Customer Reviews

The Making of a Bestseller: Success Stories from Authors and the Editors, Agents, and Booksellers Behind Them

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was pleasantly surprised to find so much information packed into this book. Readers learn how the best seller lists are compiled, how (sadly) few new titles rise to the top each year, what factors make a best seller and what agents and editors are looking for. The interviews with industry pros and successful authors are insightful and this book not only prompts questions, but comes through and delivers ANSWERS. A great insight into the publishing industry for writers or anyone interested in how the book industry operates.

In The Making of a Bestseller, authors Brian Hill and Dee Power reveal the secrets of the highest levels of publishing. They achieve this notable goal by asking those who occupy those dizzying heights questions designed to probe the mysterious mechanisms that propel books to the bestseller lists. To dig this information out they interview bestselling authors, agents, editors, booksellers; in short every one who plays a part in the process of creating books that fly off the shelves. The insight they provide, along with Hill and Power's fun and entertaining writing style, makes this book a must read for anyone curious about what it takes to make a bestseller. I highly recommend this book.

In preparing their book The Making of a Bestseller Brian Hill and Dee Power interviewed more than fifty authors, agents, editors, booksellers, and assorted publishing industry experts on the subject of bestsellers--how books attain that status, what it costs an author to remain on the bestseller lists, what role various parties play in the creation of a best-selling book. The responses Hill and Power received form the backbone of their book, in which interview snippets are arranged thematically and interspersed with explanatory or introductory narrative. The book's eighteen chapters are divided into three broad sections--The Bestseller, Publishing, and The Author. The topics covered are too numerous to mention here, but the authors have included discussions of, for example, the various best-selling lists and how they are compiled; the importance--or not--of print reviews to a book's success; the influence of agents and editors on a manuscript; how booksellers select the titles they stock; and the process of adapting bestsellers for the screen.

The Making of a Bestseller is well written and clearly organized, and it is chock full of information about how the publishing industry works. Its authors, in interviewing so many subjects from throughout the publishing world, show readers a cross-section of the industry with its various strata, from author to bookseller, laid bare. The book should be of interest to would-be authors looking to scale the heights of bestsellerdom themselves as well as to industry insiders. Fans of the authors interviewed--among them Dan Brown, Peter Straub, Barbara Taylor Bradford, and Nicholas Sparks--may also be interested in this behind-the-scenes look at their favorite books.

Reviewed by Debra Hamel, author of Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece

"The Making of a Bestseller" is like getting a front row seat in a panel interview with various bestselling writers, their editors and agents, and a few publishers. Newbies get great insight about how the publishing industry operates. The best parts of this book are, to me, the reflections shared by authors about their experience when they "made it big." In a lot of ways, "The Making of a Bestseller" responds to those who are curious about what it's like to be in the heart of the action.

Given the cover price of "The Making of A Bestseller," however, I was expecting more than just pearls of wisdom. The title gave me the impression that the book would reveal the process, the specific strategies used by publishers in the packaging and marketing of a particular bestselling book. Or, at least, practical knowledge one would need to navigate the industry. Yes, one would be able to spot a tip here and a gem of advice there, but it's not the true focus of the book.

So the three stars is really about the cover price vis-a-vis its contents. The information the book holds is top quality, but not enough to justify the expense.

Brian Hill and Dee Power have written this inside look into the business of writing with a natural and approachable style. The light handed touches of humor and the down to earth language made this a very enjoyable read. I have never written an Amazon Review until now but was compelled to add my voice to the others. Count me as a very satisfied consumer.

The collaboration of Brian Hill and Dee Power, The Making Of A Bestseller: Success Stories From Authors And The Editors, Agents, And Booksellers Behind Them answers the fundamental question of why certain authors seem to be able to have what they write consistently end up on best seller lists. Readers will learn how literary agents affect the publishing process, how good and bad reviews affect sales, what the role of the bookseller is with respect to a book's success or failure in the marketplace, the importance of marketing and publicity in determining a books impact upon the reading public. The Making Of A Bestseller reveals just how more than fifty best-selling authors approach the craft of writing and marketing their books in ways that aspiring authors can emulate with their own works. If you want to be a professional author whose books are commercially successful, then give a very careful and considerate study to The Making Of A Bestseller.

This is a collection of information from interviews with authors, editors, agents and booksellers who were involved in the making of a bestseller. It is organized into three distinct sections - The Bestseller, Publishing, and The Author. Part one includes an examination of what makes a book become a bestseller, the effect of reviews, and how the constant change readers' taste affects the sale of a book. Part two examines editors and publishers, what publishers look for in a book they select for publication, why some books are declined, using literary agents, establishing brand name awareness, and book promotion. Part three examines how to build a career as an author from the initial idea to writing the book and the ins and outs of life as a bestselling author. There are no theories in this book; it is all advice and experiences from established publishers and bestselling authors. The Making of a Bestseller is recommended to anyone who wants to understand what it takes to become a bestselling author.

Here's a book that can really deliver. You have questions? They have answers. Brian Hill and Dee Power interview over fifty authorities to give us an in-depth and close-up look into the complex publishing world of best selling books.
In an easy to read format, we receive our information by way of informal interview. Authors, editors, agents, and booksellers explain what it takes and how it works. Candid tips and tidbits reveal the steps to success with personal stories that punctuate the enormous difficulty and ultimate reward of perseverance. More than worth the cover price, "The Making Of A Bestseller" is a must read for anyone interested or invested in learning more about this industry. Excellent.

If you've ever wondered what goes into the making of a best selling book, The Making of a Bestseller is a must read. This is a very informative book. Authors Dee Power and Brian Hill talk with numerous people involved with book publishing. They also interviewed authors who have obtained the rank of having written a best seller. This book gives information from both the author and publishing points of view.

Anyone who comes up with a title like THE MAKING OF A BEST SELLER, and then puts the words: authors, editors, agents, and booksellers in the subtitle, has immediatly captured those of us who have written books, are writing books, are selling books, or dream of ever writing a book. This morning after Amazon sent me an email saying I might like this book...and I read the title... I was compelled me to stop and look. Then I read the first chapter and immediately knew I'd refer this book to all my author friends. I'm buying this book because as the author of four books, three with a major publisher - I still only DREAM of making the New York Times best seller list! And dreams need the fuel of inspiring stories. Good job,
Brian Hill, and Dee Power!