How to Become a Bestselling Author

Many people in the publishing industry believe that a bestselling book is a crucial accomplishment. Being a best-selling author is prestigious and honorable. Working on your personal brand can do great things for your career, like increasing book sales and making you more well-known. This is especially true if you’re a self-published author.

The publishing industry has changed significantly over the years and is closely connected with the digital world. What makes an author a bestseller has also changed and become more complex.

This post will explore the factors that lead to becoming a best-selling author. these factors include:

• Are the bestseller lists based on absolute truth?
• Are there benefits to being ranked on the list?
• Are there steps that can be taken to increase the chances of becoming a bestseller?

What is a Best-seller List?

Firstly, let us define what a best-seller list is. A best-seller list lists popular books that have sold many copies. This refers to books by authors who have been published through a traditional publisher as well as those who have self-published.

Many different best-seller lists are considered worldwide.

Is there Truth Behind Bestseller Lists?

Different publications and platforms have different ways of ranking and gauging books. A legitimate publisher sells books through a proper system. No matter how many books are sold, there is no guarantee that a book will be considered a best seller.

What makes a best-seller list subjective is its genre, the platform it is being published on, and its available region can all affect its popularity.

For example, if we compare Book 1 and Book 2, we can see that Although Book 1 and Book 2 are different genres, they provide helpful information. Book 1 sales may exceed one million, while Book 2 sales are currently at 50 000. Although book 2 has had very few sales compared to book 1, it has hit bestseller status.

You might see a lot of books that claim to be bestsellers because best-selling books are very flexible. In addition, there is not a single list for the entire world. These lists are often published by leading newspapers or major publishing houses. There are many different lists created by major publishing houses that allow for a large number of writers to be called best-selling authors. It can be confusing when claims are made that later turn out to be inaccurate. This may cause people to question the validity of such claims.

there is a popular notion that some writers pay to have their books featured as bestsellers to increase sales. Although we don’t have any evidence to back it up, it’s not surprising that there might be a little bit of corruption in this world. Only someone who works in the industry could confirm or deny these allegations.

However, we think that most best-selling authors are not people who simply publish their work and then pay to have it be successful. Many authors have written great books that have gradually become popular, reaching millions of people, as shown by their social media presence and how well-known they are for their work.

Advantages of Being on a Bestseller List

    1. You’ll be able to sell more books. 

No surprises here, right? If you sell many books and are seen as a best-seller, it will help you sell even more. Work associated with a credible source is more likely to be trusted by consumers.

This is especially true for digital platforms like Amazon. Amazon is the leading book and ebook seller on the internet. It has more than 80% market share. The better your book sales are on Amazon Kindle, the more their platform will push your book to more readers who might buy it.

When an author’s book is doing well on Amazon, it gives them more visibility and can even help the platform make money through the author’s sales. This can lead to the author’s book being on Amazon’s best-seller list. The more exposure and sales you have, the greater the likelihood you will be covered in the media and featured on other platforms as a best-seller.

Making it onto Amazon’s best-seller list for self-published authors is a huge accomplishment, considering how many other books are published on the platform.

    2. Receive more book deals.

When you become a best-selling author on Amazon or other platforms, you gain exposure to publishing houses from different countries. If your book is doing well, publishers may ask you to print it in another language and sell it in their country. They will often offer to pay you royalties for this permission.

By following this method, your book will be successful and will continue to grow in the future. Even if you’re a self-publishing author, you can do this.

    3.  Attract new opportunities.

A key aspect of working in the book industry is the ability to share your expertise with others through public speaking, teaching, mentoring, selling courses, consulting, and so on.

If your book becomes a best-seller, you’ll naturally accumulate more opportunities. It is possible that readers from a large company will reach out to you asking for your services as a speaker, a blogger might ask for an interview, or you might be asked to host a TED talk. You never know what will happen!

These opportunities are a result of the hard work and dedication you put into creating a great book.

Seven Tips That You Can Use to Improve Your Writing

  1. Be Prolific

London had zero experience in writing when he decided to become a writer. He observed,

“…I knew positively nothing about it. I used to live in California, which is far from the main publishing hubs. I did not know what an editor looked like. I didn’t know anyone who had published anything, or anyone other than myself who had tried to write anything. I did not have anyone to give me tips or advice, and I could not benefit from anyone’s experience.

London’s solution? He decided to write a lot and try his hand at all kinds of writing.

” I decided to write in order to get an experience of my own. I wrote everything from short stories and articles, to jokes and essays, sonnets and ballads, villanelles and triolets, songs and plays. I sent these creations in envelopes with return postage and dropped them in the mail. Oh, I was prolific. The number of my manuscripts gradually increased, to the point where finding stamps to send them became just as difficult as making enough money to support my landlady.

Figures show that between 1900 and 1916, London completed hundreds of short stories as well as fifty fiction and nonfiction books. Although not all famous writers are as prolific as London, it might be necessary in order for them to reach London’s level of monetary success. Some self-publishing experts recommend publishing multiple books to make a full-time income from writing.

Although London’s advice is directed toward writers ready to publish, it is also useful for writers still honing their skills. We can only improve our writing skills by writing.

Write as much as possible, even if you think it’s terrible. Try all the different genres and types of writing. You could find a new literary form that you enjoy that you would never have tried without this experience.

I am reminded of Vincent Van Gogh. He was never recognized for his work while alive, but he was devoted to practicing his craft. He produced over 900 paintings in just ten years, not including drawings and sketches.

     2. Don’t Quit Your Day Job

When London began writing short stories, he thought he could easily make a living. Although he initially thought it would be easy to make a living from writing, he discovered it is quite difficult. Instead of receiving money, he received rejections.

At last, one story was accepted. However, the magazine offered to pay just five dollars. London was so discouraged that he considered quitting writing and going back to shoveling coal.

He was about to go through with his resolution when he received an offer for another story he had submitted. The story helped him get a job in the publishing industry. And the rest, as they say, is history.

However, Unless no one is depending on you, don’t quit your job to write, London advises.

This is good advice for anyone who creates content online. When you don’t have to worry about money, you can spend more time practicing and creating. This suggests that you are more likely to persevere when success takes longer than expected.

    3. Popular Genres Will Pay More

London also gave advice on which genres he thought were most lucrative:

Non-fiction of any kind, whether relating to food, travel, gardening, biography, or psychology, is usually less saleable,” Fiction is the most lucrative type of writing, and it is easier to sell when it is of impeccable quality. Non-fiction works, regardless of genre, are not as popular and, therefore, not as profitable. A good joke is worth more than a good poem in terms of sweat and blood. The best way to avoid an unhappy ending is to be careful about what you write. Don’t do what I do, do what I say.

It is said that humor is the hardest type of writing to do, but it is also said that it is the easiest to sell, and usually results in the best rewards. There are only a few people who are able to write humorously. If you are able, do it by all means.

I like that London said, “Don’t do as I do, but do as I say.” He obviously found success writing many harsh stories with unhappy endings.

However, certain genres will always have more readers. Some of the most popular genres of books today are romance, mystery, and fantasy/science-fiction.

This is something to keep in mind if you want to reach the most readers. Your story idea might fit into one of those genres.

You can also choose your own path like Jack London did.

    4. Don’t Wait for Inspiration

London also shared his strategies for how he wrote so prolifically:

“Don’t dash off a six-thousand-word story before breakfast. Don’t write too much. Focus your efforts on a single story, rather than spreading them out over many. Don’t wait for inspiration; go after it with a club. If you don’t get it, you will get something that looks remarkably like it. Set a daily word goal for yourself, and stick to it; you will have written a lot more at the end of the year.

His advice to not write too much reminds me of Ernest Hemingway’s advice to not deplete your inspiration:

” It is always best to stop writing when you are doing well, and know what will happen next. If you brainstorm ideas for your novel every day, you will never run out of things to write about.

In this article, I discuss several famous writers who set themselves a daily word count goal. The goal can be either large or small, depending on your situation and how quickly you write.

If you can stick to writing every day, no matter how busy your life gets, you will eventually develop a regular writing habit. This will result in you becoming very focused and determined in your chosen profession, and developing a strong passion for it.

Well, there you have it, folks, a few tips and anecdotes that will soon have you well on your way to appearing on the next bestseller list.

 Guest Post Disclaimer
The views expressed in this post do not represent the views of 90-Minute Books. The information has not been verified and should be considered an opinion. You are always advised to do independent research.