Hit Lit: Cracking the Code of the Twentieth Century's Biggest Bestsellers

To start with, I thought it was pretty good over all. James Hall (the author) studied 12 bestselling books that were published in the last century and tried to find common aspects that all books had that made them mega sellers. (And he was looking at megasellers, not purely bestsellers, as well as break out books - books written by previously not very well known authors, so that only the book - not the name on its cover - explained why it became a huge seller.)Some of the aspects I thought weren't very relevant, IMHO. (For instance, he mentions religion as being critical to the book - which I find kind of interesting as religion only played a very minimal role in, say, Gone with the Wind . And sex also was key, according to him, despite that I don't really remember it being all that important in, say, The Hunt for Red October. Plus, these two elements are so prevalent in novels that it would be hard to find one that didn't even have a hint of sex or religion, you know?) But I do think that he made a lot of really solid ones including:1. To become a mega-bestseller (vs. just a decent seller), you need to appeal to people who don't read books on a regular basis. (Or at least don't buy books.) Even if every single person in the US who normally buys books bought a copy of your book, you wouldn't sell as well as any of these books did. So you need to appeal to a group beyond the regular book buying contingent. This means that your book can't have super fancy, hard to understand language, or elements that would mostly appeal to a serial reader. (For instance, a super unique plot is going to appeal more to someone who's read thousands of books than it would to someone who only reads once in a while. The same is true for vivid imagery, lovely writing, etc. None of these might hurt, but it's not going to make for a mega-seller either.)2. The characters in these novels are rarely self-reflective. They act. They don't sit around and think and feel and discuss their place in the universe. They go out and do stuff.3. Most of these novels are movie friendly (and were eventually made into movies). This may not be necessary for a mega seller (as most sold well prior to having movies based on them), but...if you want a bestseller, it may make sense to ask, "Is this the kind of thing that would make for a good movie?" If the answer is no, then you may not have a mega-seller.4. It hits hot buttons. Virtually every novel covered hit some kind of hot button that was a big deal in the day. (And generally still important now. Valley of the Dolls is really the one exception to the "still relevant now" rule.) Essentially, a novel that doesn't cover any bigger themes isn't all that interesting to most readers. (Even if it covers them crudely, like The Da Vinci Code.)5. There are almost always intricately described worlds which the viewer may not be familiar with. Whether this is a town, a secret society, or the ante belleum south, readers seem to like learning something new. (Or at least feeling like the author knows what they're talking about.) That world building and research matters!Looking at books that are too new to be covered (Harry Potter, Twilight, The Hunger Games) I think that most of these actually meet these criteria fairly well. So there may be something to these rules, such as they are. Not that I think that writers should write to them. (As there are a lot of books that ping all these boxes and yet still don't become best sellers. And there are a lot of good books that don't sell all that well and are still desirable.) But I think that it's definitely work a read for someone who is either trying to write popular literature or just wants to know what makes people read.

from blogger Alex Kourvo on the Writing Slices blogHIT LIT examines twelve mega-bestsellers of the twentieth century, showing what they have in common, and why they sold millions of copies. These are books that broke out on their own: not because of the author’s name (many were first novels) and not because of the movies made from them (the movies all came later). These books spent weeks and years on the bestseller lists because there was something in them that spoke to a huge number of people. Hall sets out to discover exactly what it is.Hall has chosen his twelve books carefully, starting with Gone with the Wind in 1936 and ending with The Da Vinci Code in 2003. He also examines Jaws, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Exorcist, The Hunt for Red October, The Godfather, The Bridges of Madison County, Valley of the Dolls, Peyton Place, The Dead Zone and The Firm.By reading these books deeply and critically, analyzing them the exact same way he’d analyze classic literature, Hall has identified twelve key factors that all bestsellers have in common.Every single one of them deals with fractured families. Each one focuses on a small story played out against a huge backdrop, such as one defecting submarine captain played out against the entire cold war. They cover hot-button issues that reflect our national psyche. They all have intricately described worlds (such as the Civil War south or the inner workings of a law firm or the details of a mafia family) that are so well-described we feel like we’ve been there. Each book also deals with sex and religion in some way.The books are also fast-paced, emotionally charged, and have prose that is rather plain. There are some exceptions to Hall’s rules, but aren’t there always exceptions? Sometimes his insistence that all twelve books share all twelve elements was a stretch, but overall, his arguments were sound. I found myself thinking about more modern-day bestsellers such as The Martian and The Kite Runner, and darned if they didn’t check all the boxes, too.That’s not to say that one could reverse-engineer a bestseller out of Hall’s rules, and he cautions writers against trying it. Any writer looking for a shortcut here will be disappointed. The books on the bestseller list have a sincerity to them that can’t be faked.But that’s beside the point. HIT LIT is just plain fun to read, with insights on every page. HIT LIT teaches you how to be a more critical reader, even of the books critics dismiss. Hall likes these books, and treats them with respect, explaining them on a deep level that makes you want to read (or re-read) them all.

Hall is best known for his edge-of-the-seat thrillers turns his attention to what makes a book a bestseller. Although the title may, at first, seem he's going to write about hitmen, he doesn't. Hall dissects a dozen bestselling pieces of popular fiction and lays bare commonalities among them. What do Jaws and Gone With the Wind, Peyton Place and The DaVinci Code, or To Kill a Mockingbird and The Godfather have in common? Hall maintains they have a lot.The book should be read by writers and readers alike. It offers new ways of looking at old favorites. Who knew that The Hunt for Red October and The Godfather both dealt with secret societies? It is ideas like this which make this book a welcome addition to bookshelves.

Excellent summary for any writer, even if you don't intend to write to formula. Value information.

A fabulous starting point for the author that wants to know what makes a bestseller a bestseller! A great study!

Pour ceux et celles qui pensent que l'écriture d'une best-seller est une chose aléatoire, la lecture de ce livre pourraient leur démontrer le contraire. L'auteur analyse 12 best-seller planétaires et décortique leur charnières scripturales. Un seul regret: que ce livre ne soit pas encore traduit en français pour les septiques. En fait deux regrets: que le même livre n'existe pas avec des chef-d'œuvres français. Mais, 5 étoiles pour le contenu qui, en outre, ce qui ne gâche rien de rien est super bien écrit.

A good and interesting book that details what are the common factors in great, timeless literature. But do not expect a magic formula for writing great, timeless literature.