Social media, SEO, marketing and writingWriting Mass Market Paperback Originals
Some of the biggest money an author can ever hope to make lies in mass-market paperbacks. Some books are destined to be published as paperbacks right from inception while other are published as paperback after successfully being published in another format first. Only time and experimentation will tell if you have what it takes to turn out this type of book.
Paperbacks cover a wide variety of subjects. One paperback, ‘When Bad Things Happen to Good People,’ has over two million copies in print.
How do you know if your idea is right for this category? There is a test you can do. First ask if enough people would be interested in the book? Mass market means appeal for millions of readers.
Ask also if it’s commercial enough for the leading paperback publishers, and you know what they want is huge mega book blockbusters. They do, however, make some big mistakes in the books they reject and then watch them soar to the heights.
Finally, in your test, ask if you as the author have enough interest in the idea to see it through to completion? You would be surprised how many manuscripts are started but never finished.
Bestselling author Clive Cussler started in mass market with his ‘Raise the Titanic’ years ago. Most of Clive’s books are published first in hardcover, but he has sold millions of paperbacks as well. One of his three book deals was reportedly a $14 million offer. But Cussler hit the big time some years ago and has been a big fiction name for a while.
One of Clive’s lead characters in his exciting novels is Dirk Pitt, who gets involved in challenging missions on the high seas of world intrigue. The first thing you quickly realize about Clive is what a truly masterful storyteller he is. For novels, that is the most important skill you can have. Cussler simply tells a fascinating story as reading his novels reveals.
When not working on a new novel, Cussler and his crew are off to some locale on a search for a new sunken ship. He is credited with having located the German U-boat that sank the LUSITANIA. They located the exact spot where the German U-boat lies beneath the sea. Cussler passed along that information to officials so that a record can now exist of where the German submarine lies.
In writing novels, Cussler believes that a novelist should make every effort to end each chapter with a hook so the reader feels, “My God, what happens next?” This is what keeps readers turning pages.
Keep in mind that mass market is also nonfiction and not just novels. Consider the following mass market paperback bestsellers:
- Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
- Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul
- Spontaneous Healing
- Habits of Highly Effective People
- How the Irish Saved Civilization
- A Whack On the Side of the Head
- All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten
The first named, ‘Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff,’ is reportedly the fastest selling trade paperback ever. It has gone back to press many times and millions of copies have been sold.
If mass market interests you, the first thing you need to decide is whether to try a nonfiction book or novel. Study the bestselling charts to see what the public is responding to at present.
Some books cross borders and sell in every area. This fact is presenting new challenges to your publishers. But if mass market is where your goal is, think wide appeal. Get excitement, adventure, mystery, glamour, and suspense into your fiction. If your mass market effort is nonfiction, strive to come up with news the reader can put to immediate use. Above all, try to anticipate coming trends and look for sequel books, which are simply other angles on the same title or idea.
