The Bestseller Experiment

David Koepp is one of the most successful screenwriters in Hollywood history. With a collective box office somewhere in the region of $250b he's written Jurassic Park, Spider-Man, Death Becomes Her and many, many more. We were delighted to talk to David about his fantastic new novel COLD STORAGE and to get an insight into his writing process.

Do you have a favourite teacher? One who encouraged you to write, maybe? This special episode is for all the teachers and students out there who have inspired one another over the years, and we have two of them on the show. Sarah Moorhead is the author of Witness X and started out as a teacher. One of her students was young Stuart Turton, author of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and The Devil and the Dark Water. They tell us how they reunited over Twitter and how discussing big ideas in the class can change the course of a life.

How do you research your books? Michelle Paver has written eighteen novels, including the bestselling Chronicles Of Ancient Darkness. She's encountered killer whales, wolves, polar bears and a runaway Yak, all in the name of research.

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.

A Christmas treat as we speak to bestselling author Ian Rankin who takes us through his incredible career, including tips on plotting, research, and his worst habit when writing, his favourite mistake (which he kept in the book) and he tells us his Sean Connery story…

Sarah Pinborough has had over twenty novels published and written for TV and film. Sarah's new thriller Behind Her Eyes is getting incredible buzz after a heated auction. Sarah is always funny, insightful and often eye-wateringly honest. Brace yourselves for one of our most entertaining author chats yet… WARNING: Contains strong adult language!

John Connolly has won pretty much every crime award going, and his books are regular Sunday Times bestsellers. He doesn't do workshops, doesn't suffer fools, and tells us about the massive issue with leaving a book half-finished. John's words are dripping in wisdom and we loved him.

From farrier to million-selling indie author, USA Today bestseller, and writing machine, Shannon bestows wisdom, inspiration, and a quote that we want on t-shirts and bumper stickers.

LJ Ross has long refused to play by other people's rules and when she didn't like the look of a publishing contract she struck out on her own. Over four million copies of her books have been sold to date and she's still going strong. She answers our listener questions on marketing, pricing, Kindle and she tells us why she's launching her own imprint and a prize for authors.

Joanne Harris returns to the podcast with her gripping page-turning thriller A Narrow Door. Joanne answers our listener questions, tells us the importance of human interaction to her writing, why she doesn't see a distinction between plotting and pantsing, and why ideas are like planets in a solar system. And the Two Marks discuss a chicken-writer analogy that has to be heard to be believed…

We welcome the wonderful Angela Marsons back to the podcast. Angela is the multi-million bestselling author of the DI Kim Stone series. And she's back with Six Graves, the 16th book in the series. Despite her mega sales (five million and counting) and a 12-book contract, Angela tells us why she doesn't take a single book for granted, and why every one she starts feels like the first. She also answers our listener questions and the two Marks discuss the pros and cons of being prolific.

We are delighted to welcome worldwide bestseller Michael Connelly back to the podcast to discuss his new novel The Dark Hours, which explores an LA scarred by fear and social unrest. Michael reflects on how the world of Harry Bosch has grown over an incredible thirty years, and he answers our listener questions of writing habits, outlining and much, much more.

We celebrate international bestselling fantasy writer Joe Abercrombie's return to the podcast with The Wisdom of Crowds, which brings his Age of Madness trilogy to a thrilling climax. As always, Joe is a treasure trove of amazing advice for writers and he answers our listener questions on outlining, symmetry, POV and much more. We also ask him if he still dances naked in the rain… and his answer might surprise you.

Sunday Times bestselling thriller writer Steve Cavanagh returns triumphant to the podcast. When we last spoke to him he was on the verge of a great breakthrough. Today he's an award-winner and international bestseller and with his new thriller The Devil's Advocate he's done it again. Steve reveals how he works hard to engage the reader straight away.

Kate Mosse CBE is a global bestselling author with over 8 million sales. Her previous 10 novels include Labyrinth, which became the highest selling novel of the year and was made into a TV series. She is also founder of the Women's Prize for Fiction which has changed the landscape for women's writing over the last 30 years. A full-time carer and author, Kate is a huge inspiration to writers. Her latest novel is The Map of Bones and her theatre tour based on Labyrinth.

Dean Wesley Smith is one of the most prolific writers working today, with over 200 novels, and countless short stories published. He reveals how he has learned how to stop listening to his critical voice, and to stop thinking of the story as a “product”, and how that has unleashed his creativity.

Linwood Barclay is the international bestselling author of over twenty novels, and his latest thriller Find You First is a fast-paced, high-concept, page-turner. In this jam-packed chat we discuss head-hopping, point-of-view, flashbacks, fan fiction, deadlines, writer's block, self-doubt and more!

Dean Koontz is one of the most successful bestselling authors, with over 120 novels published, which have sold an incredible 500m+ copies. This ranks Dean among the top 10 bestselling authors of all time, and one of the top three living authors, an accolade he shares with J.K. Rowling. In his latest novel, The Forest of Lost Souls, Dean weaves suspense and nature with our innate connection with animals to create a suspenseful page-turner.  

The Two Marks talks about isolation, loneliness, the voices in our head and all the other stuff that can make a writer feel like they are alone. We discuss what we can do to build a healthy community around us, even in lockdown. And we share the good news stories from our communities on Patreon, Facebook and the Academy.

BJ Fogg, PhD, founded the Behavior Design Lab at Stanford University and created the Tiny Habits Academy to help people around the world. He tells us how the smallest changes can make a huge difference to your productivity as a writer.

Philip C. Quaintrell is in Amazon's top 1.8% of self-published authors. He does this with no marketing spend, no newsletter, and epic fantasy novels so massively epic that even Brandon Sanderson would quake at their page count. He's also one of the nicest authors we've interviewed. He gives us the lowdown on how he moved from full-time job to full-time author in just a few years.

Hollywood actor Richard Armitage is best known as Thorin in The Hobbit, appearances in Ocean's 8, Captain America and the seventh most viewed Netflix show - Harlan Coben's ‘Fool Me Once'. Richard also starred in shows including Obsession, Red Eye, Spooks, Robin Hood and North & South, as lead John Thornton. As a seasoned audiobook narrator, we talk with Richard about his second novel The Cut, as well as The Hobbit, how he sets life-changing goals and so much more.

Kim Bretton is an actor and has worked in theatre, TV and film, but these days she's found great success producing and narrating audiobooks in Nashville. We talk to Kim about her career shift into audiobooks and the spooky connection she had with Back to Reality.

What better way to celebrate our 400th episode than by speaking to some of our longtime listeners and members of the Bestseller Academy who have faced their greatest writing challenges and come through the other side

We discuss one of the most important topics we've ever covered: writers and their mental health. With questions from our live studio audience we share our experiences of loneliness, anxiety, self-doubt and support.

Angela Marsons' first novel Silent Scream was rejected by every major UK publisher, but she never gave up and now she's sold an incredible three million copies and counting. Her story is incredible and inspirational and she may just be the loveliest author we've ever interviewed…

Sherrilyn Kenyon's first book was published when she was still in college, since then she has had more than 80 novels on the New York Times list, and more than 70 million books in print. We talk to Sherrilyn about her rise from childhood poverty to eBook pioneer and a bestselling phenomenon.

Editor Emad Akhtar has worked with authors like Michael Connelly, Ian Rankin and Justin Cronin and was kind enough to join our show and answer our listeners' questions!

Steve Cavanagh is the author of the Eddie Flynn legal thrillers The Defence, The Plea, The Liar and now, with his new book Thirteen, he is on the verge of a bestselling breakthrough. Steve brings his legal expertise to his writing and creates compelling characters and nail-biting thrillers, and co-presents the Two Crime Writers And A Microphone podcast… Which we're not going to plug on the show. No way.

John Yorke is one of the world's leading lights in the art of storytelling. As former head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and head of Company Pictures, he has worked on shows like Shameless, Life On Mars, and the UK's most popular soap opera EastEnders. He is also the author of Into The Woods, one of our favourite books on the craft of storytelling.

Gareth L Powell is one of the most generous authors on social media and a font of writing wisdom. He's also the award-winning author of the Ack-Ack Macaque trilogy, his short stories have appeared in Interzone, Clarkesworld, and The Year's Best Science Fiction, and he has written for The Guardian, The Irish Times, 2000AD and SFX. With his new book Embers of War he has returned to his love of space opera. We discussed apes, outlining, and answered a few listener questions…

Best known for her novel Chocolat, which sold well over a million copies and was made into a movie starring Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche, Joanne has written over twenty books, including Runemarks and Gospel of Loki, which were based on Norse legend. We spoke with her about writing, aspiration and sheds.

Mark Billingham is renowned for his bestselling crime thrillers, not least the Jack Thorne series. Having now sold over 5 millions copies of his books, Mark takes us through his incredible career which takes in acting, stand-up comedy, writing for TV, and a little bit of kidnapping.

Taylor Jenkins-Reid's latest novel Daisy Jones and the Six has been a global smash, but what makes it all the more extraordinary is that she has written fiction in a non-fiction format. Taylor describes the challenges in writing a novel that is up against real life, stranger-than-fiction rock and roll history.

Mark Victor Hansen is an American inspirational and motivational speaker and author. He is best known as the founder and co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series.  Mark was turned down 144 times trying to get his book published. He kept going when others told him it was not a good idea.. Today with almost 500 million Chicken Soup for the Soul books sold, Mark holds the Guinness World Record for most published books. Mark's latest venture is the Mark Victor Hansen Library which helps authors reach their book dreams with a unique approach to hybrid publishing.

We celebrate seven years of the podcast with the amazing Heather Morris, author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, which has sold over 6 million copies worldwide. She returns with a new novel, Sisters Under The Rising Sun, which transports the reader to the women in Japanese POW camps in WWII and is another incredibly powerful story. Heather talks about the role of listening in her work, creating fiction from reality, and what she learned from screenwriting.

In Part 2 of this series, Mark Desvaux takes you on a deep dive into five more hallmark habits of bestseller authors, distilled from seven and a half years of deep interviews and analysis. Drawn from over 500 conversations with top writers, this series offers possibly the most comprehensive exploration of what it takes to reach the bestseller lists. Join Mark as he unveils the critical practices and routines that have propelled these authors to the peak of literary success. Mark also invites you to join the all-new LIVE 5-Day 200 Word Challenge.  

We're celebrating nearly five years since the launch of the 200 Word Challenge—a project that has helped countless writers finish their books with over 40 million words banked so far. The project grew out of research that showed many aspiring authors struggle with finding time to write (83% according to our survey), as well as self-confidence issues, and challenges around perfectionism, procrastination and finishing. Mark announces the launch of the LIVE 5-Day 200 Word Challenge - a free event starting May 13th providing coaching on writing habits and how to successfully integrate daily writing into your life.

In Part 1 of this new series, Mark Desvaux takes you on a deep dive into the habits of bestseller authors, distilled from seven and a half years of deep interviews and analysis. Drawn from over 500 conversations with top writers, this series offers possibly the most comprehensive exploration of what it takes to reach the bestseller lists. Join Mark as he unveils the critical practices and routines that have propelled these authors to the peak of literary success. Mark also announces the all-new LIVE 5-Day 200 Word Challenge.

We caught up with fantasy bestselling author and super nice dude Brandon Sanderson and in a jam-packed episode he answered our listeners' questions and let us in on some of his inspirational top tips for productive writing…

We've reached a monumental episode – the 500th – on the Bestseller Experiment podcast! To celebrate, Mark Desvaux goes deeper than ever to uncover and countdown the most important, life-changing reasons why we write, drawn from seven and a half years and over 600 hours of interviews with bestselling authors.

Michael Connelly is one of the most successful crime authors in the world with over 60m book sales. Having just released his new Harry Bosch thriller, he shares secrets about developing characters & writing book series – in the back of a London cab!

Karen Storey's name has become synonymous with success in short story writing. With an impressive one-in-three win rate out of over 40 competitions last year, Karen exemplifies what it means to blend passion with strategy in writing. In this episode, Karen shares the secrets of her success, including the importance of great endings. In a final twist, we surprise Karen with the Bestseller Academy All-Star Award for her outstanding achievements.

Ben Aaronovitch started writing for Doctor Who and became the author of the bestselling Peter Grant series that started with Rivers Of London in 2011 and has been hugely successful, regularly hitting the Sunday Times bestsellers top ten. We were delighted to get Ben for a conversation full of fireworks.

Jacqueline O'Mahony was named Young Irish Writer of the Year by the Irish Examiner when she was fourteen. After a BA, MA and PhD she worked at Condé Nast, Vogue and Associated Newspapers as an arts editor. Her debut novel, A River in the Trees, was nominated for the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award and the Not the Booker Prize in 2020. Her latest book Sing, Wild Bird, Sing is set during the Irish Famine, and is a story about the indomitable will to survive—and to flourish—against nearly impossible odds. It sold over 40,000 copies in its first 5 days and has over 17,000 reviews on Amazon.

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. Joe is best known for the First Law Trilogy – The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged and Last Argument of Kings – and the stand-alone novels in the same world – Best Served Cold, The Heroes, and Red Country. He has also written the Shattered Sea trilogy for young (and old) adults – Half a King, Half the World, and Half a War. The world of the First Law collides with the industrial age in a new trilogy – The Age of Madness – which began in September 2019 with A Little Hatred, continued a year later with The Trouble With Peace and concludes in September 2021 with The Wisdom of Crowds.

In this episode, we dive into the world of Rachel Lynch.  Rachel Lynch is a renowned crime fiction author whose work has captivated over a million readers. Rachel is best known for her gripping Kelly Porter series of 12 books, set against the picturesque backdrop of the Lake District. She began writing full time in 2016 and Canelo signed her first three novels in 2018. The Rich is Rachel's latest book and first standalone psychological thriller.

Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston tells us about his life and new bestselling memoir, A Life In Parts. Oscar-nominated, with two Golden Globes, two Tony Awards and 6 time Emmy winner, he's best known for roles in Malcolm in the Middle, Seinfeld and most famously, Walter White. Few people know that he is also an accomplished writer having written a number of screenplays, plays, and his autobiography. We began our conversation by asking to speak to Bryan Cranston the writer…

In this interview, listen in as Mark Desvaux pitches his forthcoming book Pacivida to NY literary agent Lucinda Halpern, who has been securing book deals with all major publishers over the last 15 years. Lucinda represents a range of New York Times and internationally bestselling authors in nonfiction or fiction, and her new book “Get Signed: Find an Agent, Land a Book Deal, and Become a Published Author” which was released last week and already has that coveted Amazon bestseller flag.

Lucinda Halpern is a literary agent with over 15 years' experience securing book deals and working with all major publishers. She represents a range of New York Times and internationally bestselling authors in business, health, lifestyle, popular science, narrative nonfiction, memoir, and upmarket fiction. Lucinda worked for HarperCollins on New York Times bestsellers including Freakonomics. She later worked as a marketing consultant for Gretchen Rubin (The Happiness Project), before launching her career as an agent. Her new book is Get Signed: Find an Agent, Land a Book Deal, and Become a Published Author.

SHARI LAPENA is the #1 internationally bestselling author of seven suspense novels including A Stranger in the House and  The Couple Next Door, her debut which was a runaway global bestseller, with 4 million sales worldwide. It was WHSmith's “Book of the Year” in 2016 and the #1 Adult Fiction Title in the UK for 2017. All of Shari's novels have been New York Times, UK Sunday Times, and Globe and Mail bestsellers. In this episode, Mark Stay interviews Shari about her new page-turner “Everyone Here is Lying”.