The Bestseller Experiment

International bestselling author Michele Campbell's new novel The Wife Who Knew Too Much combines thrills and glamour. Michele talks to us about the balance between plot and character, the importance of editors, breaks in writing, and making writing one of your top priorities in life.

Kate Harrison is a rare breed. A fiction and non-fiction award-winning author who used her insight experience with the BBC to produce a huge bestselling series of non-fiction diet and lifestyle books. We discuss with Kate about her phenomenally successful 5:2 Diet series, how she straddles the life as both a fiction and non-fiction author, and how her experience on shows like Panorama have shaped her storytelling.

Mark Victor Hansen is co-writer of Chicken Soup For The Soul, the mega-selling phenomenon that has sold over half a billion copies worldwide. He takes us through his extraordinary story to publication and beyond.

Leslie O'Connor has worked extensively in corporate marketing, and she put those skills to use when relaunching Mitch Benn's Terra trilogy of books.

Jo Ho is an award-winning screenwriter and director, best known for creating the BBC TV series Spirit Warriors, but she has recently turned her hand to self-publishing with great success.

The Two Marks talks about isolation, loneliness, the voices in our head and all the other stuff that can make a writer feel like they are alone. We discuss what we can do to build a healthy community around us, even in lockdown. And we share the good news stories from our communities on Patreon, Facebook and the Academy.

Lucy Vine is a freelance journalist who has written for pretty much every magazine going. Inspired by one of Lucy's articles, editor Katie Seaman commissioned Lucy to write Hot Mess, a full-length novel, in an incredibly short space of time and, between them, have discovered a brilliantly efficient way of working together.

Author Allen Stroud is the current chair of the British Science Fiction Association and has a Masters Degree in Science Fiction and Fantasy Worldbuilding. In this special Deep Dive Allen talks about his new novel Fearless, writing for characters with disabilities, and he has some amazing tips on world building.

BJ Fogg, PhD, founded the Behavior Design Lab at Stanford University and created the Tiny Habits Academy to help people around the world. He tells us how the smallest changes can make a huge difference to your productivity as a writer.

We welcome back Shannon Mayer for the third and final part of our epic interview with her and we finally tackle something that can put the fear of death into many authors… Marketing.

Rhoda Baxter returns to the podcast with an amazing book that covers everything authors need to know about all the scary stuff: contracts, intellectual property, rights, and income. In this Deep Dive, she answers listeners questions on advances, choosing agents, negotiating terms, audio rights, and the steps that you can take before you're even published.

We welcome bestselling author Rowan Coleman back to the podcast, but this time she's wearing a Brontë bonnet. Writing as Bella Ellis she is two books into the Brontë Mysteries, which imagines the famous sisters as mystery-solving sleuths. Rowan takes us through her process of research and strategies for writing around history and real people.

Is there such a thing as a positive rejection? This week we chat with award-winning author, Liz Fenwick about the importance of persistency on the journey to being published, why your book's location matters, the world of literary consultancies and how to silence your inner critic.

Sally Gardner is an award-winning novelist who has sold more than 2.5 million books worldwide. The Snow Song is her third adult novel is about a woman who loses her voice as the snow falls. With themes of isolation it feels more relevant than ever. Sally is huge fun and takes us through her incredible career and has some amazing advice for writers at all levels, including why she writes in colour.

Ben Aaronovitch started writing for Doctor Who and became the author of the bestselling Peter Grant series that started with Rivers Of London in 2011 and has been hugely successful, regularly hitting the Sunday Times bestsellers top ten. We were delighted to get Ben for a conversation full of fireworks.

David Pennington is an author, writing coach and copywriter who is on a mission to improve how we tell stories. In this Deep Dive we discuss the importance of drafting, tapping into your "mental milk" and "infinite brain", why you need to hold yourself accountable, and getting ideas via "crate digging".

We celebrate four years of the podcast with a live show where our Patrons and Academy members ask us anything and everything. The Two Marks reveal how the podcast started, who they would cast in the movie of Back to Reality, how the podcast has changed them, their favourite writing tips, what they're proudest of and what's in store for the future.

Joe is the bestselling author of Heart-Shaped Box, Horns, NOS4A2, Locke & Key and most recently the New York Times #1 epic blockbuster The Fireman. Joe, son of Stephen King, is powerhouse storyteller from an incredible family of writers.

How can authors use YouTube to engage with readers and drive sales? We talk to Jeremy Mason a TV Producer, Director of Photography and Lighting Cameraman with over 20 years UK broadcast experience. He's been steeped in the world of digital marketing over the last 3 years, exploring how the power of video can be better used for commerce.

Charles Stross is the multi-award winning author of bestselling series of space opera, alt-history and more. With his new novel Dead Lies Dreaming he jumps back into his Laundry Files universe, and he gives us some incredible tips on writing successful long-running series and how to grow your reader base. And the Two Marks look forward to celebrating four years of the podcast with a special live show. Find out how you can join them...

Sarah Pinborough has had over twenty novels published and written for TV and film. Sarah's new thriller Behind Her Eyes is getting incredible buzz after a heated auction. Sarah is always funny, insightful and often eye-wateringly honest. Brace yourselves for one of our most entertaining author chats yet… WARNING: Contains strong adult language!

Carole Matthews has sold over 6 million books in 31 countries. She's written two books a year for the last ten years and was inducted into the Festival of Romance Hall of Fame. She tells us how it all started with a writing competition, why you shouldn't be afraid to abandon a book, why being nosey is part of an author's job, and the role insomnia plays in her writing day, and why none of it means anything if you don't write from the heart.

The second part of our interview with bestselling Indie author Shannon Mayer who recently hit #2 in the main Amazon.com charts outselling Stephen King and other greats. We talk about her new deal with Amazon, 'hybrid' authors, the importance of an author's intent, being business-like and collaboration.

Philip C. Quaintrell is in Amazon's top 1.8% of self-published authors. He does this with no marketing spend, no newsletter, and epic fantasy novels so massively epic that even Brandon Sanderson would quake at their page count. He's also one of the nicest authors we've interviewed. He gives us the lowdown on how he moved from full-time job to full-time author in just a few years.

'How do I get a literary agent?' is one of the most common questions asked by new writers, so we asked Federica Leonardis, founder of Martin Leonardis Literary Management, and her debut novelist Sonya Lalli.

What can an indie publisher offer to authors that the big houses cannot? MD of Caffeine Nights Darren Laws and author Timothy Adler show us how the bespoke service that an indie publisher provides can be more effective for authors in key genres. They answer listener questions on marketing, ebook pricing, selling into online and bricks and mortar stores.

Caro Ramsay is the author of the critically acclaimed Anderson and Costello series, the first of which, Absolution, was shortlisted for the CWA's New Blood Dagger for best debut of the year. In a hugely entertaining interview she tells us how life-changing trauma led to an incredible career as an award-winning writer.

Emmy winners and BAFTA-nominated, Huckerby & Ostler are one of the most successful TV writing partnerships around, and with their new novel, Defender Of The Realm, they've created a fantastic children's adventure series.

Rachel Winters' debut novel Would Like to Meet is an Amazon bestseller with rights sold in 14 territories and there was a big Hollywood auction for the film rights. Rachel tells us how her background as an editor enabled her to think of the book as 360 degree project — digital, audio and film — to help make it such a success.

Paul Ardoin talks us through the preparations he made for the promotion — including rewriting the opening of his first novel — and how he made the most of the promotion to increase sales across the whole series.

How do you research your books? Michelle Paver has written eighteen novels, including the bestselling Chronicles Of Ancient Darkness. She's encountered killer whales, wolves, polar bears and a runaway Yak, all in the name of research.

Writing can be a solitary occupation, but it doesn't have to be that way. The Two Marks discuss how accountability has helped them in their writing and offer six tips to help you focus on your writing, become more productive, and finish that book.

Have you every wondered how important your "Voice" is as a writer? This week on The Bestseller Experiment podcast, New York Times success Maria Semple tells us just how essential your voice is. Maria was recently named a "Power Author" by the Hollywood Reporter, putting her alongside such giants as JK Rowling and George RR Martin. Maria started as a screenwriter. Her book, Where'd You Go, Bernadette? spent over a year on the New York Times bestsellers. Her new book "Tomorrow Will Be Different" was announced as a TV series with Julia Roberts as the lead. She spoke to us about the things that stop us writing truthfully.

Sadie's Jones' debut novel The Outcast was a smash hit, selling over half a million copies, but Sophie's road to publication was a long one with over 15 years of rejection. Sadie tells us what she discovered about her writing in those years and the important lessons she learned, including what kept her writing and how to tell good notes from bad and some tips on writing with your eyes closed!

The two Marks bring you up to date on the trials and tribulations their nascent bestseller, the processes that they're going through, and how two writers can work together without driving each other bonkers.

James Swallow is the internationally bestselling author of the Marc Dane thrillers, and he takes us through his remarkable career, which takes in Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who and a BAFTA nomination. His passion for working in tie-in fiction and his own original work is infectious, and he tells why always pushing himself out of his comfort zone led to his biggest success. Oh, and we start the show with a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

Robin is the author of the Murder Most Unladylike Mysteries books, a middle grade series following schoolgirl detectives Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong in a 1930s English boarding school, but Robin started out on her bestselling adventure with NaNoWriMo.

It's all too easy to give up when your writing has been rejected, so how do you find the energy and the will to keep going? The Two Marks discuss strategies for perseverance, dealing with fear, rejection, and how to work on more than one more project at a time. Oh, there was a story in The Hollywood Reporter last week about a forthcoming monster movie called The Little People… written by none other than our very own Mr Stay! He talks about how perseverance helped him get the script optioned and into development.

In this week's episode from the BXP Archives... Joe burst onto the fantasy scene in 2003 with his debut The Blade Itself. His books have climbed high up the Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller, and he had some unusual advice for writers when we spoke to him at GollanczFest.

Caimh McDonnell is the bestselling author of the Dublin Trilogy and has one of the most entertaining and engaging newsletters out there with 10,000 subscribers and an astonishing open rate. Caimh answers our listener questions with tips on how to create great newsletters, even if you're still writing your first novel, or launching the latest in a bestselling series.

Adele Parks has published 20 novels in 20 years and every one has been a Sunday Times bestseller. With over three and a half million copies sold in the UK, she is a phenomenon, and her latest novel Just My Luck hit the top spot again, but it all began with her grandfather paying her 50p for her stories. Oh, and in a shocking reveal… Mr D reveals his real full name. You don't want to miss this.

In this week's episode from the BXP Archives... We are delighted to welcome NaNoWriMo's Grant Faulkner back to the podcast in mid-November, where we discuss strategies for coping with the 'muddy middle'. Those second-act blues where a storyteller can get completely lost or overwhelmed.

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

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!

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!

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...

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.

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.

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

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.