How to Create a Bestselling Novel (2000)
sprott.physics.wisc.edu
sprott.physics.wisc.edu
Misses out all of the business side of being, like, a working novelist -- understanding what publishers do and how the retail chain works, marketing and sales, contracts, agents and editors.
Misses out the key point that while the author is the prime creative mover, a manuscript is not a book and it takes a lot of people to make a "bestselling novel", from the clerks in B&N who like it and order in extra copies and tell customers about it, to the editor who believes in it enough to push the P&L sheet as far as it will go and who then goes up in front of a marketing meeting and pitches it hard. And the cover design and the flap copywriter (and if you think that stuff doesn't matter in the age of Amazon you've got a rude awakening due).
None of Pickover's advice is bad, but it's very much Programming 101, here's how we write "hello, world" in Python. (Congratulations! You're a programmer now! So for an encore, you can write an interrupt handler for an embedded controller in assembler ...)
For more business-oriented advice, I'd suggest the following:
1) Write great books. Rather than elaborate, let's leave it at that. Writing great books is table stakes. If you aren't sure your manuscript is great, show it to as many people as you can, and get no-bullshit opinions. Show it to any professionals you may have access to. Go to workshops. Etc. If you're pitching agents or editors on your first, second, or even third draft, you're rolling dice loaded heavily against you.
2) Have a specific audience in mind. Do your homework here. Understand how the publishing world divides and categorizes fiction markets. This matters not only for your query letter, but for your book itself. If a publishing exec can't make sense of where your book fits into the market, she's not going to take a chance on it. Understand the rules of the categories. For instance, what's the difference between Young Adult and New Adult? What gender is your protagonist, what age, and do these fit your intended audience and category? Publishers will expect them to, and their expectations will be specific. Learn how they think.
3) Have a "platform." This is increasingly important nowadays. Your "platform" is publishing industry-speak for the sum of your online and offline presence. Have you appeared in the media? Do you write short stories, or even fan fiction, with a reasonable following? How active are you on YouTube or Twitter? Bonus points if you are telegenic. 2x bonus points if you are young. But even if you're neither of those things, build a following as best you can. Participate in fiction communities, subreddits, and workshops. If you're a fantasy or sci-fi writer, go to cons with your work in hand. Blog, and maintain a readership or mailing list. Publishers are very risk-averse, and they want people who are prepared to hustle on behalf of their novels.
4) Be prolific. If you're the kind of person who can produce 2-3 novels in the time it takes an ordinary writer to produce one, you're at a significant advantage. This is especially true if you're self-publishing. Self-publishing is a catalog game; your goal is to build up an audience by constantly producing new work. One-and-done is a terrible strategy for self-publishing.
5) Try to find a mentor. Not just for your writing, but for your platform. It doesn't need to be Stephen King, or William Gibson, or Suzanne Collins, or anyone of that stature. A successful midlist author can be a great mentor. A fanfic icon can be a great mentor. Anyone whose writing your admire, and who has the ear of an audience you intend to publish for, can help you out significantly.
Of all these bits, however, #2 is the most frequently (and perilously) ignored.
Having the great product != bestselling novel.
And I like the focus on the "product" side of writing---we read so many articles on promotion/marketing here (though generally on the startup side of things) that we often lose sight of the power of good copy.
Not to say I disagree, I just found the post refreshing, even if only in a "hello world/writing" way.
As an aside, glad to see this focus on the technical aspects of language and not some growth-hackery marketing spiel.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19246309-stinger-stars
would be an international hit. It hits every single one of his points exactly (C1&C2 falling in love / Nat Geo setting / Short sentences, Crisp Dialogue, etc.)
But the fact is that it's actually much harder than just writing it. The attention span of the world is short, and people are looking to read what other people are reading. It's a winner take all world, in books, music, movies and websites. It's hard for a single book to move the herd. Many people have to help.
(full disclosure - I PMd the title)
I was certainly aware, but never much a fan of his, until this, but for anyone interested in writing, I highly recommend having a read / listen.
http://stephenking.com/library/nonfiction/on_writing:_a_memo...
I loved the first Dan Brown novel I read. I moderately enjoyed the second. Within 50 pages of the third, I knew exactly how the rest of the story would pan out and who was the hidden antagonist. Once you know the formula, the magic is gone.