The Bestseller Experiment

We caught up with fantasy bestselling author and super nice dude Brandon Sanderson and in a jam-packed episode he answered our listeners’ questions and let us in on some of his inspirational top tips for productive writing… In this interview, you will learn: Listen Love the show? Support the podcast today and become a patron […] The post Ep501 – Brandon Sanderson appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

We’ve reached a monumental episode – the 500th – on the Bestseller Experiment podcast! To celebrate, Mark Desvaux goes deeper than ever to uncover and countdown the most important, life-changing reasons why we write, drawn from seven and a half years and over 600 hours of interviews with bestselling authors. In this interview, you will […] The post Ep500 – Mark Desvaux – “The Six Life-Changing Reasons You Write” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

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! Listen Love the show? Support the podcast today and become a patron to […] The post Ep499 – Michael Connelly | 60 Million Thriller Books appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Karen Storey’s name has become synonymous with success in short story writing. With an impressive one-in-three win rate out of over 40 competitions last year, Karen exemplifies what it means to blend passion with strategy in writing. In this episode, Karen shares the secrets of her success, including the importance of great endings. In a […] The post Ep498 – Karen Storey – “How to Become a Short Story Superstar” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

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 bestseller Top 10 list. Listen in as the Two Marks get a roasting by Ben over their outline in a conversation […] The post Ep497 – Ben Aaronovitch and the Great Bollocking… appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Jacqueline O’Mahony was named Young Irish Writer of the Year by the Irish Examiner when she was fourteen. After a BA, MA and PhD she worked at Condé Nast, Vogue and Associated Newspapers as an arts editor. Her debut novel, A River in the Trees, was nominated for the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award […] The post Ep496 – Jacqueline O’Mahony – “Sheer Determination Beats Everything” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Photo Credit: Lou Abercrombie 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. Joe is best known for the First Law […] The post Ep495 – Joe Abercrombie – “The Best Writing Advice Ever” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

In this episode, we dive into the world of Rachel Lynch. Rachel Lynch is a renowned crime fiction author whose work has captivated over a million readers. Rachel is best known for her gripping Kelly Porter series of 12 books, set against the picturesque backdrop of the Lake District. She began writing full time in […] The post Ep494 – Rachel Lynch – “Speed Drafts, PTSD & The Rich” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston tells us about his life and new bestselling memoir, A Life In Parts. Oscar-nominated, with two Golden Globes, two Tony Awards and 6 time Emmy winner, he’s best known for roles in Malcolm in the Middle, Seinfeld and most famously, Walter White. Few people know that he is also an accomplished […] The post Ep493 – Bryan Cranston on… Writing, Breaking Bad and Donald Trump appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

In this interview, listen in as Mark Desvaux pitches his forthcoming book Pacivida to NY literary agent Lucinda Halpern, who has been securing book deals with all major publishers over the last 15 years. Lucinda represents a range of New York Times and internationally bestselling authors in nonfiction or fiction, and her new book “Get […] The post Ep492 – Lucinda Halpern – “Get Signed! How to Pitch to an Agent” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Lucinda Halpern is a literary agent with over 15 years’ experience securing book deals and working with all major publishers. She represents a range of New York Times and internationally bestselling authors in business, health, lifestyle, popular science, narrative nonfiction, memoir, and upmarket fiction. Lucinda worked for HarperCollins on New York Times bestsellers including Freakonomics. […] The post Ep491 – Lucinda Halpern – “Get Signed! Why You Need an Agent” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

SHARI LAPENA is the #1 internationally bestselling author of seven suspense novels including A Stranger in the House and The Couple Next Door, her debut which was a runaway global bestseller, with 4 million sales worldwide. It was WHSmith’s “Book of the Year” in 2016 and the #1 Adult Fiction Title in the UK for […] The post Ep490 – Shari Lapena – “The Debut That Sold Four Million” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Joe Hill is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fireman, Heart-Shaped Box, and Strange Weather. Joe, son of Stephen King, is a powerhouse storyteller from an incredible family of writers. Much of his work has been adapted for film and television. His second novel, Horns, was made into a cult horror-comedy starring […] The post Ep489 – Joe Hill …On Never Giving Up, Beatles & Carving His Own Path from Dad, Stephen King appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Amy Newmark is Editor-in-Chief of Chicken Soup for the Soul, publishing over 20,000 stories in the last 15 years, launching the careers of many New York Times bestselling authors. Celebrating over half a billion book sales, the Chicken Soup anthology stands as a literary giant, rivalled only by Harry Potter. In Part 2 of this […] The post Ep488 – Amy Newmark – “More Chicken Soup for the Soul (Part 2)” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Mark Desvaux delves into Part 1 of a fascinating conversation with Amy Newmark, the powerhouse Editor-in-Chief behind Chicken Soup for the Soul. Celebrating over half a billion book sales, the Chicken Soup anthology stands as a literary giant, rivalled only by Harry Potter. Amy unveils how it launched the careers of New York Times bestselling […] The post Ep487 – Amy Newmark – “Chicken Soup for the Soul (Part 1)” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Mr Stay’s final episode as a co-presenter! The Two Marks celebrate Christmas by looking back at some of Mr Stay’s favourite moments of the podcast before he rides off into the sunset. But don’t worry! The podcast will continue and Mr D gives a few hints at what’s coming, but first we start with a […] The post Ep485 — Christmas Special 2023 appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Mike Gayle joins us to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his Sunday Times top ten bestseller debut novel My Legendary Girlfriend and the release of his 18th novel A Song of Me and You, a story of mid-life crisis inspired by a quote from Jim Carrey. Mike takes us from Birmingham to London and his […] The post Ep484 — Mike Gayle — “Always be Entertaining.” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

L.M. Chilton worked as a journalist for The Times, The Mirror and Metro and TV shows like This Morning, The One Show and Loose Women. His debut novel Don’t Swipe Right was inspired by years of online dating (the dating part of the story, we hasten to add, not the serial killing bits…) and having […] The post Ep483 — LM Chilton — “Be a Bit Cheeky.” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Tracy Wolff is the New York Times, and USA Today bestselling author of over sixty novels from Austin Texas, Nina Croft is an incredibly prolific author from the UK now living in Spain and they have collaborated on Star Bringer, a new adult romance novel billed as Firefly meets the Breakfast Club. Tracy and Nina […] The post Ep482 — Tracy Wolff & Nina Croft — “The Little Things.” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Jake Lamar developed his latest work Viper’s Dream as both a radio play and a novel. Jake tells us what he learned working for Time magazine, gives us a crucial tip for writing about real figures from recent history, and how he learned to make his writing sing… And in the extended version for Academy […] The post Ep481 — Jake Lamar — “Make it Sing.” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.