Best Books

Not to disparage or even imply description of the works below, but like me, I am sure you have occasionally perused a bestseller list now and again and thought, "How did this thesaurus-dependent goon get rich and I didn't?"

A thought similar to this started me as a writer actually.  I was a teenager lying on my bed reading a science fiction paperback (yes, I remember which one; no, I'm not telling) and after wading through the fourth or fifth paragraph bloated with dictionary-not-included phrasings like "scribed terse laconic," "ersatz," or "ultima Thule," I slung the book to the floor and said, "I could write better than that."

Is that thought familiar? 

As the book thumped onto the carpet, the voice that would become my Internal Editor came into being and said, "Really, smartass?  Prove it."

Twenty-five years later, I'm still trying, and instead of my former arrogance, the words echoing in my head are Orson Scott Card's:  "The naive ambitions of youth were beginning to be tempered by reality."

I doubt I'm qualified to tell you how bestsellers happen, having not yet received my invitation to that particular soiree, but I'll give you my opinion and I hope to hear yours.  Maybe our sandwiched perspectives will capture some truth. So, . . .

Is it luck?  Yes.  Is it marketing?  Yes.  Is it talent?  Hm. 

I used to be the marketing director of a casino, and at a conference I attended in San Diego was a speaker who worked for Donald Trump.  He said that the foundation of success is "integrity in everything you do."  The quality of your product or service must be genuine. Promising more than you can deliver ultimately erodes your customer base. If you say your soap can suck out India ink from a white shirt, then you better be able to manifest that particular miracle.  Otherwise, your sales will flat line. 

Writers are no different.  Everything builds on the integrity of the product. If you accept merely reheating Harry Potter or Twilight, you vastly reduce your chance of success.

"Don't write a dead man's tale, unless you can beat him at it."

-- Harlan Ellison

The hard part, though, is that value is subjective and changes over time.  I have dozens of books on my shelves by an author who in my 20s I consumed everything he wrote.  I wanted to write just like that! Now I can't read those books.  It all feels like assembly-line fiction:  change the names, keep the formula. 

Analyzing current bestselling fiction also introduces something like the uncertainty principle.  The rise to fame draws negativity not always deserved.  When a book reaches a certain level of popularity, the popular opinion -- especially among the literati -- becomes a sort of herd mentality where if a lot of people buy it, the work probably just feeds into the lowest common denominator.  A book need only be labeled as "genre" and it is  dismissed.  For years I watched the Oscars as a kid and noticed that if anything science fiction or fantasy made the list, it was regarded like the nouveau riche and given a token award for Best Costume or Set Design.  Best picture was saved for serious fiction.

The interviewer asked: "How do you respond to people who ask, 'When are you going to write something serious?'"

Stephen King said, "All I can say is that every time I sit down to write, I am as serious as I can be."

I believe, while quality product is the foundation, luck, marketing, and talent form an essential triad.  When the writer tends to all sides equally, the book stands the greatest chance of success and sustainability.  If talent swells but there is neither luck nor marketing, success probably won't come at all.  If it's all luck . . . well, you just got lucky and might not be able to repeat the circumstances.  Marketing without substance is called "hype," resulting in a reputation that is often unsalvageable.

Now that I have anesthetized you with this lengthy introduction, let's look at what Amazon lists as the Top 10 Bestsellers of 2012 and see whether we can excavate a common denominator.  As you can see, many books in the same series occupy the majority of the top slots.  I skipped nonfiction books, since that is outside the scope of this blog.   (Note that since Amazon updates its lists hourly, the slots might be different by the time you read this.  The numbers correspond with where the book is on Amazon's list.)

1-3 & 6 (the trilogy) --

Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James

 

Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James is the highest selling book ever in the UK at more than 6 million copies.  All three books are slated to be movies.  (Surprise!  Hollywood producer says, "Outsells J. K. Rowling? Naw, think I'll pass.")  The book is about a sado-masochistic relationship between a college graduate and a successful business man.  I haven't read the books, but I've noted the reaction to them.  My wife read them because everyone at work talked about how "dirty" they were.  The media has described the books as "mummy porn."  A lot of the popularity has to be attributed to the taboo-ness of these novels.  Twilight Zone owed a huge amount of its success to the fact that Mom and Dad said you were not allowed to watch it, so you sneaked halfway down the stairs and peeked through the banister while Mom and Dad watched in the living room.  It is the delicious potential of doing something you're not supposed to do, but once you do, you are part of the exclusive secret.  You will know what all the whispers and giggles are about.

4, 7, 8 & 11 (boxed set) --  

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

 

Reminiscent of Stephen King's (as Richard Bachman) The Running Man, Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games is about a game show gone insane.  People (teenagers) enter a televised race for survival, where they are hunted and killed until only one is left standing. 

It is a dystopia (the familiar ruined), which has a long-standing popularity in fiction, and the movie came out this year.  This obviously provides a lot of momentum and marketing.

Also, an element adding to this series' uniqueness is that it works the line well between strange and uncomfortable.  It puts children in real danger, which is often taboo in fiction, and tweaks the strange even more by making the source of that danger other children.  Yet, the story never goes too overboard with the violence.  We like what is familiar to us and are fascinated by what is different.  Too familiar and it bores; too strange and it repels.  But a balance between the two is alluring.  This is why androids are so popular in science fiction.  Ghostbusters succeeded with bending the traditional ghost story along this angle, as well.

9 -- 

 The Third Wheel (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 7) by Jeff Kinney

 

Like The Hunger Games, it appeals to both children and adults.  The book follows Greg Heffley in his exploits through middle school. 

There is a lot of good product in this book.  The story is funny.  Humor when handled well is a gold star on any writer's resume.  It is written as a journal from Greg's point of view with illustrations that look like they belong in something a kid wrote.  Coupled with the humor is that the narrative is spot on in the voice of a middle schooler.  The book reads like a child speaks and thinks.  Children will identify with Greg because of it, and adults will feel a sense of nostalgia as they remember what being a kid was like. 

The story also hinges on the archetypal plot of good versus evil.  The "undersized weaklings share the hallways with kids who are taller, meaner, and already shaving" (from the Amazon Book Description of book 1).

Everything about these books resonate deeply in our emotions.

12 --  

 Gone Girl:  A novel by Gillian Flynn

 

On his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick is suspected of his wife's murder.  He has proven himself untrustworthy, and his fascination about the shape of his wife's head is just plain creepy, which is part of the secret for this book's popularity.  One of the first things fans say attracts them is the characters.  The characters are not only interesting, but they reveal themselves slowly.  This is a clever technique Flynn uses to keep the reader in story as she follows the tidbit trail.

The characters are identifiable, both are Midwesterners who have lost their jobs.  The strangeness comes out in not only character quirks but also that it is told from both the husband's (potential killer) and wife's (victim) point of view.

So, again, we have solid product.  Flynn had two critically acclaimed books preceding this one:  Objects and Dark Places.  This created momentum.  She was also a movie and TV critic for Entertainment Weekly, making her highly visible in the market.

13 --

The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus, Book 3) by Rick Riordan

 

Huge marketability!  It is part of the bestselling Heroes of Olympus series -- present success built on past -- and the first book was made into a move, The Lightning Thief. 

Strange versus familiar comes out in the fact that the main characters are demigods, which have the same appeal as androids:  they look and act human, but aren't.  The human limitations on a god creates conflict and makes them interesting.

Humor:  The characters are full of witty comebacks.  

15 --

A Song of Ice and Fire, Books 1-4 by George R.R. Martin.

 

HBO blew the doors wide open for this series so that it reached people it had not before.  I remember my boss telling me he had tried to read Game of Thrones several times and had never been able to get through it.  Once the series premiered, he finished the book in a weekend.  He is not the first person I heard say that.

However, Martin's books were popular before HBO picked up the story.  Several years ago, a history professor working on his Ph.D told me, "If you want to know how people really acted in the Middle Ages, read Game of Thrones."  That might have turned me off if I had not found out what he meant.

George R.R. Martin is not only a fantastic writer but also a master of character.  We have noble bastards.  Womanizing drunkards that are just damn cool.  People who explore forbidden relationships.  We know we should not admire these characters but can't help it.  Martin plays with the reader, because if you ever get attached to a character, he will kill him (or her) every time.

Frustrating!  And we want more.  

That's it, the first ten fiction bestsellers on Amazon's Top 10 List for 2012.  There is no single element or formula to guarantee bestsellerdom.  It is a concert of factors; the more strong ones you have, the better your chances. Each leg of the Luck, Marketing, and Talent triad must be optimized.  These are strengthened by piquing our interest through these techniques:  strange versus familiar, something forbidden, humor, archetypes resonating deeply with our emotions, large marketing venues (like movies), and success begetting success.

People often think timing is the single most important key.  I left it out of the above list because I think elements such as quality and resonance are independent of social vogue.  In fact, these qualities create it.

In the sidebar, you will find a poll where you can vote on which of the above was your favorite bestseller.  I would also love to hear your comments about what you feel contributes to a book's success.

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