The Bestseller Experiment

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is what search engines like Google use to pair questions with answers. If you want to be found online, then understanding how SEO works is essential. In this deep dive, SEO expert Kelsey E Meyers offers simple and effective tips for authors to help them and their books appear at the […] The post EP453: Deep Dive — SEO for Authors appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

James Naughtie’s voice as presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme will be familiar to listeners all over the world. As well as writing non-fiction, he’s the author of the Will Flemyng thrillers the latest of which, The Spy Across the Water, takes readers from Washington DC to Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland. James […] The post EP452: James Naughtie — “A Sense of Place is Essential.” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Scarlett Brade was born in London, but as a child she spent her summers in Toronto where she fell in love with reading. She self-published her first novel aged twenty-three, but then decided to experience life a little more before returning with her amazing new thriller The Hive, about a chilling murder live-streamed on Instagram. […] The post EP451: Scarlett Brade — “Take Those First Steps” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Kelly Weekes answers listener questions on discovering who your readers are in a conversation that takes in social media, comparable authors, visualising your readers, writing to market, goals, pain points, and why authors should think of themselves as CEOs of their own business. Kelly has worked in the marketing departments of the biggest UK publishers, and on […] The post EP450: Deep Dive — Knowing your Readers appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Sue Watson was BBC TV producer until she wrote her first novel and was hooked. Now she’s a USA Today bestselling author and has sold over a million copies, but that success came as a second act in a writing career where she switched from romcoms to thrillers. Sue tells about that pivotal change, her […] The post EP449: Sue Watson — “You’re Looking for the Answers” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Jonathan Whitelaw started out as a journalist, writing darkly satirical fiction on his commute to work. Jonathan tells us how he went from thinking that he could never write a crime novel, to creating a new cosy crime series with The Bingo Hall Detectives and The Village Hall Vendetta featuring a son-in-law and mother-in-law crime solving […] The post EP448: Jonathan Whitelaw — “Turn The Idea on its Head.” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Jessie Keane has Romany heritage and her Gran — who had ’the sight’ — foretold that that Jesse would not only write, but be famous for it. 6.5 million copies later and with each book becoming a Sunday Times top ten bestseller, that prediction has come true. Jesse celebrates fifteen years since her debut novel, […] The post EP447: Jessie Keane — “Don’t Be Afraid.” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Katy Brent is an award-winning journalist whose debut novel How To Kill Men and Get Away With It is perfect for fans of How To Kill Your Family and Killing Eve. Katy tells us how the novel evolved from a fun idea to something that drew on the Me Too movement to and the anger […] The post EP446: Katy Brent — “Doing Something Meaningful” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Amita Parikh’s debut novel The Circus Train took six years to write and has been earning praise worldwide, but it might never had happened if she hadn’t found herself lost in London, asking for directions. Amita tells us how she bounced back from rejection, why sport is the best way to train for writing, and […] The post EP445: Amita Parikh — “Don’t Be a Victim.” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Jeevani Charika is the author of Playing for Love, Picture Perfect and more, but she’s also a scientist and has been experimenting with ChatGPT to discover if writers should fear our AI Overlords or embrace them. We discuss: The impact AI might have on writers Using AI ethically in your writing What ChatGPT IS good […] The post EP444: Deep Dive — Experiments with ChatGPT with Jeevani Charika appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

JS Monroe worked as a foreign correspondent in Delhi, becoming a full-time writer. His psychological thriller Find Me became a bestseller in 2017, and, under the name Jon Stock, he is also the author of five spy thrillers. Warner Brothers bought the film rights to the Dead Spy Running trilogy hiring Oscar-winner Stephen Gaghan (Traffic, […] The post EP443: JS Monroe — “Weird Alchemy” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

In this special deep dive episode we speak to Jenny Geras, Managing Director at Bookouture. Jenny tell us what it is that makes this innovative digital first publisher so different, and she answers our listener questions on submissions, the difference in trends with digital and physical books, and if it pays to be prolific. . […] The post EP442: Deep Dive — Bookouture with Jenny Geras appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Delilah S Dawson is the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Phasma and many more titles across an incredibly diverse backlist, and she returns with a new thriller called The Violence which explores themes of women of escaping domestic violence and reclaiming their power. Delilah also gives us tips for writing for big […] The post EP441: Delilah S Dawson — “It Was Always in my Head.” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

In the latest of our Academy All-Stars mini episodes, we talk to Kate Baker who tells us how being ultraflexible and never worrying about the word “should” helped her make the most of the Academy and publish her acclaimed debut novel Maid of Steel. We also discuss branded earrings, nails and Toblerone!. . Links Discover […] The post EP440: Academy All Stars – Kate Baker – “Being Ultraflexible!” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

David McCloskey is a former CIA analyst and his smash hit debut novel Damascus Station was inspired by his time working in field stations in the Middle East. David tells us how the novel started as an exercise in processing his thoughts about the events in Syria, what he learned from writing for US presidents, […] The post EP439: David McCloskey — “A Lonely Team Sport.” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Stuart Gibbon is a former UK senior police detective who served in London and the East Midlands. In 2014, he launched his own business providing a consultancy service for writers. Stuart also appears on TV and radio as a policing expert. He’s also co-written a series of books with Stephen Wade: The Crime Writers’ Casebook, […] The post EP438: Deep Dive — Police Procedures with Stuart Gibbon appeared first on 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.