Customer Reviews

Inside The Bestsellers

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This is a delightful and encouraging book. The stories prove that making it to the top of the charts has little to do with luck and a lot to do with tenacity, determination and work. Jenkins and Link reveal the stories behind the headlines of 18 best-selling books. (And 80% of these best-selling books were originally self-published.) This book will edify and delight every author, publisher, book promoter and bookseller. DanPoynter@ParaPublishing.com

This book presents the stories behind 18 self-published and small press best-sellers. The foreword is by Richard Paul Evans, author of the legendary Christmas Box. That self-published fiction book made it onto The New York Times Best-Seller List in 1994: a landmark first in the book business!

All of the stories are fascinating and encouraging to self-publishers and the small press industry. Most of these success stories are about the author's first book. With many rejections from major publishing houses, the authors began to take total control. That is investing their own money, usually starting with a few thousand books. For some with best-seller status, major publishers got involved. One paid a reported $4.2 million for the rights to The Christmas Box and its prequel. Some $1.7 million was paid for Mutant Message Down Under by Morgan. Paperback rights for Embraced by the Light by Eadie, cost Bantam $1.5 million. Rights to The Celestine Prophecy by Redfield, sold for just $800,000, after th

Ummm... yeah. There's nothing new here, particularly for those who are seriously trying to launch a new book or publication. This is nothing more than a re-package of tried and tested sales techniques that anyone with half a brain will already know.

Sorry, folks, I was expecting much more than this for my hard-earned dollar.