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 ]
E L James’ Fifty Shades of Grey (Arrow) has become only the fourth paperback novel to sell... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The erotica trend sparked by Fifty Shades of Grey looks set to sizzle all summer, with... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-06-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hot on the heels of Cornerstone’s Fifty Shades of Grey, Penguin’s Michael Joseph has... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-06-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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According to the calendar, it may not be summer for a few more weeks, but tell that to booksellers, who launched their summer selling season on Memorial Day. One week in and many independents are anticipating an up summer. A mild winter and a strong first quarter contributed to a number of... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-06-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Erika Leonard laughs a lot, a deep wheezy chortle. And why wouldn't she? Leonard, a 49-year-old overnight publishing sensation, is laughing all the way to the bank. In the past few months the former TV executive has had her first novel, Fifty Shades of Grey, dominate the New York Times... Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2012-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E L James' Fifty Shades of Grey was once again the bestselling book in the UK last week, and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Those who work in publishing—and especially those who write books—are no strangers to jealousy. Why does one title become a bestseller when another doesn’t? That sentiment has certainly bubbled up around E.L. James’s Fifty Shades trilogy. While some romance editors and authors say they don’t... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers are moving quickly to capitalise on the spectacular success of Century’s erotic... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ebury is relaunching its Black Lace erotica imprint, as E L James' Fifty Shades of Grey... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E L James’ Fifty Shades of Grey (Arrow) was comfortably the bestselling printed book in the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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British novelist E L James' much-discussed erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey (Arrow) has... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Fifty Shades of Grey' by E.L. James and sequels are an ebook and paperback phenomenon that is also causing a sales spike in sex shops. How did it all happen?The staff of the Pleasure Chest, a high-end West Hollywood sex shop, were first tipped to the "Fifty Shades of Grey" phenomenon by their... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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"Fifty Shades of Grey'' and its two sequels, which became underground sensations and attracted interest from major publishing houses, is headed for Hollywood. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2012-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Wed, 02/11/2011 - 14:00 Walter Isaacson's biography of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs sold 379,000 copies in the US in its first week on bookshop shelves, BookScan US data has revealed. The $35 publication, published by Simon & Schuster in the US,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Wed, 02/11/2011 - 14:00 Walter Isaacson's biography of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs sold 379,000 copies in the US in it first week on bookshops shelves, BookScan US data has revealed. The $35 publication, published by Simon & Schuster in the US,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Translations account for about 12% of all titles published in Russia in 2010. Here, as in other corners of the world, American and British blockbusters are translated and almost guaranteed top slots on the bestseller list. Names like J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Agatha Christie,... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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