By now it’s well known that almost no one was interested in publishing J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter book. The author has saved those rejection letters, stashed away in her attic. Later, when Rowling was looking for a U.S. publisher, the only taker was Scholastic Press. Numerous publishers turned down William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, John le Carré’s The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and so on. But now a book claims to have figured out the formula for a bestselling novel. Incidentally, my next book is called Tuesdays With Jesus.
To be sure, there are already a heap of books out there on cracking the bestseller list, including Hit List: Cracking the Code of the Twentieth Century’s Biggest Bestsellers, Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel, and Breaking the Bestseller Code: Discover the 5 Hidden Secrets that Let You Become a #1 Best Selling Author to Gain Instant Credibility and Authority So You Can Earn More Money & Expand Your Business. (I’m guessing one of the “Hidden Secrets” isn’t short subtitles. Also, isn’t “Hidden Secrets” a bit redundant?) In any event, The Bestseller Code: Anatomy of the Blockbuster Novel, which comes out next week, claims to have figured out the algorithm leading to literary stardom.
As explained on the Amazon book page:
In the Wall Street Journal, Tobias Grey breaks it down even further:
So what works? Writes Grey:
Apparently verbs are important too—read the rest of Grey’s column for all the details.
It remains to be seen how this latest book might affect publishing. Will aspiring authors have better luck with computers reading their manuscripts? Would a computer find, say, a history of vodka in America compelling? (Oh yes, I did just link that!) And what about that other factor that puts fear into authors’ hearts: Nielsen bookscan, whose numbers can sometimes differ wildly from royalty statements, thereby affecting the prospects of a fledgling author? Could Dan Brown have gotten a deal for The Da Vinci Code considering the sales numbers for his first three books were abysmal?
Book-publishing is not for the weak of stomach. But despite the odds, people continue to submit manuscripts every day, braving those waves of rejection. As Rowling herself noted, “I had nothing to lose and sometimes that makes you brave enough to try.” It’s all about passion and conviction, honesty and earnestness. To thine own self be true!
So I was obviously joking about Tuesdays With Jesus. But I am currently at work on a second book. It’s called Zombienomics: Alexander Hamilton and other Outliers.
