The Bestseller Experiment

This week's Deep Dive is a discussion with Julian Barr about Beta Readers. Hear more at http://bestsellerexperiment.com/support

Warren Adler is best known for his classic bestseller The War of the Roses and has had the most incredible career as a writer of novels, stage plays, poems, essays and short stories. He was also an eBook pioneer and paved the way for countless indie authors. Warren's first novel was published when he was 46, and his story is one of dreams and determination. To support the show go to bestsellerexpe...

This week's Deep Dive is a discussion with Sam Missingham.   Hear more at http://bestsellerexperiment.com/support

The highlights from our live show with Children's Literary Agent Amber Caravéo! Amber was formerly a commissioning editor at Random House Children's Books and Editorial Director at Orion Children's Books and is co-founder of Skylark Literary - an agency specialising in children's authors. Amber has worked some incredible children's authors including Liz Kessler, Caroline Lawrence, Holly Black and...

Mr. Stay spoke to a pair of his TV writing heroes at the MCM Comic Con in London recently. Rob Grant is the co-creator of the classic science fiction comedy Red Dwarf, and Andrew Marshall is best-known for the BBC comedy Two Point Four Children. Together they have created a fantastic BBC radio comedy series and accompanying novel The Quanderhorn Xperimentations. They talked about its creation, how...

Crowdfunding is an increasingly common and way for authors to make their project come to life. But how to do this if you're queasy about asking for money? Jimmy is the Head of Crowdfunding at Unbound Books and he talked us through to dos and don'ts of raising money for creative projects. In this episode you will discover… Effective strategies for making your crowdfunding campaign work What motivat...

In one of our Industry Insider Deep Dives we talk to Jessica Purdue from the Orion Publishing Group's Rights department about TV/Film rights, royalties, licences, renewals, translations, co-editions and all sorts of other fascinating ways for authors to make money from their work. Hear more at http://bestsellerexperiment.com/support

Gareth L Powell is one of the most generous authors on social media and a font of writing wisdom. He's also the award-winning author of the Ack-Ack Macaque trilogy, his short stories have appeared in Interzone, Clarkesworld, and The Year's Best Science Fiction, and he has written for The Guardian, The Irish Times, 2000AD and SFX. With his new book Embers of War he has returned to his love of space...

This week's topic of adaptation came from one of our Patreon supporters and listeners Julian Barr, who joined me to discuss the various methods for adapting from one medium to another, including radio, epic poems, novels, TV and feature films.  Hear more at http://bestsellerexperiment.com/support  

In this Deep Dive we take a look at one of the hardest parts of being a writer: coping with criticism. It can come in many forms: from writing groups, reviews, social media and more. We look at strategies on how to deal with criticism and how you can make it work for you. Hear more at http://bestsellerexperiment.com/support

Julie Wassmer is an EastEnder who has written for EastEnders and she's now bumping off the locals in her wonderful series of novels The Whitstable Pearl Mysteries. I met Julie by the seaside on a beautiful summer's day at Whitstable and we chatted about the town, its strong sense of community, and how it has influenced her writing. Julie's new book, Disappearence at Oare, is out now! In this episo...

Sharon Bolton (aka SJ Bolton) is the bestselling and award-winning thriller author of the Lacey Flint series and her writing continues the tradition of gothic mystery, mixed with the pace of page-turning modern crime thrillers. It was great fun to discuss her new novel, The Craftsman, we played backlist bingo, and we answered listener questions. In this episode you will discover… - Tips for histor...

This week we go to the movies with writer/director Deborah Haywood whose debut feature film Pin Cushion will be released in cinemas in July… Deborah is BIFA-nominated and was one of Screen International's Stars of Tomorrow and she's an incredible writer who deftly combines the deeply personal with the magical. In this episode you will discover… How an obsession with being a writer can get you on a...

Another special YouTube Live episode featuring Orion editor Ben Willis with contributions from our wonderful Patreon supporters! Ben worked in book publicity for Transworld and Headline before joining Orion, where he now works as a commissioning editor for Orion Fiction. If you want to get involved with our live shows, become a chart topper patron here: https://www.patreon.com/bestsellerexperiment...

We've already had a Deep Dive on writing compelling characters, but I want to focus on that moment when you first introduce them. How can you make an impact? How can you avoid cliches? I'll discuss seven principles that will help your writing. Hear more at http://bestsellerexperiment.com/support

Win Kelly Charles is a bestselling indie author who has publicly declared that she's stepping away from Facebook after the Cambridge Analytica scandal. We talked about Win's decision, how it affects her reach as an author, and her inspirational writing journey as someone born with cerebral palsy. In this episode you will discover… - How you can write a bestseller with an iPhone - Why you're not al...

Writing short stories is hard! Cramming great character and story into just a few thousand words is a skill few writers master, but here are some tips to help you get started... Hear more at http://bestsellerexperiment.com/support

Isabel Ashdown is the author of bestselling thrillers Little Sister and Beautiful Liars. She walked away from a successful career to focus on her writing and it all stepped up a gear when she entered a competition in a newspaper... In this episode you will discover… - Isabel's working method with her editor Sam Eades (and we hear from Sam, too!) - Some top tips for growing your social media and ne...

CLICHES AND TROPES - how to identify cliches in your writing and tropes in your storytelling, and strategies for making your work stronger. Hear more at http://bestsellerexperiment.com/support

Ed McDonald broke onto the fantasy scene with his incredible debut Blackwing in 2017 and has had an amazing year. He's living the dream! Then a few weeks ago he wrote a very honest blog titled 'Dear Debut Authors of 2018' in which he asked the question, "What next?" In this episode you will discover… How to prepare for and navigate the first year of the publication of your book Sales anxiety and w...

In this week's Deep Dive Mark Stay is joined by Paul Hussey and they take a deep dive into the production of your publication. Hear more at http://bestsellerexperiment.com/support

Michael J Ward is a writer and gamer who has taken choose-your-own-adventure books to the next level. With compelling characters and engaging stories his DestinyQuest books are written in a unique way and he gives us an insight into his process which writers of all genres will find invaluable. In this episode you will discover… How the techniques of games writing can be applied to your writing The...

In this week's Deep Dive Mark Stay is joined by Andy Bowden and they take a deep dive into the production of your publication. Hear more at http://bestsellerexperiment.com/support

Editor Emad Akhtar has worked with authors like Michael Connelly, Ian Rankin and Justin Cronin and was kind enough to join our live show and answer our listeners' questions! In this episode you will discover… Common pacing issues with first drafts Why your most difficult scenes might be a reward for readers Why editors can be like movie producers, and what questions you should be asking editors Wh...

This week's Deep Dive is short n sweet and crammed with tips on making your chapters work as hard as possible. We'll look at the purpose of the chapter, how it fits into the larger story, and what tools you can use when editing to ensure that your chapter earns its place in the story. Hear more at http://bestsellerexperiment.com/support