The Bestseller Experiment

Listener of the show, Mike Shackle was on the verge of giving up on his writing when he heard one of our early episodes with Joe Abercrombie. Inspired by Joe’s wise words, Mike has not only created a successful career as an indie author, but he’s about to launch We Are The Dead, the first book in a new trilogy to be published by Gollancz. Mike takes us through the ups and downs of his career and we have a special message from a top secret guest. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Following on from our episode with Mike Shackle, we talk about his indie pen name Mike Morris in this fascinating and entertaining Deep Dive into how to start out as an indie author and the key differences between the traditional world and self-publishing. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

The Alt. History genre — also known as Counter-Factual History — takes a key moment in history and use a “What if?” question to create enthralling stories. JDK Wyneken’s forthcoming novel Krelle’s Inferno asks what would have happened if the D-Day landings had failed. We met at Duxford Airbase during the preparations for the D-Day anniversary events to discuss how to write in this extraordinary genre. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

At the end of 2018, the Two Marks set themselves a challenge: to sell ten thousand copies of their novel Back To Reality by Glastonbury weekend. They went wide, they published in paperback, and dabbled in advertising. But did they make it? Join us in the highlights of a live show where they reveal all... To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Kim Nash, award-winning novelist, book blogger and PR manager at Bookouture answers our listener questions on blog tours, social media, newsletters, cover reveals, publicity, attending festivals, writing groups, book clubs, tips for blogging, blurbs, working with schools, and what authors can do to promote their books. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

That’s the feedback that Caimh got for his first novel. Over a hundred thousand book sales later, he’s writing in a tone and genre that defies all conventional publishing wisdom. Caimh talks to us about his career, from stand-up comedy to studying writing and moving from rejection to self-publishing success. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

To celebrate Independent Bookshop Week we recorded our first ever LIVE episode of the podcast at Harbour Books in Whitstable! We were joined by authors Julie Wassmer, Katherine May, John McGhie and bookseller Olivia Rosenthall to discuss our love of books To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

In the latest of our One Page Punch-Up specials we asked our Patreon Chart Topper supporters to send in one page from their work-in-progress and we gave them Gollancz’s Gillian Redfearn and Marcus Gipps to review and critique. Between them Gillian and Marcus have worked with some legendary authors, including Joe Hill, Joanne Harris, Joe Abercrombie, and other authors NOT called Jo/Joe, including Neil Gaiman, Scott Lynch, Brandon Sanderson and some chancer called Mark Stay. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Sasha Greene is the author of Something Like Happy, a thought-provoking novel about day-to-day struggles with mental health. Sasha tells us what inspired the book and the importance of inclusion and diversity in your writing. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Tim Clare is a poet, author and musician who has wanted to write since childhood. Despite his commitment and determination, his route to publication has been a rocky one. Tim talks about his career with honesty, wit and passion, and every writer will come away inspired by his story. We also cover such writing essentials such Super Mario fan fiction, Soviet Ballerinas and giant mutant bats. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality