304 Breakout Sensations: A Publisher’s Perspective on Creating Bestsellers (ENGLISH)

Some books have become so ubiquitous in our culture – WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING or THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN – that it’s easy to forget those were debut novels by writers no one had ever heard of. What makes a total unknown become a blockbuster bestseller? No question it needs to be a great book, and have lucky breaks along the way, but there are also consistent structural forces and efforts happening behind that scenes that help lift unknown writers into bestsellerdom. Come behind the scenes to see case studies of different breakout debut success stories. You’ll hear about the behind-the-scenes publishing planning and outreach, the shaping of the title, hook, and messaging, the jacket art process, and other decisions that helped collectively tip these books into becoming long-running bestsellers. You’ll also have the opportunity to craft and refine the descriptive hook of your own project, if interested and applicable to your work.

Instructor

Jynne Dilling

Craft · Publishing Strategy