REALITY
CHECK
10 Qualities of Commercially Viable Books
1. Hot topic
The number of "instant" books that come out during high-profile celebrity trials or other high-impact current events is the perfect example of burning hot topics driving publishing decisions. Publishers figure that any book by any of the key players in such an event will sell in big numbers. It sometimes works that way, but not always. Sometimes, by the time the books come out, the public is sick of the whole thing and all the players and feel they know as much as they need to know, so sales are disappointing. Islam, terrorism, and Middle Eastern history became hot topics after September 11, 2001. Interest spiked between 2001 and 2002, but has since returned to more modest levels.
2. Timely topic
The spate of books about the 20th century, including its biggest events such as World War II, reflects a growing interest in making sense of the past century as we move into the early years of the next one. Most of the biggest sellers have been by prominent and well-known writers or celebrities (such as Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw). Biographies and memoirs often fall into this type of topic — 2004, for example, saw a best-selling biography of Jackie O, as well as memoirs by Bill Clinton, Jane Pauley, and Chuck Norris.
3. Cutting-edge topic
When journalist Daniel Goleman wrote his best-selling book on emotional intelligence, it was a fairly new idea to most people. But the importance of this other dimension of intelligence that allows us to read situations and people and respond to them in ways that create better relationships and overall well-being was immediately apparent. The high sales of the book indicate the reading public's keen interest in knowing what emotional intelligence is and how to foster more of it in their lives.
4. Trendy topic
Girlfriends, sisters, mothers and daughters, inside the Internet, Middle Eastern history, Beanie Babies, partisan politics, and so on have all been trends that publishers have responded to at different times. Books on trendy topics work best if written by a prominent journalist, historian, or other well-known person who is highly qualified to speculate on and analyze the topic — but not always. It also helps if few books have been published on the subject. Beanie Babies, for example, were not a phenomenon that publishers could have predicted or responded to quickly enough, so Les and Sue Fox cleaned up with their own The Beanie Baby Handbook. Sometimes it is just a matter of hitting a popular culture topic at the exact right moment. And that is very hard to predict.
5. Topic of perennial interest
This category includes weight loss, thinner thighs, God and faith, persistent health problems like cancer prevention, relationships, money, and other subjects that never seem to go out of style. Authors must have big market clout of one kind or another since these are extremely crowded categories. Example abound: Sugar Busters! (H. Leighton Stewart, et al.), Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus (John Gray), Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff and Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff at Work (Richard Carlson), The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom and The Courage to Be Rich (Suze Orman), Chicken Soup for the Soul (Jack Canfield), The Millionaire Next Door (Thomas Stanley & William Danko), Eight Weeks to Optimum Health (Andrew Weil), Conversations with God (Donald Neale Walsh).
6. Celebrity author or related to celebrity author
Americans love celebrities — Suzanne Somers on weight loss and aging, Marilu Henner on fitness, celebrity chef Nigella Lawson on Italian cooking, Donald Trump on the art of the deal . . . These books have merit in their own right, but they also shared the advantage of celebrity.
7. Celebrity author writing about a high-interest topic
This variation includes Dr. Laura Schlessinger (radio talk show host) on "stupid" things women do or on the care and feeding of husbands; novelist Danielle Steel writing about the death of her son from a heroin overdose.
8. Prominent, well-known author
Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings, Al Franken, Steve Martin, George Carlin, Scott Adams (creator of the cartoon "Dilbert"), Jane Pauley, Patrick Buchanan — these are all people who are famous for some other reason. Their fame in one area spills over into bookselling (or at least that’s the theory).
9. Track record
Richard Carlson and Suze Orman both had published before, but none of
their books had sold at the level that their current bestsellers have achieved.
They both built up their names and had earlier books that sold well enough
to assure publishers that their new books could "break out" (as in, break
out of the pack and take off). Other recent authors who built up their
track records: Pema Chodron When Things Fall Apart, The Places That Scare You), Dr. Phil
McGraw (The Ultimate Weight Solution), Dr. Dean Ornish, (Dr. Dean Ornish's Plan for Reversing Heart Disease).
Some of the authors actually become brand names, trusted and dependable to consumers
who are deluged by a constant stream of books and authors vying for their
attention — and money.
10. Author as super-salesperson
The author has a personal ability to sell mega-quantities of books (tens of thousands of copies) through magazine or newspaper columns, media appearances, seminars and workshops, corporate consulting, or other connections. Many authors have gone this route to great success — Wayne Dyer and Stephen Covey have both found that their seminar business feeds their book sales and vice versa.
| ||||