The Bestseller Experiment

Jayne Davis is a leading Regency Romance author, with nearly 40 million KU page reads, and through sharing her research on her blog she has become a go to resource for authors in the genre. Jayne reveals the essential elements of period romance, tips for writing period appropriate dialogue, and why publishing more books creates […] The post EP437: Jayne Davis — “Sometimes it Just Feels Right.” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Derek and Dave Philpott have been writing strange letters to famous musicians for ten years now, and getting even stranger ones back. Their first book, Dear Mr. Kershaw, became a cult hit and the follow-up Dear Mr. Pop Star was released by Unbound Publishing to more acclaim. And now they return with a Punk edition, […] The post EP436: Dave Dawson — “Grammar Free in the UK” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Rosie Andrews’ debut novel The Leviathan is rooted in her passion for history and she tells us how she was inspired by the like of Thomas Hobbes to create page-turning historical fiction that’s relevant to readers today. And Rosie tells us why she abandoned her first unpublished historical fiction novel because she felt that it […] The post EP435: Rosie Andrews — “Carve out time for yourself” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Mark Edwards returns to the podcast to celebrate ten years since his first solo novel The Magpies. He tells us about his changing relationship with the book that changed his life, how he’s sustained a career writing standalone thrillers, and why it’s important to have a direct connection with his readers. And in the extended […] The post EP434: Mark Edwards — “It Changed My Life.” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Matt Brown is the author of such wonderful children’s books at the Compton Valance series (about a boy who creates a time machine from a 13-week-old mouldy sandwich), the Dreary Inkling School books, and The Mab, a re-telling of the Mabinogi, which might be the oldest written stories in the history of Britain. Matt was […] The post EP433: Matt Brown — “The Worst Thing They’d Ever Read” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Twin brothers Zack and Michael Urlocker write together as M.Z. Urlocker, and their debut novel The Man from Mittelwerk is a 50s noir thriller with a dash of science fiction. They take us through their collaborative process, how they defined their roles in the project, and whether or not they’ll work together again. And in […] The post EP432: Zack & Michael Urlocker — “There Can Only Be One Boss.” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

As well as starring in the likes of The Hobbit and Spooks, the actor Richard Armitage is also a prolific audiobook narrator. And now he’s written Geneva, an Audible original psychological thriller. Richard tell us how the project came about, and how his background in music, theatre and film helped him develop the characters. And […] The post EP431: Richard Armitage — “Know, Don’t Show.” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Simon Scarrow is best known for his Eagles of the Empire series that began in 2000 with Under the Eagle featuring Roman soldier heroes Cato and Macro. 2022 saw the release of Death to the Emperor, the twenty-first book in the series, and he’s also just released Dead of Night, the second of his Berlin […] The post EP430: Simon Scarrow — “Trust the Reader” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Digital-first publisher Bookouture are now applying their publishing model to science fiction and fantasy with their new imprint Second Sky. We speak to consultant associate publisher Jack Renninson who tells us what Second Sky is looking for, and he answers our listener questions on submissions, pitching to Second Sky, and what’s to come in the near […] The post EP429: Deep Dive — Second Sky with Jack Renninson appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Bestselling author Peter May returns to the podcast with his gripping new novel A Winter Grave, a near future thriller where climate change has changed the landscape. Peter talks about coming out of retirement to write without a contract or a deadline, but with passion and a sense of urgency. Mark Stay is joined this […] The post EP428: Peter May — “I Felt a Weight Lift.” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Director Jon Wright joins Mark Stay to answer listener questions on the development of their new monster movie Unwelcome. They reveal what inspired them to write the script, how the story was developed (and was very early abandoned), how Jon blocks and shoots sequences and works with the cast and crew, they offer tips for […] The post EP427 — Deep Dive — Unwelcome with Jon Wright and Mark Stay appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Lou Abercrombie worked in TV and film production and as a photographer, and a few years ago started writing children’s books combining her passion for swimming and mathematics. Her debut novel FIG SWIMS THE WORLD, was longlisted for the Bath Children’s Award, and her new book AMAZING MATHS makes the subject of mathematics accessible in […] The post EP426: Lou Abercrombie — “I Write Whilst I Swim.” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Matt Cain endured rejections from thirty agents and fifty publishers before getting his debut novel published… and then it didn’t work out. Matt tells us how he made an extraordinary comeback, breaking crowdfunding records with The Madonna of Bolton, having a smash with The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle, and now he’s back with Becoming […] The post EP425: MATT CAIN — “Write with Heart and Humour.” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Cole Haddon is an Australian-American screenwriter and novelist whose first TV commission, Dracula, was produced by NBC and SKY and starred Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Psalms for the End of the World is his debut novel and Cole tells us how he was inspired by looking into the eyes of one of his young children, why […] The post EP424: Cole Haddon — “I Stripped the Censor in my Head” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Christian Cameron is an incredibly prolific writer and military historian who also writes as Miles Cameron. His new novel as Miles is Against All Gods, an epic set in the Bronze Age that gives a new twist to familiar myths and legends. Christian tells how he learned to write without doubting himself, how historical recreation has […] The post EP423: Christian Cameron — “You’re Always Worldbuilding.” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

The Two Marks don their terrible Christmas sweaters and hats to celebrate the festive season and look forward to 2023. Mark Stay tests Mr D with a super-duper mega quiz, we discover that Americans don’t have Christmas crackers, we reveal where Santa comes from, tell terrible jokes, and we discuss taking stock and setting goals […] The post EP422: Christmas 2022 Special and Setting 2023 Goals! appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

In 1983 Margaret Weis took on a job as a book editor at TSR, producers of the Dungeons and Dragons® role-playing game. Little did she know that the DRAGONLANCE® series she created with Tracy Hickman would go on to sell over 25 million copies and still be in print after almost 30 years. And now […] The post EP421: Margaret Weis — “It’s All About Characters.” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Elizabeth Noble is a Sunday Times bestselling author whose debut novel The Reading Group sold a quarter of a million copies. She’s since sold over a million and with her tenth novel, Other People’s Husbands, she skilfully works with a large cast of characters to create an authentic drama with lots of moving parts, but […] The post EP420: Elizabeth Noble — “Make the Reader Care.” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

SJ Bennett had a successful career writing award-winning books for teenagers, but after a change in the market and a life-changing diagnosis, she decided to completely change tack and began a brand new crime series, Her Majesty the Queen Investigates, which became an international smash, selling over 100,000 copies. With the latest book in the […] The post EP419: SJ Bennett — “A Relentlessly Positive Attitude” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Louise Willder has been a copywriter at Penguin Books for twenty-five years. During this time, she estimates she has produced about 5,000 blurbs. She now shares her knowledge and experience in her amazing new book, Blurb Your Enthusiasm, which looks at the evolution of blurbs. In this Deep Dive, Louise shares incredibly helpful tips for writing your own and […] The post EP418: Deep Dive — Blurbs with Louise Willder appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.