Bestsellers beyond Bestsellers: The Success of a Good Story

This article examines the recent trend of books and book series gaining popularity with unprecedented speed. By closely examining the release and success of The Da Vinci Code and the Harry Potter series, early publications that experienced this trend, certain factors were discovered. The author points out some strong similarities between the titles and how developments in international marketing have contributed this change in publishing. Factors contributing to success include speedy production of excellent translations, modern marketing, similar story trends and similar character reader interaction. The similarities are repeated in more recent books that have followed this trend of quick international popularity.