Why I Never Aim for the Bestseller List (and You Shouldn’t Either)

It seems everybody wants to pen the next bestseller.

Of course, just about any book can be labeled one these days. Publishers and marketers can almost guarantee placement on some bestseller list with a strategic release date and a carefully planned launch.

A book might sell only several hundred copies the week of its release and still claim that coveted status.

That’s not what I’m talking about.

I’m talking about those books we don’t have to Google.

To Kill a Mockingbird

Left Behind

The Purpose-Driven Life

Harry Potter

I know some even outsold those. But as these serve my point, and I wrote one of them, I’ll leave it at that.

What is it about these?

They are message books. Big concept books. They’re what agent Donald Maass calls “breakout” books.

The question is: Were they intended to be? Were they written that way? Did the authors know they were onto something massive, colossal, global?

Mockingbird was a debut novel set in a small southern town that dealt with a sea change in racism. The author says she had no idea the book would ever see the light of day, let alone become a classic.
Left Behind was a fictionalized account of a popular view of prophecy. My co-author and I thought it would be encouraging to the faithful. We hoped for a bestseller, sure, maybe something as astronomical as 200,000 copies (certainly not 60-plus million).
Purpose-Driven was a self-help book by a pastor. It grew out of a church growth book he had written, and he has said he is still overwhelmed by its success.
Harry was written on a lark by an unknown British woman who was having fun with her imagination and hoped kids might like it. She now enjoys a net worth in excess of $1 billion.

 

What Bestselling Authors Think While Writing

One privilege of having a series reach what Malcolm Gladwell refers to as “the tipping point” in sales was getting to meet other authors of wildly successful books.

Each told me that not only were they as surprised as anyone at the success of their books, but also that such success was the last thing on their minds as they were writing.

So what was on their minds?

The work. The message. The mission.

They cared about what they were writing. They cared about their readers. They cared about communicating.

That was not only first and foremost. It was, in fact, all.

This proves true in successful businesses as well.

Consultants will tell you that wildly successful businesses are rarely fashioned on spreadsheets. They result from people passionate about serving others.

Someone lives for sharing with the world something they love. What results is resounding success. When and if they fail, it’s because someone loses sight of the original goal and changes the focus to the bottom line.

If you set out to become famous, write a bestseller, get great reviews, or get rich, it’s highly likely you’ll fail.

Believe in your message and care about your readers enough to give yourself wholly to learning your craft and honing your skills.

Don’t even think about bestseller lists.

Write with passion.

Believe me, it will show in your work.

And the rest will take care of itself.

What is your mission as a writer? Tell me in the Comments below.

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