The Bestseller Experiment

Writing can be a solitary occupation, but it doesn’t have to be that way. The Two Marks discuss how accountability has helped them in their writing and offer six tips to help you focus on your writing, become more productive, and finish that book.

Have you every wondered how important your “Voice” is as a writer? This week on The Bestseller Experiment podcast, New York Times success Maria Semple tells us just how essential your voice is. Maria was recently named a “Power Author” by the Hollywood Reporter, putting her alongside such giants as JK Rowling and George RR Martin. Maria started as a screenwriter. Her book, Where’d You Go, Bernadette? spent over a year on the New York Times bestsellers. Her new book “Tomorrow Will Be Different” was announced as a TV series with Julia Roberts as the lead. She spoke to us about the things that stop us writing truthfully.

Sadie’s Jones’ debut novel The Outcast was a smash hit, selling over half a million copies, but Sophie’s road to publication was a long one with over 15 years of rejection. Sadie tells us what she discovered about her writing in those years and the important lessons she learned, including what kept her writing and how to tell good notes from bad and some tips on writing with your eyes closed!

The two Marks bring you up to date on the trials and tribulations their nascent bestseller, the processes that they’re going through, and how two writers can work together without driving each other bonkers.

James Swallow is the internationally bestselling author of the Marc Dane thrillers, and he takes us through his remarkable career, which takes in Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who and a BAFTA nomination. His passion for working in tie-in fiction and his own original work is infectious, and he tells why always pushing himself out of his comfort zone led to his biggest success. Oh, and we start the show with a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

Robin is the author of the Murder Most Unladylike Mysteries books, a middle grade series following schoolgirl detectives Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong in a 1930s English boarding school, but Robin started out on her bestselling adventure with NaNoWriMo.

It’s all too easy to give up when your writing has been rejected, so how do you find the energy and the will to keep going? The Two Marks discuss strategies for perseverance, dealing with fear, rejection, and how to work on more than one more project at a time. Oh, there was a story in The Hollywood Reporter last week about a forthcoming monster movie called The Little People… written by none other than our very own Mr Stay! He talks about how perseverance helped him get the script optioned and into development.

In this week's episode from the BXP Archives... 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.

Caimh McDonnell is the bestselling author of the Dublin Trilogy and has one of the most entertaining and engaging newsletters out there with 10,000 subscribers and an astonishing open rate. Caimh answers our listener questions with tips on how to create great newsletters, even if you’re still writing your first novel, or launching the latest in a bestselling series.

Adele Parks has published 20 novels in 20 years and every one has been a Sunday Times bestseller. With over three and a half million copies sold in the UK, she is a phenomenon, and her latest novel Just My Luck hit the top spot again, but it all began with her grandfather paying her 50p for her stories. Oh, and in a shocking reveal… Mr D reveals his real full name. You don’t want to miss this.