What does it take to write a successful book, or the next bestselling novel? If you're like most would-be authors, you've probably read numerous articles that promised step-by-step instructions on how-to successfully write a bestseller. The reason I know that, of course, is because I've read plenty of them myself. Before writing my first book, I read every article I could find on the subject. In the end, however, most of them left me disheartened, because the formulas for success they promised to deliver, proved to be mere marketing ploys for selling more books.
I would like to introduce you to one formula for writing potential bestsellers, however, that's been kept secret too long. Is it a proven method for producing bestsellers? You betcha! In fact, statistics prove this simple approach is capable of producing bestsellers in nearly every genre: adventure, romance, drama, teen, mystery, thrillers, and a whole lot more.
What is the secret that authors have used to sell millions of books, and dominate the all-time bestseller list? Are you ready for it? Here it is: If you want to write books that really sell, and consistently top the bestseller chart, then you need to write clean, creatively told stories, that leave out sex, violence and offensive language, and rely instead upon strong character development, and well-written scripts, that exercise the reader's imagination.
Am I serious? I certainly am. According to publisher's sales data, creating bestsellers doesn't require the insertion of sex, violence or offensive language. I'm sure you've heard the claim, "Clean books just don't sell." Now, I don't know who is responsible for making such ridiculous claims, or what their motivation is, but I do know that such statements are untrue.
Accumulated sales data proves that inserting smut in books is a needless endeavor. Can that claim be validated? It certainly can. In fact, you only need to browse the list of all-time, and current bestsellers, to discover for yourself that clean books do sell.
It is no coincidence that the perennial #1 bestseller is the Bible. After all, it is the cleanest, most righteous book on the planet. Maybe that doesn't surprise you. Especially since the Bible typically tops the list for annual sales. You might be surprised, however, to discover how many clean books are among the bestsellers of all-time.
All-time bestseller lists reveal that "nine out of the top ten" top ranking books were smut free. How's that for a good start? But let's not stop there, it gets even better. According to sales data from several Internet sources: fully 22 out of 25, and 44 of the top 50 all-time bestselling books claim to be free of sexual innuendo, senseless violence and foul language.
Some of the books on the "Top 50" list include: The Lord of the Rings (J. R. R. Tolkien), And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie), The Hobbit (J. R. R. Tolkien), A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens), Charlotte's Webb (E. B. White), Jonathan Livingston Seagull (Richard Bach), Peter Rabbit (Beatrix Potter), In His Steps, (Charles Sheldon), Gone with the Wind (Margaret Mitchell), The Purpose Driven Life (Rick Warren), Scouting for Boys: A Handbook for Instruction in Good Citizenship (Robert Baden-Powell), She (H. Rider Haggard), Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry), The Catcher in the Rye (J. D. Salinger), Think and Grow Rich (Napoleon Hill), Heidi (Heidi's Years of Wandering and Learning (Johanna Spyri), The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care (Dr. Benjamin Spock), Anne of Green Gables (Lucy Maud Montgomery), and Black Beauty (Anna Sewell).
How refreshing it is, when an author actually uses their creativity to tell a tale, instead of relying upon clichéd, stale and cookie-cutter storylines laden with sex, violence, and offensive language. According to sales data, millions of readers are as dissatisfied by the reading choices they are being given by the big publishers as I am. Perhaps that helps explain the successful explosion of sales among small and independent publishers. As more bookstores flood their shelves with morally-deficient books, people are turning elsewhere to purchase reading materials.
My parents always told me, "Intelligent people don't need to rely upon foul or offensive language to communicate." That's the way I feel about book writing. Creative writers don't need to use unnecessary or offensive crutches to make a story great, or help their book become popular.
Great writers find a way to make their characters come to life, and create memorable plots and storylines, without the use of unnecessary crudities. What kind of writer are you? Do you have a good story to tell? If you do, then you need to tell it, but leave the crutches at home. Use your own style, be creative, and tell your story from the heart.
Let's take it one step further. Not only have clean books sold well historically, but non-smut laced volumes continue to do very well today. While success stories can be found in nearly ever genre of books, for time's sake, I will concentrate on the sales statistics from one unique genre of books alone: popular fiction books, from southern Appalachia, to illustrate this refreshing trend.
Surprising as it may be to you, the southern Appalachian genre of books have sold more than *40 million volumes since 1998. One publicist recently stated, "Books based on life in small town southern Appalachia sell like hotcakes!"
Atop the list of bestselling books in this genre, you will find Jan Karon's Mitford series, which has sold over twenty-five million books about life in the southern Appalachian mountain region. "That's an incredible statistic," said the author of a new Appalachian-based book, Mountain Empire, "I don't know of another region of the country that can tout such high-ranking sales figures."
Interestingly, while this phenomenon isn't a recent development, it isn't a fad either. For readers of all ages, apparently clean-told tales of life in Southern Appalachia are a favorite destination.
Some of the best-read Southern Appalachian authors include: Jan Karon (Mitford Series), Adrianna Trigiani (Big Stone Gap), Ann B. Ross (Miss Julia), Charles Frazier (Cold Mountain), Gail Godwin (Evensong), Robert Morgan (Gap Creek), Sharyn McCrumb (The Rosewood Casket), Barbara Kingsolver (Prodigal Summer), John Fox, Jr. (Trail of the Lonesome Pine), Lee Smith (Fair and Tender Ladies), Harriet Arnow (The Dollmaker), James Still (River of Earth), and Wilma Dykeman (The Tall Woman). Others in this genre include: Bobbie Ann Mason, Silas House, and Fred Chappell.
Perhaps we love books about the Southern Appalachian region, because they give us a sense of belonging, and remind us of happier, gentler times - a time and place we long to find, and would love to call home.
In a recent interview, Jan Karon (Mitford series) gave definition to our love for small-town fictional settings, that quite possibly reflects the reason many of us have fallen in love with Southern Appalachian-style books, "I think I was born with a kind of deep affinity for the rural, the rustic. In addition, I'm very drawn to the pastoral novels of the English genre -- the village novel where a small group is used to paint a picture of a larger society. I still have in me a great love for the agrarian -- for what this country was, for what we still are. People say, "Oh well, I guess there's no such thing as Mitford." Well, the good news is there are Mitford's all over the country, and there are still great stretches of open land and pastures and meadows and fields. It's not all bad news. There's so much left of this country that is reasonable and moral and strong. And that's the part I relate to."
Apparently, 25 million+ readers are thinking the same thing. That's how many readers have purchased Karon's books about the Southern Appalachian region since 1998. And seemingly, there's no end in sight. Ann B. Ross (Miss Julia series) stated, "I think the South grows storytellers like it does peanuts, sweet potatoes and kudzu." And that's good news for fans of Southern Appalachian fiction.
Well-written, clean-told tales seem to be growing in popularity. And I believe the reason for this refreshing trend can be easily explained. Readers love well-told tales of adventure, romance, mystery and drama, that keep their content clean, because most people can identify with the moral code and personal lifestyle of such characters. Not convinced? Then let me put it another way: Most people do not swear like sailors, or sleep around with every warm body that comes along, so why would they want their heroes or heroines to do it?
If you are a writer, or will soon be, then for the sake of book lovers everywhere, I hope you will make full use of your creative abilities, remove smut from your transcript, and go the clean route. Readers everywhere will rejoice if you do. Besides, when you consider how many bestselling books already adhere to this policy, it just makes good sense. And don't forget - when you do clean it up, and tell it right, you'll be a tremendous success, in more ways than one.
*Accumulated sales data may actually be substantially higher.
