, Shannon bestows wisdom, inspiration, and a quote that we want on t-shirts and bumper stickers.

Feb 17, 2020

Bec Evans was previously a guest on a Deep Dive (ep199, discussing her book How to Have a Happy Hustle), but since then she has surveyed over 3,500 authors about their writing habits and discovered some incredibly useful data on how writing little and often can improve your productivity and creativity as a writer. In this special live show, she reveals great tips for writers on toggling, tiny habits, micro-challenges and being spontaneous.

Feb 13, 2020

In this exclusive Deep Dive episode for our Patreons, Barbara Poelle is a New York literary agent and author of Funny You Should Ask: Mostly Serious Answers to Mostly Serious Questions About the Publishing Industry — and she answers our listener questions on trends, genre, slush piles, getting an agent, and generally de-mistifying the publishing industry. This is essential listening for authors who want to be traditionally published.

To become a Patron of the Bestseller Experiment: https://bestsellerexperiment.com/subscribe/

Feb 10, 2020

In this week's episode from the BXP Archives...
In this episode you will discover… 


What does a commission editor do? It’s not just correcting your spelling!


What’s changed in publishing? And how you can make the most of these opportunities.


The most common mistakes by writers: And how you can avoid them.


Don’t cheat your reader: And how to have a longer career as a writer.

Feb 7, 2020

In the first of an occasional series where we dive into specific genres, we look at science fiction with Hannu Rajaniemi, award-winning author of The Quantum Thief, The Fractal Prince, The Causal Angel, Summerland and more. We answer listener questions on defining the genre, keeping up on scientific developments, world building, how to generate story ideas, and why we would love to read an Ian M Banks Star Wars novel.

To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support

Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Feb 3, 2020

LJ Ross has long refused to play by other people’s rules and when she didn’t like the look of a publishing contract she struck out on her own. Over four million copies of her books have been sold to date and she’s still going strong. She answers our listener questions on marketing, pricing, Kindle and she tells us why she’s launching her own imprint and a prize for authors.

To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support

Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Jan 27, 2020

In this week's episode from the BXP Archives... As we begin our epic quest to write and chart a book in one year, we need to discover what kind of person buys bestselling books. We turn to Hachette Book Group consumer insight expert Vics Tranter, who shares her experience and wisdom with us and we discover just who will be reading our book… and it’s a bit of a shock, to be frank.

Jan 24, 2020

In this special episode, we speak to writer and producer David Whiteley about his Star Wars documentary The Galaxy Britain Built. David takes us through the journey of building a documentary idea into a feature-length documentary and an accompanying book.

To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support

Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Jan 20, 2020

Number one bestselling author Caroline Mitchell recently Tweeted that she had sold a million copies of her books since first getting published in 2013. Writing on her commute, Caroline started out by setting herself daily goals and moved from never having written before, to self-publishing, to awards and deals with Bookouture and Thomas & Mercer. It’s an inspiring story and it all started… with an exorcism.

To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support

Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

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