How to Crack the ‘Bestseller Code’ with Jodie Archer & Matt Jockers: Part Two

In the cliffhanger conclusion to my chat with author and publishing consultant, Jodie Archer, we are joined this week by Dr. Matthew Jockers, English Professor & Dean at the University of Nebraska, and co-author of the internationally acclaimed book The Bestseller Code: Anatomy of the Blockbuster Novel. We’ll talk about Matt’s game-changing research at the heart of the book, the two authors’ new consulting service for writers based on the algorithm they developed at Stanford, and the author report from my beta test of the service.

Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By

Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting.

Start getting more from your site today!

For 11 years Matt was a Lecturer and “embedded” Academic Technology Specialist (ATS) in the Department of English at Stanford University. There he co-founded and directed the paradigm-shifting Stanford Literary Lab with Franco Moretti.

In 2014 Matt also worked as a Principal Research Scientist for iBooks at Apple. His work on the bleeding edge of text-mining and digital humanities established him as an expert at the crossroads of technology and fiction.

His work helped lead to the award-winning algorithm behind The Bestseller Code, honed over four years text-mining 20,000 contemporary novels, using around 300,000 data points, and able to predict bestsellers 80% of the time.

Matt and Jodie were hounded by writers from all over the world for help with their manuscripts. On the heels of their international success and winning the NUtech Ventures 2017 Breakthrough Innovation of the Year award, Jodie and Matt have founded a unique book consultancy for authors, publishers, and agents, based on the algorithm in The Bestseller Code.

Beginning December 1st, 2017, ArcherJockers.com will offer three tiers of service to authors: single manuscript analysis, series analysis, and a VIP service.

If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews.

In Part Two of this file Jodie Archer, Matt Jockers, and I discuss:

• How Matt found the intersection of words and computing at the dawn of the Internet
• Why Archer & Jockers became a personalized service for authors and not just another app
• Who should (and shouldn’t) send their manuscripts to the service
• What exactly the “bestseller-ometer” measures when it looks at your book
• The benefits of distant reading vs. close reading for fiction
• How to perfect your own manuscript before submission to the service

Listen to The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience below ...

Download MP3 Subscribe by RSS Subscribe in iTunes The Show Notes

• If you’re ready to see for yourself why over 201,344 website owners trust StudioPress — the industry standard for premium WordPress themes and plugins — just go to StudioPress.com
• Copyblogger s Certified Content Marketer training is a powerful program that helps writers attract better clients — and more of them. New students will be able to sign up for a limited time soon. Add your name to join the waitlist and to get all of the details when they re available.
• ArcherJockers.com Manuscript Consulting Services
• How to Crack the ‘Bestseller Code’ with Jodie Archer: Part One
• MatthewJockers.net
• JodieArcher.com
• The Bestseller Code: Anatomy of the Blockbuster Novel – Jodie Archer & Matt Jockers
• Breakthrough Innovation of the Year – The Bestseller Code
• Jodie Archer on Twitter
• Kelton Reid on Twitter

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices