What makes the difference between a mid-list author/book and a best selling one

[darryl]

This post was prompted by another thread with a link to JA Konrath's blog and in particular a post with a discussion between him (a self described mid-lister), and Lee Child, the best selling author of the Jack Reacher books.

http://jakonrath.blogspot.com.au/201...lee-child.html

The two are friends, and there is some very straight talk, often a little tongue in cheek but meant humorously. The sort of talk you would hear between mates in just about any Aussie pub on any day, though some people are apparently a bit non-plussed by it.

Lee is a very successful best selling author and is not shy about expressing the fact. HIs position is well summarised by this quote:

And don’t tell me I was lucky or “anointed” or some such … again, we all start from the same place, but I worked harder and smarter than my rivals, and believe me, I’m ready to do it all again … so don’t tell me I’m scared or whining – truth is, I’m licking my lips in anticipation of the big win in whatever scenario comes next.

Joe's response to this (in part)?

I understand why you believe talent and effort win the day, but you're wrong. Unlike a sport, such as track and field or basketball, writing talents and efforts don't translate to stats because there is no even playing field. Usain Bolt can run 200 meters anywhere on the planet. Michael Jordan can have a personal best even when his team is losing. Their successes don't depend on other factors.

Authors can't do it alone, and publishers make a lot of mistakes. Neither you nor I had any power over how many stores our titles were available in, or how big our marketing pushes were, or if our titles were pre-printed on the NYT Bestseller list, or how many reviews we received, or how many ads were bought. We don't know how my books would sell in airports or drug stores or Sam's Club or in Uzbekistan, because I've never been available in those places. We don't know what would have happened if I'd landed at Simon & Schuster rather than Hyperion (S&S made an offer, we didn't take it).

So what are your opinions? What makes a best seller? Has this changed or is it changing now that Amazon and others have made it so easy to self-publish? I'll probably post my own opinion on the issue a little later when I have a bit more time and have given the matter a little more thought.

[Synamon]

Given how many bestsellers were initially rejected by multiple publishers, there does not seem to be a sure-fire formula. I've certainly read excellent books that never sold enough copies to reach bestseller status. Luck and timing and promotion probably matter as much content.

[Luffy]

That's a fantastic link and I find myself inadequate to contribute much, so for now I'll read more of the blog. Thanks for posting this!

[Katsunami]

There is one thing that determines if you will become a bestseller or not, and that is: Does the editor/agent think you fit within the current taste of the masses, and if so, is it actually the case?

When doing sports, such as running, it can readily be determined if one is better than the other, because the better runner is faster all or most of the time. In chess, the stronger player will win more games.

Taste, opinion or 'current market trends' do not play any role in sports. You are better/stronger than others, and that can be determined without ail. They do, however, play major goals in the arts, such as painting, writing, or photography, and being 'better' is often in the eye of the beholder.

Look at E.L. James, with her Shades of Grey trilogy. It sells even better than Harry Potter, and she's the top earning author (at least, last time I saw a list of that, a year ago, with her earning around 91 million), even though many 'serious readers' bash the books without end.

Is E.L. James a bestseller? Yes, she sells a lot, obviously.
Is E.L. James a good author? Yes, or no, depending on whom you're asking...

[taustin]

There is no one key factor.

You cannot be a bestseller without a certain amount of talent.

You cannot be a bestseller without the support of your publisher, and their marketing team.

You cannot be a bestseller without luck - writing the right thing at the right time.

None of these by itself is enough. It takes all three, and only one is under the control of the author. And one isn't under anybody's control.

[crich70]

I think it comes down to exposure. You can write the best book that has ever been written but if you don't have enough advertising and you don't have the right cover image/blurb to go along with it you could still sink like a rock. Bait the hook with the right lure and you can reel in the customers, but use the wrong one and you will need a lot of luck to get noticed.

[tompe]

You can also write in a way that is required for a best seller. I read a crime book that was OK and then started reading Lee Childes latest book and noticed directly how much better he was at hooking the reader and making the reader want to continue to read. It is a skill to write that way and you choose if you want publish books written that way and try for a best seller.

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by darryl

And don’t tell me I was lucky or “anointed” or some such … again, we all start from the same place, but I worked harder and smarter than my rivals, and believe me, I’m ready to do it all again … so don’t tell me I’m scared or whining – truth is, I’m licking my lips in anticipation of the big win in whatever scenario comes next.

There's definitely other factors and luck, fate or whatever does play a part - and as in many walks of life, people clearly don't start from the same place, some are blessed (or cursed!) with extraordinary talent. Hard work clearly helps, but hard work doesn't automatically equal success. Plenty of successful people seem to think they have worked harder or better than everyone else, but there are plenty of people that have worked just as hard, and have very little to show for it in comparions. Exposure for definite, there are plenty of good authors out there who just struggle to get noticed.

I agree with tompe though, Lee Child (and many bestselling authors) are very skilled at what they do. More often than not when I pick up a Reacher novel after having read another book (and not just indie titles), the difference cam be startling.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by taustin

There is no one key factor.

You cannot be a bestseller without a certain amount of talent.

You cannot be a bestseller without the support of your publisher, and their marketing team.

You cannot be a bestseller without luck - writing the right thing at the right time.

None of these by itself is enough. It takes all three, and only one is under the control of the author. And one isn't under anybody's control.

+1

There is a talent to being a good story teller, to reeling in the reader in from the start and make the reader keep reading. However, I have read more than one book that was really, really good, yet for some reason never really hit it big. An author that I point to in this category was Brian Daley ( The Coramonde series among others). A really talented author, with original ideas (loved his Tapestry of Magic stories), yet he never really made it as an author. My guess is that he simply came in when there when there was a flood of new SF&F books and authors and got missed by a lot of people.

With that said, there are a lot of b-list authors out there who are simply missing that special something, yet can make a living writing. I read their books and like them, but it wasn't something that was going to keep me up all night reading.

There are also a very few authors who simply get luck and write a mediocre books that somehow catches the public's fancy. They have that one best seller, and then never have another big seller even though they write more books. But this is a lot rarer than some of the b-list authors think.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by soulfuldog

There's definitely other factors and luck, fate or whatever does play a part - and as in many walks of life, people clearly don't start from the same place, some are blessed (or cursed!) with extraordinary talent. Hard work clearly helps, but hard work doesn't automatically equal success. Plenty of successful people seem to think they have worked harder or better than everyone else, but there are plenty of people that have worked just as hard, and have very little to show for it in comparions. Exposure for definite, there are plenty of good authors out there who just struggle to get noticed.

I agree with tompe though, Lee Child (and many bestselling authors) are very skilled at what they do. More often than not when I pick up a Reacher novel after having read another book (and not just indie titles), the difference cam be startling.

True. Anyone can tell a story, but some just tell them better than others just like a lot of people can learn a musical instrument, but one will be average in ability no matter how much they practice and another will be a concert pianist. Of course hard work still plays into it. I remember a missionary telling us a story of a well known concert pianist who would start each day by practicing the basic scales. He was well known overseas for his ability but regardless he still had to practice his basic skills.

[hildea]

I would thing everyone except some (not all!) bestselling authors would agree with Joe, not Lee.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes has an interesting article (it's part of a discussion about how gender influences success, but it covers all kinds of factors): http://jenniferlynnbarnes.tumblr.com...ublishing-some She also links to an article by John Green, who compares his earlier non-bestselling books with The Fault in Our Stars.

[GeoffR]

I think a lottery analogy applies to a lot of things like this: Hard work, natural talent, learned skills, they all buy you tickets in the lottery. Work harder and you get more tickets. Work hard enough and you might have enough tickets that you are virtually guaranteed to win some of the minor prizes (midlist author). But who wins the main prize (bestselling author) will still come down mainly to luck.

[darryl]

There are some excellent posts here. At the risk of stating the obvious, my own opinion is that, subject to a few exceptions, both talent and major backing are required for a book to be a best seller.

The author does, of course, need to attain a certain standard of competency in their writing, which I hesitate to call a minimum standard. I also think that a slightly lesser standard of writing can still succeed where the themes and ideas in a book are very compelling, or are in the public eye at the time. For example, I have read nearly all of Isaac Asimov's work, and regard him as one of the greats. However, I think the actual quality of his writing often took second place to the ideas being conveyed. I'm sure many other examples would be found, if I cared to look, in the recent plethora of vampire fiction.

But the most talented author is not going to succeed if the reading public is not aware of their books. As Joe Konrath pointed out, a writer who has his book selected for the star treatment is the beneificiary of extensive promotion and publicity for that book. And which books and authors receive this treatment has utlimately been the province of a few people in the BWM publishers. And of course, it is not unknown for them to get it wrong, Joe Konrath is also correct when he says that we will never know what may have happened with sales of his own books had they been selected for similar promotion and availability as Lee Child's Jack Reacher books. All we do know is that Lee Child's has been spectacularly successful with not just one, but many books. He clearly has what it takes, and I am sure he will, as he says, continue to do well whatever direction publishing takes.

It may well be that the future publishing world, at least for fiction, gets to the point where most printing is on demand, and ebooks dominate. In this environment, availability is an even playing field. Also, there will be many more authors and many more books. And I doubt that there will be large amounts of money around to be spent on advertising and other promotion. Many have been pondering how best to establish a reputation without a publisher shelling out money on promotion. Some believe Social Media is the answer, but if it is it is not a very satisfactory one. Obviously Amazon and other providers will have an influence, but how will they exercise it? Likewise newspapers (those that survive) and blogs will no doubt be influential. Beyond that, I simply don't know. But for a long time, established best selling authors will continue to have a big advantage, since they have already made their reputation. As will any new best sellers who somehow manage to rise to the top of the new publishing jungle.

One thing I am sure of is that the readers will be the beneficiaries. We are going to have a much greater choice of books at a much lower cost. In fact, our biggest problem is going to be sorting the wheat from the chaff. I think there is a lot of money to be made for any businesses that figure out how to become one of the new gatekeepers.