What Writers Can Do With Bestseller Lists

There are many different types of bestseller lists—New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly then every major newspaper has a bestseller list. Also the bestseller lists are often broken into different categories like nonfiction (hardcover and paperback), fiction (hardcover and paperback), children's books (hardcover and paperback), etc.

Book authors need to be reading these bestseller lists and keeping mental track of the books on them. Some authors are put off with bestsellers. When they read them, they don't resonate with the writing and wonder how it got on the list. There are many different ways that books get on the list.  Whether you "like" the book or not, I believe authors need to be aware of what is on the list for several reasons:

First, these list show you what the reading public is buying and reading. It also shows what publishers are creating and launching into the world.

Second, I encourage you to read or listen to these bestselling books. You can learn from them. You don't have to purchase these books but can often get them from your public library. If the book is not available, then learn how to get on the hold list for the book. Even if the book is very popular, eventually you will get the book.

Third, every writer needs to be aware of their competition and what is going on in your area of publishing. As an editor, I will speak with many authors. Some of these authors want to publish a romance novel while others are working on nonfiction and yet others are writing a children's book.  Often during the conversation I will ask if they read in their genre or area of the market. Their response is revealing whether they are in tune with their market or not. Some authors don't want to be “tainted” by the work of others so they are not reading. My contention is that you can learn a great deal about the reading public as you read and study your competition. This information will also feed into the competition section of your book proposal , your marketing plans and much more.

One of my bestselling author friends reads other books on the bestseller lists. It has been a part of his reading habit for many years.

Do you read bestseller lists and track on this information? Why or why not? How do you use them in your writing life? Tell us in the comment section. 

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Why Every Author Needs to Understand Your Competition

Consider the competition for your book. When I have asked authors about the competition, some authors say, “I don't have any competition. My book is unique.”

Another author thinks about it and says, “Everyone. My book competes with every other book.”

From my years in publishing, the answer is neither one and important for every author to understand. Take a few minutes and imagine your book concept as a real book. If you have one it's easy but if you just have an idea, think about the cover, title and your name on it. Got that image? What section of the bookstore will your book appear? With this information, think about the current titles in this section? what books are facing out on the shelf? These books are your competition. The reader could reach for your book to take to the cash register (purchase) or they could reach for the bestselling title.

Next write down these titles and investigate them using tools like Google. Can you get any sales numbers or information about them? This information is important for your pitch to literary agents and editors. You also need to include these insights about your competition in your proposal. Your careful consideration here will differentiate your pitch from others—and increase the chances of a traditional publisher contracting your book.

Even if you self-publish, you need to have this ammunition for your approach to the marketplace. If your book has been in print, you still need this information about the competition. Your literary agent and editor need this information to target your book. Needed it to get even issue a contract when I worked at another publishing house.
Now with this understanding about your book and target market. 

What steps can you take to reach out and befriend that author and do something for that book?  Take for example, my Book Proposals That $ell. While this book has helped many people, I've also reviewed other competitive books which are similar to mine. Just check out this article for more detail. 

Why?

A key concept to understand your competition is a matter of attitude and perspective. Instead of the scarcity mentality where you have to protect your turf, I encourage you have the opposite attitude of abundance and cooperation. There are many potential readers and buyers for every book and every author. You can build bridges instead of competition. You can work with these other authors to cross-promote and much more if you have the right perspective.

Do you need more ideas about how to understand and take advantage of your competition? Whether you self-publish or work with a traditional publisher, every author needs to understand this critical concept. I have more information in Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets to Speed Your Success. This bestselling book has over 130 five Star reviews but don't get it from Amazon. I've reduced the price from $15 to $8 and included unique bonuses if you get it directly from me. This book is a tested product which has never been this affordable or accessible.

What steps are you taking with your competitors? Are you thinking about this critical element and adding it to your proposals? Tell me your action steps in the comments below.

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How to Eliminate Your Competition

It is easy to have competitive feelings in the publishing world. Admittedly there are thousands of books and websites all trying to get your attention and eyeballs. Whether you have a manuscript and are trying to get the attention of a literary agent or publisher or your book is published and in the marketplace and you are attempting to get readers and buyers of your book. It can feel crowded and hard to break through the noise.

I've been at conferences and new writers are trying to get my attention for their project or book.It can be a challenge to have your few minutes with an editor or agent in that environment. In this article, I want to give you a couple of tools to eliminate your competition (or at least reduce this tension).

1. Your Attitude 

Some writers view themselves surrounded with competitors. Others see the competition as someone to partner with and help. It is old visual of the half-filled glass. It is half empty or half full? Your attitude will be a huge part in this process. I view my “competitors” as someone that I can learn from and help. If I help them, then they are prone to help me.

There is always something new to learn from anyone who crosses your path—whether they are brand new in the business or they are experienced.  If you take this open attitude, then it will draw others to you instead of propel them away.

2. Your Actions

With the attitude adjustment, take a careful look at others who are in your field or niche. Now ask yourself the question, “How can you help that person or business?” Take several minutes to brainstorm some answers on paper. Can you post a tweet or Facebook post about that author or business? Can you write for a review copy of their book, then read the book and write an honest review? Can you approach them about guest blogging for them or contributing an article for their website or newsletter? Do they have an affiliate program? Can you join their program (usually free) and market their book or product to your audience and make money? These types of efforts create a win-win philosophy for each party. You are helping them to reach a new audience and you are also earning money from the effort.

When you begin to be open to these possibilities, you will see there are many different ways you can help others. The key is to take action and move forward with these ideas. It does not happen in isolation but in partnership, great things transpire.

Several months ago, Patricia Fry approached me to possibly endorse her new book. Propose Your Book is a targeted to people who want to learn how to successfully sell a book proposal. If this topic sounds familiar, it should because almost ten years ago I wrote and launched Book Proposals That Sell, 21 Secrets to Speed Your Success. The book has over 130 Five Star Amazon reviews and continues to help many people. I've not updated this printed book in years but I hold the exclusive Ebook rights and have continually updated the Ebook version. I even created a free book proposal checklist (follow the link).

On the surface, I could have balked at Patricia's request because this new book is one of my competitors. To be honest the thought did not cross my mind and instantly I wrote back saying, I'd be honored to help and requested a printed copy of the book. If I'm going to endorse a book, I read the book cover to cover to make sure I have something unique and honest to say about the book.  Patricia sent the book and gave her publisher's deadline for the endorsement.

Last week, I received an autographed copy of Propose Your Book. Prominently on the back cover are these words:

“To learn a skill like book proposal creation, I want to turn to someone like Patricia Fry who is aware of the current market needs, authoritative, detailed, and honest. Read this book and follow the instructions, then an editor or literary agent will want to champion and sell your submission.”

--W Terry Whalin, bestselling author of more than sixty books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams

My endorsement helps Patricia but also promotes my latest writing book. Because Propose Your Book is brand new, I noticed there are no reviews on Amazon—at this writing. Often the publisher will include the endorsements on the Amazon page (something which has not happened yet for this book). Even though I write a number of reviews, it would look odd to endorse and also review this book. Part of my effort in helping Patricia is writing this article and promoting it—which tells people about the availability of this excellent book.

The next move is yours to apply this information to your own writing life. What actions are you taking today to eliminate your competition?

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Why Every Book Needs a Proposal (Even Self-Published)

I've read thousands of book proposals as an acquisitions editor and a former literary agent. I continually teach on the topic because I believe many writers don't understand the critical nature of this specialized document called a book proposal.

On the traditional side of publishing, editors and agents read proposals. It doesn't matter whether you've written nonfiction or fiction because this document includes information which never appears in your manuscript yet is critical detail in the decisionmaking process. My Book Proposals That Sell has over 100 Five Star Amazon reviews and continues to help many writers. My online course, Write A Book Proposal has helped writers around the world to learn the step-by-step techniques of creating a proposal.

As a book publisher at Intermedia Publishing Group, many of my authors have not written a book proposal because we work with full manuscripts. From my perspective of working in book publishing for over 20 years, every author should create a book proposal for their book—whether eventually they publish the book with a company where they pay to get it published (subsidy or self-publishing) or whether they find a traditional book publisher. In the proposal creation process, the author learns some critical elements about their book concept plus they are better positioned in the marketplace.

Here are four benefits of proposal creation (and I'm certain there are many more):

1. You Define Your Target Market. Many authors believe their book will hit a broad target—everyone. No successful book is for everyone. Each book has a primary target audience and the proposal creation process helps you define, pinpoint and write about this audience. It is important in nonfiction but it is also important in fiction. For example, romance is the largest fiction genre yet there are many divisions within the romance genre. Every proposal needs a target which is defined—yet large enough to generate volume sales. You learn and achieve this balance when you create a page-turning book proposal.

2. You Understand Your Competition. While creating a proposal, the writer has to take a hard look at which books are competing with your idea. This process helps you understand the marketplace. Many new authors believe they are writing something unique with no competition. It's not true. Every book competes in the marketplace and you will be a better equipped author if you understand your competition.

3. You Create A Personal Plan For Marketing. Whether you like marketing or dislike it, the reality is every author has to market their own book. It doesn't matter who publishes your book—whether you self-publish or go with a large traditional house. As you create a book proposal, you will be including practical, specific and measurable ideas that you can execute when your book enters the market. The proposal will be a valuable reference tool for you because you've done this important creation process.

4. You Possess A Valuable Tool To Pitch Agents and Editors at Traditional Houses. I've written it a number of times but it bears repeating here. Literary agents and editors do not read manuscripts. They read book proposals. Even novelists need a book proposal for their initial pitch to an editor or agent. And if you self-publish and are successful with selling your book, because you own everything, if you receive an attractive offer from a traditional house, then you can move the book. Without a proposal you can't properly pitch the concept and you've eliminated this possibility.

I believe writers should explore every option and keep their possibilities open. You've narrowed the possibilities rather than expanded them if you don't have a proposal.

If you make the effort to create an excellent book proposal, then you will be ready to pitch your book at any time and any place.

A Crucial Element to Book Proposal Success

After reading thousands of book proposals, I know for a fact that many writers fail in the section about their competition. The writer either falsely believes there is no competition (every book competes) and writes that information explicitly for this section or they write a section which is incomplete and not persuasive.

Whether you write nonfiction or fiction, the competition is an important part of every book proposal. Below I’m including an excerpt from the excellent Publish Your Nonfiction Book, Strategies for Learning the Industry, Selling Your Book, and Building A Successful Career by Sharlene Martin and Anthony Flacco. Yes, Sharlene and Anthony have focused on nonfiction but if you are a novelist, do not be fooled into thinking this material is not for you. It is equally important for you to learn. Every writer can profit from a careful study of this book. Here’s their valuable excerpt:

“Next to your platform, your book comparisons (or comps) section is the biggest key to the success of your proposal. Your comps section must consist of three to six examples of recent books that are similar to yours, and which sold well. Take time and care in considering the right comps for your project. They must reflect well on the potential success of your book.

To find appropriate comps, you can start with online booksellers such as Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble (www.bn.com). Look for recent books that cover the same or similar subject matter as yours. Because trends and habits change, a book that did well thirty years ago will not necessarily do well today, and so it will not be a good comp. There is no use in comparing your book to a dinosaur. Additionally, new people are constantly moving into publishing, and they might not be aware of a book that old—or even one from ten years ago. Newer books give agents and editors a point of reference for current consumer buying habits in your field.

No matter what your book title and subject, you are sure to find a few comps that are close. Amazon.com offers several million titles; a few have to be similar to yours. When you find eight to ten books that look promising and that are similar to your book, check those titles in terms of sales. The number one mistake that authors make here is that they list comparative titles without any thought to the success of the books. There is absolutely no point in holding up a book that tanked as a supporting example.

Many authors use the daily sales rankings at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble to determine sales success, but these numbers only reflect very current sales and are not accurate indicators of the overall, long-term sales of a book. A better bet is to go to the best-seller lists in The New York Times or USA Today. Both publications archive their best-seller lists and you can check to see which of your prospective comps are on those lists. If you are lucky, you will find one or two of your comps have done exceedingly well. One might even have a blurb on the cover to the effect of “Sixty Weeks on the Best-Seller List!” or you might find a book that is in its fifth or sixth printing.

Then do your homework. Find the publishers of the recent comps that sold well, and go to their websites. See how many books they release each year and how large their backlist is. If you want to attract a large publisher, you need to use comps that have been published by a large publisher.

If these steps have completely eliminated your prospective list of comps, go find some more. If some comps are still on your list, go to an actual bricks-and-mortar bookstore or a library to find an actual copy of your prospective comp. Then assess it for quality. If the manufacture of the book is done as shoddy work, that publisher will not be among the respected in the industry. When you hold the inferior book in your hands, it becomes apparent that if you had used it as a comp, that would only draw an unfavorable comparison—something that you surely want to avoid.

As you can see, this process can take some time. After you finally get three to six suitable titles, pull information for the comp’s title: author, publisher, publication date, page count, ISBN, and whether it is hardcover, trade paperback, or a mass-market paperback. Be careful: Many popular books have more than one edition, as well as large print and audio versions.

You definitely want to choose the printed version that sold best. Often, but not always, it is the original hardcover printing of the book. Pull a cover image so agents and editors can get a visual. Format the image as you did the other photos in your book proposal, then place it in your document near that book’s title information.Next, decide how best to compare and contrast your title with each of the comps. To do this, (a) develop a one-paragraph description of the comp, then (b) add another paragraph of analysis explaining how your book offers positive points that the other book lacks. The common theme for all commercial nonfiction is that your book is similar to others in ways that have proven successful, but it is also uniquely yours by virtue of your valuable perspective.

CAUTION:More is not more, here. One prospective author sent us a proposal that included twelve comps, ten of which were from small, university, or self-published presses. If your goal is to be with a university press for the prestige, then by all means use those books as comps. But don’t use these kinds of books and expect to get a sizable advance, as those presses pay very little in the way of up-front money.

With the proliferation of information on Internet, there is no excuse for an author to remain ignorant about the profession. Check out your references. For example, if the publisher of a prospective comp doesn’t have a website, run! If the website is cheesy, run faster. Consider that the way this sloppy website looks to you now is how you would look to others, if they learned that this publisher was handling your work.

Never bluff. You must read your competition. Otherwise how will you determine the right way to position your book? You could easily end up looking like a fool by declaring a certain book to be a “comp” for yours, when your recipient is aware that it is not a good comparison. With today’s tight budgets, accurate competitive analysis is more important than ever, but the onus of it is upon you, ahead of the publisher. When you multiply your book by hundreds of others, it is clear that editors at publishing companies have no time to do this for each book that they are thinking about buying. But if you try to bluff your way through with lazy work, you will never know how to predict what your recipient already knows about the topic. The accuracy of your comps is another arena where you can demonstrate that you are the writer for this book.

Regarding the language in your comparison: Certain words and phrases are the kiss of death in the comps section of a proposal. Never say, “This book is better than__________________ .” Who knows whether your proposal might end up being read by the agent or editor of the book you just slammed. It can happen! A better way to approach is to say: “My book offers _____________ in order to go deeper into the topic than other books have done so far.”

Never try to get off with light work by claiming that “there are no other books out there” like yours. This is actually a very old and tired gimmick that has been attempted far too many times to carry any weight. Many of your competition will try it anyway, which is fortunate for you because it isn’t going to work for them, either.”

Excerpted by Permission from Publish Your Nonfiction Book by Sharlene Martin and Anthony Flacco (Writer’s Digest Books, 2009) Pages 74-77.

Competitor or Colleague. Your Attitude Is Critical

At first, the slogan seemed confusing to me. Within the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the leading nonfiction writers group in the U.S., I would often hear, "We train our competition." Why would someone train their competition?

I've been an active member of the ASJA for many years and I've seen the truth of this statement. Our members freely give information about how they snagged a magazine assignment at a top publication including the name of the editor and the details fo their query letter. We readily help each other to land a hard-to-get literary agent or a top book publisher.

Why? Because instead of seeing the world as competitive, we see the world that needs good writers. Plus underlying the slogan is the understanding there is plenty of work for everyone and the greater need is to help as many people as possible to achieve their dreams. Your attitude about the work is critical. In my view, there is plenty of work for everyone. It's more important to view others as colleagues than competition.

Seven years ago, I wrote Book Proposals That Sell which has 97 Five Star reviews on Amazon and continues to sell as an Ebook and a paperback. I often receive emails from authors who have used the book to get the attention of a literary agent or a book contract. Recently I heard that one of my agent friends, Marilyn Allen and her partner Coleen O'Shea released Book Proposals & Query Letters which is a part of mega-selling series, The Complete Idiot's Guide.

I read the book and wrote a five star Amazon review plus I sent the notice of my review out to my network. Why would I do that? Aren't I undercutting my own book sales and audience if I encourage people toward Book Proposals & Query Letters? Aren't they competitors? Not really. There are millions of people who need book proposal help. I would rather work with people as colleagues than consider them competitors. See the difference in attitude?

Here's what I wrote about Book Proposals & Query Letters:

I’ve been in publishing more than 20 years in many different roles (author, magazine editor, co-author, acquisitions editor, literary agent and publisher). If I’m going to read a how-to book about the creation of book proposals and query letters, I want to make sure I’m learning from someone who has the authority and experience on this topic. Marilyn Allen and Coleen O’Shea are publishing experts and this book is written with honesty and authority. It resonates with the undercurrent, “we know what we’re talking about here.” The pages of this book are packed with wisdom and sound counsel—whether you have just decided to write a book or whether you are writing your 31st book. Every author can learn something from reading –and re-reading this book. It deserves your careful study—then most importantly—taking action on their advice and applying it to your submissions.

Here’s the problem: some publishing experts estimate there are six million proposals and manuscripts in circulation at agents and publishers. You only have seconds to make a good first impression. The authors emphasize this important need in their fourth chapter about The E-Mail Query Letter: “Some publishing professionals estimate that only 1 percent of all queries ever result in representation. Put another way: for every 100 queries an agent reads, only one author has a shot at becoming a client. Yes, that means the odds are against you—but they aren’t impossible. As the adage goes, ‘You gotta be in it to win it.’ Increase your chances of getting into that coveted 1 percent by following a few simple ground rules before you even keystroke the word ‘Dear.’” (Page 43-44)

The authors begin with queries but make a clear preference to writing your proposal before you write your query letter. As they explain in a section called “Agents’ Advice”: “This might sound like a no-brainer, but don’t send out a query letter before you have written your book proposal. The query letter might go to the agent or editor first, but you need to have the proposal ready to be sent out as soon as possible when requested. Keep in mind, too, that the query letter might look easy because it’s a short document, but in fact it can be the hardest piece to write.” (Page 40)

Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, you can improve your queries and book proposals if you take action on the advice in these pages. I read it carefully with a yellow highlighter and found myself nodding and highlighting many sections of this book. THE COMPLETE IDIOT’S GUIDE TO BOOK PROPOSALS & QUERY LETTERS packs a power punch. I highly recommend it.

Ok, that was my review of this terrific resource that I posted on Amazon. In recent weeks, I've invested a great deal of energy to put together the lessons and details of my online course about book proposal creation: Write A Book Proposal. One of my bestselling fiction author friends called it a "bold new effort." I've not seen anything like it in the marketplace which teaches this step-by-step approach to creating an excellent book proposal. From my perspecitve, there is no competition in this area. I see a massive amount of need from people who would like to get published but haven't a clue how to properly approach a literary agent or book editor with their ideas. The critical element is your attitude and how you see the world around you.

Know Your Competition

It's a common missing element in many book proposals. The writer contends they have created something unique which "has no competition." When someone writes this statement, they are not considering the larger sense of the book market. Every book has competition in the marketplace. It's the responsibility of the writer to understand and describe that competition in their book proposal. It is not the responsibility of your editor or literary agent to create this competition but the author's responsibility who should intimately know their topic and area of expertise.

Publishers need this information throughout the internal process within publishing houses. For one publisher, when they complete their internal paperwork to secure a book contract for an author, they are required to list the ISBNs of competitive titles.

Some of you reading these entries are familiar with Book Proposals That Sell. In the final pages of this book, I include a sample of one of my book proposals which sold for a six-figure advance. This proposal is exactly what was submitted to the various publishers. The missing ingredient in my proposal (despite its success) is the lack of specific competitive titles. I wrote this proposal over ten years ago and in today's market it would need to have those competitive titles before it would go out into the marketplace. Hopefully I've learned (and continue to learn) a few things about book proposal creation over the last few years.

When I started as an acquisitions editor, the president of the company (no longer there) sat down and went through the various topic areas where I would be acquiring books. One of these areas was parenting books. I raised a question about this area since within several miles of our offices was a major marketing force in this area of parenting called Focus on the Family. "Oh yes, Terry, we will continue to publish parenting books," he said with passion. "Marriages continue to fall apart in record numbers and children are leaving the church in droves." With my marching orders, I continued to acquire parenting books but silently I wondered whether a book can solve those two explicit issues about the family.

Each week Publishers Weekly tackles a different area of the market. In the February 11th issue, they cover parenting books which is highly competitive with loads of successful titles in print. The article, "Spare the Rod and..." gives a rundown of several forthcoming parenting books. Here's what is interesting to me (and hopefully for you): Notice the sub-categories for each title in the article: publisher, first printing, target audience, author's credentials, why the book is needed, and what distinguishes it from the competition. The final four categories are what every author needs to include in their book proposal when it is submitted to a literary agent or an editor.

The actual language for the competition section is tricky. The author needs to point out the competition and how their book takes a different slant on the subject or deeper or some improvement--without slamming the competitive title. Why? Because the publisher of that competitive title may be the perfect location for your book. You don't want to offend that publisher with how you've written about their title. Like many aspects of the publishing world, when you write your competition section, it calls for education, understanding and some sense of diplomacy because the relationship will often be the distinction.