The Bestseller Experiment

Evan Gow started StoryOrigin as a community of writers who promote one another through group promotions and newsletters. Evan takes us through the basics, tells us how it all works, what genres benefit the most from these promotions, and how it differs from other group promotion sites such as Bookfunnel. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Kit Cox is an author, illustrator and actor and has just launched a Flash Fiction Youtube page where he tells stories in drabbles (a hundred words) and dribbles (fifty words or fewer). He also takes us through his unconventional route to publication working with small presses and self-publishing to great success. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Sarah's writing has been described as "downright dangerous" by Mick Herron, and with her new novel Never Be Broken she tackles some very difficult and dangerous issues indeed. She tells us how she approaches polarising subjects and the kind of research and due diligence she takes before her first draft. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

We discuss one of the most important topics we've ever covered: writers and their mental health. With questions from our live studio audience we share our experiences of loneliness, anxiety, self-doubt and support. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

In a companion episode to this week's interview with Gray Williams, we speak to his agent Juliet Mushens about the role of an agent and the best way to select and approach them and what they can do for your career as a writer. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Gray Williams had a dream to be published, but he wasn't about to desperately rush in and accept the first offer. He took a patient and methodical approach to finding an agent and publisher that paid off in spades and now his debut novel, The End of the Line, is a stunning magical thriller. Grab a pen and get ready to take notes. This episode is choc full of the most amazing advice, and it has a special companion Deep Dive episode featuring Gray's agent Juliet Mushens. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Victoria Falconer has been running the highly successful WhitLit Festival since 2014 and she takes us through what's involved in organising a festival and how authors can get involved. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

REPLAY: Joe is the bestselling author of Heart-Shaped Box, Horns, NOS4A2, Locke & Key and the most recently the New York Times #1 bestseller epic blockbuster The Fireman. Joe is a powerhouse storyteller, and an endless well of writing advice. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Alison May is an award-winning author, an adult education tutor, a member of the Society of Authors and she has worked with authors that have gone on to be published by Harpercollins, Bookouture and Head of Zeus. She gives us advice on picking the right creative writing courses, what to look for in a tutor, and how the process works for writers of all levels. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

REPLAY: From farrier to multi-million copy bestselling indie author, USA Today bestseller, and writing machine, Shannon bestows wisdom, inspiration, and a quote that we want on t-shirts and bumper stickers.

Georgina May is the founder of Toppsta.com a children's book review site that helps readers find the best book for children. She has also worked for Apple Books and Penguin and is here to answer out listeners' questions on children's marketing. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Catherine Kirwan's debut novel The Darkest Truth is one of the most critically acclaimed debuts of the year. Catherine tells us how she went from feeling foolish about even trying to write, to being snapped up by one of the biggest agents in the business. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Listener of the show, Mike Shackle was on the verge of giving up on his writing when he heard one of our early episodes with Joe Abercrombie. Inspired by Joe's wise words, Mike has not only created a successful career as an indie author, but he's about to launch We Are The Dead, the first book in a new trilogy to be published by Gollancz. Mike takes us through the ups and downs of his career and we have a special message from a top secret guest. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Following on from our episode with Mike Shackle, we talk about his indie pen name Mike Morris in this fascinating and entertaining Deep Dive into how to start out as an indie author and the key differences between the traditional world and self-publishing. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

The Alt. History genre — also known as Counter-Factual History — takes a key moment in history and use a "What if?" question to create enthralling stories. JDK Wyneken's forthcoming novel Krelle's Inferno asks what would have happened if the D-Day landings had failed. We met at Duxford Airbase during the preparations for the D-Day anniversary events to discuss how to write in this extraordinary genre. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

At the end of 2018, the Two Marks set themselves a challenge: to sell ten thousand copies of their novel Back To Reality by Glastonbury weekend. They went wide, they published in paperback, and dabbled in advertising. But did they make it? Join us in the highlights of a live show where they reveal all... To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Kim Nash, award-winning novelist, book blogger and PR manager at Bookouture answers our listener questions on blog tours, social media, newsletters, cover reveals, publicity, attending festivals, writing groups, book clubs, tips for blogging, blurbs, working with schools, and what authors can do to promote their books. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

That's the feedback that Caimh got for his first novel. Over a hundred thousand book sales later, he's writing in a tone and genre that defies all conventional publishing wisdom. Caimh talks to us about his career, from stand-up comedy to studying writing and moving from rejection to self-publishing success. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

To celebrate Independent Bookshop Week we recorded our first ever LIVE episode of the podcast at Harbour Books in Whitstable! We were joined by authors Julie Wassmer, Katherine May, John McGhie and bookseller Olivia Rosenthall to discuss our love of books To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

In the latest of our One Page Punch-Up specials we asked our Patreon Chart Topper supporters to send in one page from their work-in-progress and we gave them Gollancz's Gillian Redfearn and Marcus Gipps to review and critique. Between them Gillian and Marcus have worked with some legendary authors, including Joe Hill, Joanne Harris, Joe Abercrombie, and other authors NOT called Jo/Joe, including Neil Gaiman, Scott Lynch, Brandon Sanderson and some chancer called Mark Stay. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Sasha Greene is the author of Something Like Happy, a thought-provoking novel about day-to-day struggles with mental health. Sasha tells us what inspired the book and the importance of inclusion and diversity in your writing. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Tim Clare is a poet, author and musician who has wanted to write since childhood. Despite his commitment and determination, his route to publication has been a rocky one. Tim talks about his career with honesty, wit and passion, and every writer will come away inspired by his story. We also cover such writing essentials such Super Mario fan fiction, Soviet Ballerinas and giant mutant bats. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

John Robert Marlow has spoken to the Hollywood screenwriters, producers and directors responsible for some of the biggest hits of all time (combined total of $50bn at the box office!) and distilled their experiences into his book Make Your Story A Movie To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

The Two Marks celebrate two hundred episodes of the podcast by answering some of the strangest questions they have ever been asked. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Bec Evans is a writer, speaker, innovation coach and startup founder and her new book How To Have A Happy Hustle in which she shares the secrets of start-up founders to make your publishing dreams a reality. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Lorna Cook is yet another listener who used what she had learned on the podcast to launch her career, and in this special episode we speak to her before her novel The Forgotten Village was published, and after when she became the UK's top selling Kindle To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

David Bishop is programme leader for Creative Writing at Edinburgh Napier University. He tells us about the variety of creative writing courses available worldwide, answers our listeners' questions, and gives us all some very practical advice. This is essential listening listening for anyone considering taking a course. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

These are our favourite episodes where we speak to one of our listeners who got a book deal! Kiley Dunbar is the author of One Summer's Night, the first of a three book deal with Hera Books. Kiley tells us the role that the podcast and the RNA Writers' Scheme played in getting her debut novel published. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Liz Hurley runs Hurley Books in Cornwall and is a writer herself. Here she gives us some frank and immensely useful dos and don'ts on how to get your book on the shelves of your local bookshop, and she answers our listeners' questions. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Tade Thompson's Rosewater has been nominated for pretty much every award going this year, and Tade's skill in combining complex worldbuidling and compelling storytelling is second-to-none. He takes us through his process and reveals some amazing techniques for creating compelling fiction. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Tina Dietz is an award-winning audiobook publisher and marketing expert and she was kind enough to answer our listeners' questions on producing audiobooks, casting narrators and more. Audiobooks are the fastest-growing sector in publishing today and this is essential listening for all writers. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

In the latest of our One Page Punch-Up specials we asked our Patreon Chart Toppers supporters to send us one page from their work-in-progress and we gave them Orion Publishing's Group Associate Publisher Juliet Ewers, returning to the podcast (she was on episode two!). Juliet has worked with the likes of Ian Rankin, Maeve Binchy, Michael Connelly and more and she casts her expert eye over this fantastic batch of one-pagers. Mr. Stay apologises in advance for his dodgy accents in the readings...

We welcome back romantic fiction novelist Rhoda Baxter and this time she's joined by Jane Lovering, winner of Romantic Comedy Novel of the Year. They are about to launch their book "How To Write Romantic Comedy" and so we invited them to give us some top tips on writing romcoms and instantly regret it as poor Mr. Stay loses all control of the interview and ends up a gibbering wreck. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Simon Beckett has sold over ten million copies of his books worldwide, but he came close to giving up fiction for good until a trip to a body farm changed his career forever. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

In the 1990s David Bishop ran Judge Dredd magazine and 2000 AD comic and since then has become a prolific author and screenwriter. David is also a lecturer in creative writing at Edinburgh Napier University, one of the few courses in the UK that covers writing for graphic novels and comic books. David shares his considerable experience in writing for comics and audio drama in an episode crammed with tips to inspire every author. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Taylor Jenkins-Reid's latest novel Daisy Jones and the Six has been a global smash, but what makes it all the more extraordinary is that she has written fiction in a non-fiction format. Taylor describes the challenges in writing a novel that is up against real life, stranger-than-fiction rock and roll history. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Simon Appleby is the founder of Bookswarm, a specialist service dedicated to developing websites for authors. We had so many listener questions and Simon gave us all the answers! To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Claire Handscombe is a British writer whose obsession with The West Wing took her to Washington DC. Her debut novel, Unscripted, is out now and she tells us about how she used some remarkable psychological tools to develop her characters. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Author Craig Anderson recently sold over ten thousand copies of his books on Amazon and much of this was down to his painstaking work with Amazon and Facebook ads. In the third of three special Deep Dive episodes, Craig Anderson takes us through his top tips for navigating the murky waters of paperback publishing. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

David Gaughran is bestselling novelist and the author of a series of amazing guides on how to market books online. He has helped thousands of authors self-publish their books and we were delighted to welcome him to our live show for Patreon supporters to discuss the ins and outs of the mighty Amazon and he answers our Patreon listener questions. This episode is crammed full of great tips to sell more copies of your books. Here are the highlights! To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

In the second of three special Deep Dive episodes, Craig takes us through his top tips for navigating the murky waters of Facebook advertising. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Angela Marsons' first novel Silent Scream was rejected by every major UK publisher, but she never gave up and now she's sold an incredible three million copies and counting. Her story is incredible and inspirational and she may just be the loveliest author we've ever interviewed... To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

We speak to two authors about how they use dictation software for write their books and they answer our listeners' questions. Win Kelly Charlies returns to the podcast and she has written all of her books using dictation software, from an iPhone to Dragon Naturally Speaking. And we welcome Richard Bat Brewster, who has been using speech recognition software since 1999 and recently wrote an excellent blog dispelling many of the myths surrounding speech dictation. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

A special episode from the 2019 London Book Fair. We spoke to Nicola May about her novel The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay, which was number one on the UK Kindle store for over two months, we had a catch up with Orion's Emad Akhtar between meetings with agents and TV and film scouts. Mr. Stay found his agent Ed Wilson on the rights floor, and finally we spoke to Natalie Fergie, whose book The Sewing Machine has sold over 120k copies. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Chris Humphreys started as an actor but his writing career took off when he took one of his key roles and created an acclaimed series of novels. Chris's writing spans history, fantasy and mythology and is enhanced by great research, and he tells how he's planning to go hybrid with his publishing. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

We asked our Patreon supporters for their questions on the crafty craft of writing and with our live audience we discuss comedy, genre, tropes, unique expression, and how to make your supporting characters stand out. We have a great competition, and we reveal some good news about our paperback! To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

In the second of our One Page Punch-Up specials we asked our Patreon Chart Topper supporters to send us one page from their work-in-progress and we gave them to agent and editor Jon Wood to critique. Jon is an agent at Rogers, Coleridge and White and has worked in publishing for over 20 years. He was a commissioning editor at Hodder before moving to Orion where he ran the Orion Fiction imprint. He has worked with Harlan Coben, Kate Mosse, Anthony Horowitz, Andy McNab, Michelle Paver, Denise Mina, RJ Ellory, Joanne Harris and many more! He moved to RCW in 2018 and is building a list of commercial fiction and non-fiction projects. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Author Craig Anderson recently sold over ten thousand copies of his books on Amazon and much of this was down to his painstaking work with Amazon and Facebook ads. In the first of three special Deep Dive episodes, Craig takes us through his top tips for navigating the murky waters of Amazon advertising. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Anna Stephens' fantasy novel Godblind was one of the most-anticipated debuts of 2017, but it had a very long road to publication. Anna talks honestly about coping with thirteen years of rejection and why she never gave up. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

We run through the essential elements of a successful book launch, including top tips on venues, public speaking, food and drink, social media, ticketing, publicity, sales and how to keep people talking about your book. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality