The secret formula for writing a best-seller
There isn't one.
It’s something I see a lot: “how to write a best seller”, “how to become a great author”, “these 5 secrets will make you a best-selling author”.
Promises that if you read this post of that post, you’ll learn some hidden secret that will launch your writing into the stratosphere. Some titbit that only Tolkien, Shakespeare, and a select handful of writers through history have known that I promise will make you one of the greats.
These secrets do not exist.
There is no secret formula to make a best-seller; no magic button to create a masterpiece.
But let’s think for a minute on this.
Say there really was a formula to make your story into the best story of the year, decade, or century, would it be worth it? Wouldn’t everyone else know and use it too? And, more importantly, what would it be?
If we compare this to music (I’ve been a musician for 15 years, why wouldn’t I?), think of songs that have lasted. Songs that were made decades or even centuries ago that we still know and love today, that evoke emotion or a compulsion to sing or dance when heard.
On the side, we have the commercial tracks, those made to be simple and to please wide audiences. Songs with formulas! The same chord progression, the same structure (sometimes down to the second), hollow lyrics that are made to replicate those of a hit from times gone by.
These kinds of songs, of which I’m sure most of us could name many, are fine. They sell because they follow a formula that pleases, even if that formula is starting to grow old on listeners.
And sure, they may sell well today or make sell-out tours, but they’re missing something (I could and maybe one day will go on a rant about composing by committee - simple songs with a half dozen composers - but it wouldn’t add to this post so I’ll resist the urge). They lack the heart and the passion that masterpieces have.
Moving back to books…
A formula can only get you so far.
Beat sheets and structure formulas (most famously Save The Cat) are great. They are amazing tools that help you dissect stories and formulate your own to help you learn. And that is what they are: tools to help you learn and grow and to develop a vocabulary to discuss, dissect, and develop as an author.
And that’s amazing. Of course, you can also learn these things through formal study, discussions and debates, or by simply reading and writing, but these tools help you get over the first hurdle a little easier.
But they won’t make your book a masterpiece. They won’t make it a best-seller because most readers don’t want a paint-by-numbers story, they want an honest story that shows a love and passion for the craft.
If there is a secret ingredient to making literary masterworks, it’s just that: passion.
Look at any artist whose work you love - whether they are an author, animator, painter, musician, sculptor, or whatever else - and you’ll see something beyond a formula there. A heart and a drive to create that is fuelled by a passion for that medium.
The take away I want you to have from this is not to distrust beat sheets or to look down on simple stories. They exist for a reason.
Instead, ignore the “5 secrets all best-selling authors know” headlines and take the time to explore, grow opinions, make mistakes, and learn. In the time it could take to read one of these fluff pieces, you could instead read a short story, draft a plot point, or put 100 more words into your work in progress.
That is what will improve your craft.
If you’re passionate about your craft, learning isn’t a chore: it’s an adventure.