Have you ever wondered what all best-selling books, such as Harry Potter and The Hobbit, have in common? What makes them stand out that they get their rightful spots in the lists of best-selling books of all time?
Writing a book is truly an aspiration, but it takes so much more than making the book a best-seller. Of course, you can benefit from the best writing resources, proofreaders, and book editors, but you can use the same essential elements to turn your book into a global phenomenon.
Here are the tips and steps that will help your book stand out from the crowd and become a best-seller.
Keep reading!
Concise & Coherent Narrative
If you want to dramatically increase your chances of becoming a best-selling author, you should focus on a clear, concise, and coherent narrative. According to research on the New York best-sellers, the books contain short sentences, vocabulary, and dominant narratives.
You will want to increase the readability of the book by writing in a manner that your target readers are familiar with. For instance, if your ideal readers are young adults, you will want to avoid jargon and difficult phrases/ vocabulary.
Also, keep your sentences concise. Make sure that each sentence carries weight while using fewer words. You will want to ensure there are no grammatical or spelling errors. Moreover, delimit the use of exclamation marks and semicolons. Only use question marks and other punctuation where they fit naturally.
This aspect perfectly explains why hiring a professional editor and proofreader is mandatory before sending your book to your literary agent or sending it out for publication.
Focus on an Amazing Title
Everything that is in the book matters in attracting your ideal readers. And we aren’t only talking about the book cover design, the font style, and the title. The title of your book must be appealing, which is why all writers should invest serious time and effort in finalizing the title of their book.
The title will be the reason why your ideal readers will want to pick up your book for closer inspection. The book title will cast the first impression and induce ideas in their reader’s minds about the essence of the book.
In other words, the title of the book should rightfully capture the essence of the book so that your readers know what to expect.
Be Mindful about the Leading Characters
When it comes to protagonists, the majority of best-selling books are based on female protagonists. For instance, the best-seller “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is globally acclaimed, and it is about the misplaced, lonely, and dark female leading character.
You will also want to take notes of the fact that most popular antagonists in best-selling books are males, such as Voldemort in Harry Potter.
Strong female leads often act as role models for young adults, showing that females can be independent and strong and that they can do many other things instead of being limited to wives and mothers.
You might want to integrate strong female leads into your novel to make it a best-seller.
Keep Your Readers Engaged
All best-sellers share the common characteristic of having the readers hooked to the ages – from the start to the very last page. You will want to keep the number of topics in your book to no more than two. This way, you will keep your readers engaged. Anything more than this will confuse your readers.
Here are a few tips that you can use to get the attention of your readers and keep them engaged in the narrative:
- Describe a shocking character/ scene.
- Share a personal story.
- Refer to a recent event.
- Narrate something important about your target audience.
- Depict a compelling visual image.
- Start with a provocative question.
- State a troubling fact.
- State an amusing fact.
- State a remarkable fact.
- Narrate a humorous anecdote.
- Explain how the book is connected to the readers.
Choose a Genre Wisely
When it comes to writing a best-seller, you will want to write for the readers and not for yourself. With that said, you will want to choose a genre wisely – preferably a genre that is popular. For instance, during the pandemic, self-help books made it to the list of best-sellers.
Otherwise, the romance genre makes at least 25% of best-sellers. The top trending book genre for 2023 is the genre for young adults.
You get the point – if you want to write a bestselling book, you will want to do your research and understand what is trending right now. Considering this, the time couldn’t be much better for publishing a romance or a book for young adults.
Also, do your research on popular themes and see how you can come up with an amazing plot revolving around that theme.
Choose Your Narrator
Depending on the type of story that you want to share with your readers, you will want to select a perspective and then stick to it. You will want to choose between a third-person narrative or a first-person narrative.
Most best-sellers are written in the third-person narrative. Nonetheless, it all comes down to your story type. If you want your audience to relate to the protagonist or character on a personal level, you will want to use the first-person narrative.
But – if the story is more of an observation, then the third-person narrative will be more appropriate. As you aim to become a best-selling author, you will want to be mindful about choosing a perspective according to the story type and plot.
Choose Your Publication Date Wisely
Ideally, you will want to strike when the iron is hot. With that said, the date for your book publication needs to be picked carefully. It is never a clever idea to launch a book during the holiday season. If you do so, you will be setting yourself up to compete with many other writers.
Suppose you have a leading female character, then you will want to launch your book that aligns with Woman’s Day, Mother’s Day, or similar conventions.