
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

Feb 18, 2019 • 1h 6min
EP171: James Oswald - From Self-Published To Six Figure Deals
We haven’t had many authors who have Sheep Shit Sampler on their resumé, but James Oswald is a farmer who has gone from self-publishing fantasy fiction to six-figure deals with Penguin and Wildfire. His story is inspirational and extraordinary. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Feb 16, 2019 • 2min
EP170: Deep Dive - Start Your Own Publisher with Michael R Miller
Michael R Miller is author of the Dragon Blade trilogy and, with Taran Matharu, is co-founder of Portal Books, a publisher dedicated to LitRPG (Literary Role Playing Games). Michael tells us how they took their passion for the genre, experience from selling their own books, and created their own publishing company. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Feb 11, 2019 • 1h 16min
EP169: Breaking The Rules - Live Show Highlights
In our latest live show - exclusive to our Patreon Chart Topper supporters - we asked which writing rules they liked to break and it led to some heated discussions! To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Feb 8, 2019 • 2min
EP168: A Digital First & Metadata Deep Dive
We spoke to Orion Fiction’s Victoria Oundjian about their strategy for digital first publishing and she gives us some amazing tips on how to use metadata to make your books more visible online. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Feb 4, 2019 • 44min
EP167: One Page Punch-Ups with Emad Akhtar
In the very first of our One Page Punch-Up specials we asked our Patreon Chart Topper supporters to send us one page from their work-in-progress and we gave them to Orion Editorial Director Emad Akhtar to critique them. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Feb 2, 2019 • 2min
EP166: The Edit Process step-by-step, a Deep Dive with Melissa Caruso
Melissa Caruso is the author of the amazing Swords & Fire trilogy and her recent Twitter thread on the editorial process inspired us to speak to her. She takes us through every stage, and shows how to work effectively with agents, editors and critique partners to create the best book possible. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Jan 26, 2019 • 58min
EP165: Peter-May - Story In His Blood
Peter May is the multi-award-winning and bestselling author of the Lewis series and he takes us through his incredible career, including his years in television and how that influenced his novel writing. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Jan 26, 2019 • 2min
EP164: A Deep Dive: Girl Friday Part3 AND David Barnett Bonus
Girl Friday Part 3 AND a David Barnett Bonus! To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Jan 21, 2019 • 1h 13min
EP163: Working With Editors - David M Barnett
David M Barnett is the bestselling author of Calling Major Tom, a book that came at a crossroads in his life and came out of a conversation with an editor. How much control do editors have over what an author writes? David takes us through an extraordinary change in his career and how it led to some incredible sales. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Jan 14, 2019 • 53min
EP161: A Marketing Masterclass with Sam Missingham
Sam Missingham, founder of Lounge Marketing, hijacks the show and grills us on how exactly we plan to sell ten thousand copies of our book by Glastonbury. To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality