Is it possible to predict whether a book will sell well? Former publisher Jodie Archer and Matthew L Jockers, of Stanford University’s Literary Lab, built an algorithm to find outYour program can identify, from scanning 20,000 books, ones which made the New York Times bestseller lists with 80% accuracy, and one of your key discoveries was that the topics covered in a novel – marriage, work, technology – are more important than its genre in terms of predicting its success. Why?JA: If you look at a bestseller list, you might think it was very diverse in genre – a Stephen King alongside a Jojo Moyes. But certain topics were strong indicators of a bestseller, regardless of genre. “Human closeness” came out on top. This doesn’t mean romance – it could be talking with someone you are intimate with or shopping with a parent. It may be to do with pacing – when Dan Brown knows he has to slow his pace down a little bit and let the characters reflect before a big chase scene in the Vatican, his characters talk it out. John Grisham does it perfectly because in all the legal machinations and suspense and back stabbing, there are always scenes where a lawyer gets a bottle of red wine and a Chinese takeaway and sits on the couch with his female counterpart and they chew the cud for a bit. It is almost the opposite of a formulaic how-to; make a boy meet a girl, make them fall out. Related: Bestselling books 2015: Fifty Shades still on top Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2016-09-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Mexican-Canadian author of bestsellers 'Mexican Gothic' and 'Velvet Was the Night' was born and raised to be a genre-hopping, storytelling dynamo. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-07-14 13:00:02 UTC ]
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Sarah Young’s ‘Jesus Calling,’ which just surpassed 40 million copies sold since its publication 18 years ago, takes #1 on the Religion Nonfiction Bestsellers list after having a banner month; Mitch Albom returns to #1 in Religion Fiction with ‘The Stranger in the Lifeboat.’ Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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It's a good year to be Colleen Hoover, whose 'It Ends with Us' is #1 in the country, and who placed another four books in the top 20. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The movie adaptation of 'Where the Crawdads Sing' hits theaters July 13, and tie-in editions join the megaselling conventional trade paperback. Plus Brian Feehan – Christine Feehan's son – joins his mom as a bestselling author, and the latest book club picks hit our lists. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Jenny Han takes four of the top 10 bestseller slots with books in her Summer I Turned Pretty series. Plus science journalist Ed Yong's 'An Immense World' is #4 on our hardcover nonfiction list, and Riley Sager's suspense novel 'The House Across the Lake' takes the same spot on our hardcover... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
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After publishing a tell-all memoir about her family’s struggles with undiagnosed mental illness, Lindsay Wong was surprised by their reaction when she moved back in with her parents during the pandemic. Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2022-06-17 15:51:56 UTC ]
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A TikTok-famous pug stars in 'Noodle and the No Bones Day,' #2 on our picture book list. Plus Katee Robert continues her Dark Olympus series with Wicked Beauty, #5 on our trade paper list, and June book club picks make their debuts. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-06-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Nora Roberts shows her colors with 'Nightwork,' the #5 book in the country. Plus Jennifer L. Armentrout wins 'The War of Two Queens,' and Chris Pavone spends 'Two Nights in Lisbon.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-06-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Jack Carr has the #9 book in the country with 'In the Blood.' Plus Candice Millard's 'River of the Gods' takes the #7 spot on our hardcover nonfiction list, and a pair of celeb titles with starred reviews debuts. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-05-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The NFL's rumored streaming service could debut in JulyDyson, the company that’s recently branched out into hair curlers, air-purifying headphones and not cars, has revealed it has an entire division secretly developing robot prototypes for household chores.The company didn't detail any of the... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-05-26 11:15:21 UTC ]
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She was accused of ‘betraying motherhood’ when she was revealed as the author of the Guardian’s Living With Teenagers column. Will her novel about a child with addiction issues reopen old wounds?Few writers have published and been damned with quite the ferocity Julie Myerson was back in 2009 for... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-05-21 08:00:14 UTC ]
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Viola Davis has the #1 book in the country with the memoir 'Finding Me.' Plus Don Winslow's 'City on Fire' heats up our hardcover fiction list, and Alice Oseman's Heartstopper books get a boost from Netflix. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-05-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Dave Pilkey's latest Cat Kid Comic Club installment, 'On Purpose,' is the bestselling book in the country for second week in a row. Plus a pair of celebrity debuts – Janelle Monáe's 'The Memory Librarian' and Randy Rainbow's 'Playing with Myself' – hit our lists. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-29 04:00:00 UTC ]
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TikTok nonna Barbara Costello debuts at #4 on our hardcover nonfiction list with 'Celebrate with Babs.' Plus readers say 'Hello, Molly!' (Shannon), #9 in hardcover nonfiction, and 'Red Notice' author Bill Browder issues a 'Freezing Order.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The 26th iteration in Germany of the 'I'll Give You a Story' project brings reading and environmentalism to schoolkids this year. The post Germany’s World Book Day: ‘I’ll Give You a Story’ of a Secret Lake appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-04-20 18:49:10 UTC ]
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As the Mother’s Day shopping season approaches, books on motherhood and other women’s issues by Shannon Bream, Jennie Allen, Lysa TerKeurst and more dominate our Religion Nonfiction Bestsellers list; Francine Rivers’ ‘Redeeming Love’ remains in two top spots in Religion Fiction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Antonio Scurati's novel about Benito Mussolini is an exhaustive look at how democracy crumbles. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-04-06 11:00:35 UTC ]
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Knopf will be publishing three new books in its Millennium series, which launched with Stieg Larsson's 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.' The new titles will be written by bestselling Swedish author Karin Smirnoff, with the first of them set to be released on September 5, 2023. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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While Lisa Scottoline's 'What Happened to the Bennetts' came in at #1 this week, five of Julia Quinn's Bridgerton books entered the list. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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After the release of the film trailer for 'Where the Crawdads Sing,' the year-old trade paper edition soars to #1 in the country. Plus Janet Evanovich introduces a new globetrotting heroine, and Ibram X. Kendi's 'Antiracist Baby' gets a boost from an unlikely corner. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
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