The Bestseller Experiment
Join author and screenwriter Mark Stay with coach and entrepreneur Mark Desvaux, as they discover the secrets to writing a bestseller and challenge themselves and you to write, market and self-published a bestselling book in just one year. Each week, they are guided by and interview million-selling, chart-topping authors, publishers on the inside, editors, agents, social media specialists, and many more big names who play a part in the bestseller process. From the writing to marketing, plotting to publishing, learn the secrets to help you write your way to the top of the charts.
Latest episodes
Dec 23, 2019 • 37min
EP251: The 2019 Christmas Special
We take stock of the year so far and read out some of the messages we’ve had from our amazing listeners. And we look forward to 2020 and the BXP2020 Challenge. And yes, it’s that time of year when Mr. Stay wheels out his terrible Santa impression for the sponsor message… and we announce the winner of the Garth Nix giveaway! To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality
Dec 16, 2019 • 1h 7min
EP250: Live Show BXP 2020 Challenge FAQs
As we approach the end of the year, we contemplate hibernating after NanoWriMo before gearing up for the BXP2020 challenge in the New Year. We answer our listener FAQs about the 2020 Challenge and Mr. D reveals the experiments that he’s been running on our listeners. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality
Dec 9, 2019 • 42min
EP249: One Page Punch-Ups with Emad Akhtar
We are delighted to welcome back Orion Publisher Emad Akhtar to critique our latest round of One Page Punch-Ups. These are pages sent in by our Chart Topper Patreons. We read them and critique them and all learn a little something that we can use in our writing. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality
Dec 4, 2019 • 35min
EP248: Comedy Women in Print with Helen Lederer, Kirsty Eyre & Martha Ashby
Another one of our listeners is an award winner! Kirsty Eyre won the inaugural Comedy Women in Print “Unpublished” award for her novel Cow Girl this year. We speak to Kirsty, Harper Fiction editor Martha Ashby and comedy legend Helen Lederer about the award and how you can get involved along with great tips on writing comedy and for entering the competition.
Dec 2, 2019 • 47min
EP247: Pitch Power with Kate Harrison
We welcome Kate back to the podcast to celebrate the release of her new book for writers Pitch Power- discover what makes your book irresistible & how to sell it. Most authors hate writing pitches and queries but Kate LOVES IT. The book outlines seven steps to perfect your book’s pitch. Kate also takes some of our listeners’ blurbs and offer tips on how to improve them. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality
Nov 28, 2019 • 3min
EP246: A ProWritingAid Masterclass with Chris Banks
PWA founder Chris Banks was on hand to give us greater insight into how to use PWA’s reports on readibility, style, dialogue, repetition, sticky sentences and glue indexes, more effectively. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality
Nov 25, 2019 • 52min
EP245: Swearing Is Good For You with Dr Emma Byrne
“Bad language” is a divisive issue for writers. Some revel in it, others work hard to keep it clean. Dr Emma Byrne is the author of Swearing Is Good For You, which takes a look a scientific at the benefits of cussing. In this really entertaining and informative episode we talk to Emma Byrne about the history of swearing, its negative associations and the uses of swearing in fiction for both adults and children. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality
Nov 18, 2019 • 1h 2min
EP244: Join the BXP2020 Challenge
The highlights from our latest live show in which we swap productivity tips and launch our biggest ever challenge yet - the BXP2020 challenge. If you want to make 2020 your best writing year, you’ll want to hear this. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality
Nov 13, 2019 • 2min
EP243: Networking for Writers - With Dana Kaye
Dana Kaye gives us great insight into how you can network while overcoming anxieties, and she answers our listener questions on building relationships with bloggers, reviewers and readers. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality
Nov 11, 2019 • 44min
EP242: ProWritingAid with Chris Banks
Chris Banks, founder of ProWritingAid, tells us how a skiing accident led to him developing ProWritingAid, which has become the leading analytical tool for writers all over the world. He gives us some great tips on how it can improve your writing. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality
