Bestseller Experiment

The Bestseller Experiment

Arts EN ↓ 577 episodes

Join author and screenwriter Mark Stay with coach and entrepreneur Mark Desvaux, as they discover the secrets to writing a bestseller and challenge themselves and you to write, market and self-published a bestselling book in just one year. Each week, they are guided by and interview million-selling, chart-topping authors, publishers on the inside, editors, agents, social media specialists, and many more big names who play a part in the bestseller process. From the writing to marketing, plotting to publishing, learn the secrets to help you write your way to the top of the charts.

Author

Bestseller Experiment

Episodes

EP198: Lorna Cook - A Bestseller Dream Come True 03.06.2019 1:11:48

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

EP197: Creative Writing Courses with David Bishop 02.06.2019 2:28

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 R...

EP196: Kiley Dunbar - Another Listener Who Got A Deal! 26.05.2019 54:20

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...

EP195: How To get Your Book Into An Indie Bookshop 25.05.2019 2:28

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

EP194: Tade Thompson - Master Storyteller And Worldbuilder 19.05.2019 1:10:58

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 bestsellerexpe...

EP193: Audiobooks Masterclass with Tina Dietz 18.05.2019 2:28

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 bestselle...

EP192: One Page Punch-Ups With Juliet Ewers 13.05.2019 37:37

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 fan...

EP191: Writing Romantic Comedy with Rhoda Baxter and Jane Lovering 12.05.2019 2:29

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...

EP190: Simon Beckett - One Moment That Changed Everything 06.05.2019 45:20

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

EP189: A Masterclass on Writing Comics with David Bishop 05.05.2019 2:30

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 wi...

EP188: Taylor Jenkins-Reid - Breaking The Rules = Bestseller 29.04.2019 51:18

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...

EP187: Author Website Q&A with Simon Appleby 28.04.2019 2:29

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

EP186: Claire Handscombe - Myers-Briggs, Enneagrams and The West Wing 22.04.2019 55:20

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

EP185: Self Publishing Paperbacks with Craig Anderson 22.04.2019 2:29

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 Realit...

EP184: David Gaughran - How Amazon Works 15.04.2019 1:14:11

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 m...

EP183: Deep Dive - A Facebook Ads Masterclass with Craig Anderson 11.04.2019 2:29

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

EP182: Angela Marsons - 3 million sold in 3 years 08.04.2019 1:17:45

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....

EP181: Dictation Software - A Deep Dive 02.04.2019 2:28

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 excelle...

EP180: The London Book Fair 2019 31.03.2019 42:26

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 S...

EP179: Chris Humphreys - From The Stage To Page 25.03.2019 1:19:53

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 bestse...

EP178: The Crafty Craft of Writing Live Show 17.03.2019 1:06:16

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 bestsell...

EP177: One Page Punch-Ups with Jon Wood 10.03.2019 35:09

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...

EP176: Deep Dive - An Amazon Ads Masterclass with Craig Anderson 09.03.2019 2:28

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...

EP175: Anna Stephens - From 36 rejections to a 6-figure deal 03.03.2019 1:08:07

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

EP174: Deep Dive - Dos and Don'ts of a Book Launch 03.03.2019 2:28

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