Derek Thompson unravels the mystery of Fifty Shades’ mega-salesThere are no doubt plenty of people - but probably not as many as read the book - who simply can’t fathom how EL James can have sold more than 125m copies of Fifty Shades of Grey. Derek Thompson is here to help. The reason, it transpires, is pretty straightforward: a winning combination of social connection, five-star ebook reviews, the fan-fiction community and, finally, marketing. That might sound banal, but in Hit Makers, Thompson does a really fascinating job of explaining how things become popular, drawing on a wide range of cultural phenomena, from Star Wars to the iPhone, Taylor Swift to Game of Thrones. Reading its countless interesting references, it quickly becomes clear that Hit Makers is less a how-to guide – Thomson believes success is often “semichaotic” – and more a how-come? conversation with an engaging popular culture expert. The conclusion? Mere imitation rarely begets a hit, but the elusive combination of familiarity, innovation and marketing stands a better chance.• Hit Makers: How Things Become Popular by Derek Thompson is published by Allen Lane (£20). To order a copy for £15 go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99 Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2017-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with:
#wide range
#star wars
#taylor swift
#online orders
Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 04/08/2011 - 09:12 The Authors' Licensing & Collecting Society has welcomed the government support for the Hargreaves Review into intellectual property and growth, though it expressed concern over the proposals to extend copyright... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#government support
#hargreaves review
#intellectual property
#expressed concern
Written By: Charlotte Williams and Philip Stone Publication Date: Fri, 05/08/2011 - 09:00 Publishers and independent booksellers are stressing the importance of "working harder" on hardback fiction titles, as sales of the format fell by £3.2m over the first half of 2011. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#charlotte williams
#independent booksellers
#working harder
Creative consultant JC Suares shares some of the biggest headscratchers he's heard from editors, publishers and designers. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-08-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#ve heard
HarperPress has signed a book examining the role of the intelligence service during the end of the British Empire. Editorial director Martin Redfern bought UK and Commonwealth (excluding Canada) rights at auction to Empire of Secrets by Calder Walton from Jon Elek at A P Watt. The book will be... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book examining
#british empire
#jon elek
Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Tue, 26/07/2011 - 16:29 The High Court has rejected an application by an Isle of Wight resident to bring a judicial review claim over the island's library closures. At a hearing in London today [26th July], His Honour Judge Pearl said the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#high court
#library closures
Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Tue, 26/07/2011 - 17:11 Telegraph Media Group has been ordered to pay £65,000 in damages after losing a high court case for libel and malicious falsehood over a Lynn Barber book review published in the Telegraph. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#pay damages
#book review
It's no secret that Borders was hemorrhaging money long before it sought chapter bankruptcy protection five months ago. Because of the company's shaky finances, most publishers began transitioning sales to other outlets long before the bankruptcy filing. Even so, the crippled chain moved a lot... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#months ago
Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Thu, 21/07/2011 - 09:18 Brent council's plan to close six of its 12 libraries was made "with great care and expressed attention to the 1964 Act" and other relevant legislation, the High Court heard yesterday (20th July). The council had faced... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#opening day
#great care
#judicial review
Possibly the most famous book review, ever, was written by the young Irish wit and polemicist John Wilson Croker. Croker is still remembered, though obscurely, as a founder of modern political conservatism. What's more, according to some sources, John Wilson Croker invented the very term... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2011-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book reviewing
Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 20/07/2011 - 14:45 HarperCollins sold more than 10,000 ebooks of George RR Martin's A Dance with Dragons last week, its biggest digital performance for a new release. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Wed, 20/07/2011 - 09:10 Brent council failed to comply with its legal obligations under the 1964 Public Libraries and Museums Act when planning the closure of six of its libraries, the High Court was told on the first day of the judicial review... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#full range
#museums act
#high court
Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Wed, 13/07/2011 - 07:44 Templar Publishing has bought world English language rights to a "gritty yet glamorous tale of murder, romance and rock n roll". Helen Boyle, commissioning fiction editor, bought the rights to Drummer Girl by Bridget... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#helen boyle
Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Wed, 13/07/2011 - 15:38 Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Quercus), the first book in the late Swedish journalist's Millennium thriller trilogy, has become only the sixth adult novel to sell more than two million copies since records... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#million copies
#records began
Drive up and down the 101 Freeway in Silicon Valley, or cast your gaze north toward Seattle, and media companies, which expect to book over $20 billion in advertising in 2011, appear to be everywhere. But visit the biggest of these companies and ask them to define themselves, and youll be... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2011-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#big thing
Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 07/07/2011 - 15:47 read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#judicial review
Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Wed, 06/07/2011 - 16:25 The Legal Services Commission, which handles legal aid, has been accused of "cynically changing the rules" by ignoring the decision of its own appeals panel that library campaigners pursuing judicial review claims should not... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Wed, 06/07/2011 - 08:02 A court hearing to decide whether permission will be given for a judicial review to proceed against Gloucestershire library cuts is to take place in Birmingham tomorrow (Thursday 7th July). If allowed to proceed, the judicial... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#judicial review
#library closures
Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 04/07/2011 - 09:59 J K Rowling's former agent Christopher Little has broken his silence about the author's surprise defection from his agency, saying that he was "disappointed and surprised" by the "premature news". Responding to Little,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 29/06/2011 - 09:16 HarperCollins has printed its one millionth copy of titles from George R R Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series this year, as it announced it has sold 50,000 ebooks of the series to date. A Dance with Dragons, the fifth... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#fire series
#sky atlantic
Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 27/06/2011 - 08:53 Pottermore has responded to retailers' frustrations over being unable to sell the Harry Potter ebooks, saying the idea was to "ensure ease of availability across all reading devices". read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#reading devices