The Bestseller Experiment

Sherrilyn Kenyon’s first book was published when she was still in college, since then she has had more than 80 novels on the New York Times list, and more than 70 million books in print. We talk to Sherrilyn about her rise from childhood poverty to eBook pioneer and a bestselling phenomenon. In this episode […] The post Ep514 – Defying the Odds with Sherrilyn Kenyon appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Editor Emad Akhtar has worked with authors like Michael Connelly, Ian Rankin and Justin Cronin and was kind enough to join our show and answer our listeners’ questions! In this episode you will discover… LISTEN Subscribe to Bestseller Experiment on Apple Music Subscribe to Bestseller Experiment on YouTube Love the show? Support the podcast today […] The post Ep513 – Ask the Editor with Emad Akhtar appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Steve Cavanagh is the author of the Eddie Flynn legal thrillers The Defence, The Plea, The Liar and now, with his new book Thirteen, he is on the verge of a bestselling breakthrough. Steve brings his legal expertise to his writing and creates compelling characters and nail-biting thrillers, and co-presents the Two Crime Writers And […] The post Ep512 – Steve Cavanagh – Author on the verge of a massive breakthrough appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

John Yorke is one of the world’s leading lights in the art of storytelling. As former head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and head of Company Pictures, he has worked on shows like Shameless, Life On Mars, and the UK’s most popular soap opera EastEnders. He is also the author of […] The post Ep511 – Into The Woods With John Yorke appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

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 […] The post Ep510 – Gareth L Powell – How to sing a space opera appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Best known for her novel Chocolat, which sold well over a million copies and was made into a movie starring Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche, Joanne has written over twenty books, including Runemarks and Gospel of Loki, which were based on Norse legend. We spoke with her about writing, aspiration and sheds. LISTEN Subscribe to […] The post Ep509 – Joanne Harris | Chocolat & Sheds appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Mark Billingham is renowned for his bestselling crime thrillers, not least the Jack Thorne series. Having now sold over 5 millions copies of his books, Mark takes us through his incredible career which takes in acting, stand-up comedy, writing for TV, and a little bit of kidnapping. In this episode, you will learn: LISTEN Subscribe […] The post Ep508 – Mark Billingham – From a shoutline to five million books sold appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

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. In this episode, you […] The post Ep507 – Taylor Jenkins-Reid – Breaking The Rules = Bestseller appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

Mark Victor Hansen is an American inspirational and motivational speaker and author. He is best known as the founder and co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. Mark was turned down 144 times trying to get his book published. He kept going when others told him it was not a good idea.. […] The post Ep506 – Mark Victor Hansen – “Your Life Story” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

We celebrate seven years of the podcast with the amazing Heather Morris, author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, which has sold over 6 million copies worldwide. She returns with a new novel, Sisters Under The Rising Sun, which transports the reader to the women in Japanese POW camps in WWII and is another incredibly powerful […] The post Ep505 — Heather Morris — “Shut up and Listen!” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

In Part 2 of this series, Mark Desvaux takes you on a deep dive into five more hallmark habits of bestseller authors, distilled from seven and a half years of deep interviews and analysis. Drawn from over 500 conversations with top writers, this series offers possibly the most comprehensive exploration of what it takes to […] The post Ep504 – Mark Desvaux – “The Hallmark Habits of Highly Successful Authors (Part 2)” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

We’re celebrating nearly five years since the launch of the 200 Word Challenge—a project that has helped countless writers finish their books with over 40 million words banked. The project grew out of our research that showed that 83% of aspiring authors struggle to find the time to write. The 200 Word Challenge is the […] The post Ep503 – Mark Desvaux – “How to Create a Writing Habit for Life” appeared first on The Bestseller Experiment.

In Part 1 of this new series, Mark Desvaux takes you on a deep dive into the habits of bestseller authors, distilled from seven and a half years of deep interviews and analysis. Drawn from over 500 conversations with top writers, this series offers possibly the most comprehensive exploration of what it takes to reach […] The post Ep502 – Mark Desvaux – “The Hallmark Habits of Highly Successful Authors (Part 1)” appeared first on 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.