The 5 Essential Elements of a Bestselling Book

Writing a bestselling book is no easy feat. Whether it's fiction or nonfiction, there need

to be certain elements present in order for your work to top the charts and sell off the

shelves. Here, we break down 5 essential elements of a bestselling book—from plot

structure to choosing the right titles—so that you can make sure yours has what it takes!

1. Unique Plot, Setting and Characters

POV is determined by an author's descriptions of characters, settings, and events that are told to the reader during the course of a story. The plot, also known as the storyline, includes the story's major events and the way characters and their problems evolve over time. Setting encapsulates the core plot into a package, providing clues to the plot & characters, and the motives and triggers that keep elements of the story together into a cohesive unit. Once you establish your characters in the story, you can dive deeper into their relationships with your setting. Assigning central conflicts to particular settings is a helpful way to ensure that every setting in your story becomes a force for change in your characters.

2. Powerful Premise

For a writer writing a work of nonfiction, your thesis is a two- or three-sentence summation of

the book's central thesis or narrative. A premise may qualify as a summary, but only to the extent that it is a one- to a two-sentence sketch of the book's major narrative. Generally, the first time you need to think about the premise of your story is when outlining your novel. To practice writing a premise that hooks readers, look at how successful stories have developed their premise. Asking yourself questions about your story before you begin writing the premise is a really helpful exercise, too. Your novel's premise hits right in the middle of your novel, which means taking time to write it is a good way to find out which parts of your story actually matter.

Your novel's premise will guide you when writing, to help you honor your initial inspirations during editing, and even help you discover your perfect readers when the time

comes to publish. Whatever you want to call premise, it is one of the fundamentals of writing

craft, whether for a screenplay or novel. The premise may seem complex to a reader, but most bestselling books feature simple, lucid foundations. A strong premise is one that is unique, contains strong setups and payoffs, and creates a dramatic problem.

3. Memorable Writing Style

Every writer has his/her personal style of writing, according to how he/she uses words, sentence structure, formality, and writing craft. A writing style is a style that a writer uses to

communicate his or her message effectively and meaningfully to his or her audience. If you read a lot of scholarly writing or technical documentation, then expository styles are likely to be the style that you are most comfortable with. If you have read a lot of creative writing, you may feel most comfortable working in a narrative style. Whatever you are writing, narrative styles are well worth learning, as people tend to relate better to stories. Hopefully, by understanding the story behind authors such as Ernest Hemingway, and how they developed their unique styles, you will be able to apply it to your own writing and develop a style all your own. While we all wish to be brilliant and concise, just like Ernest Hemingway, do not deny yourself a certain style of writing just because your experiences influenced that.

4. Compelling Storytelling

To write a compelling story, you need to start from the basics of story structure

and narrative writing. You will learn to develop your story's grand idea and present it on the first page, structure your opening scenes, so they embrace their story arc, jumpstart your writing with effective brainstorming techniques, and introduce a convincing cast of characters who propel your story forward. Structured Plots That Turn an Ordinary Story Into A Page-Turning Read. A compelling story does not depend on the plot to make it interesting, it depends on elements of storytelling to make that plot entertaining. If you are a voracious reader and an accomplished, natural storyteller, you can infuse a lifeless plot-structured story with real, living history while writing. If you can learn how to craft an engaging story and write it well, it can be just a matter of time before your literary dreams become reality.

5. Detailed World-Building

World building is discussed quite often, particularly in regard to science fiction and fantasy. World building is the process of constructing an imagined world, sometimes associated with a fictional universe. We might define world building in fantasy as the process of building a fictional world distinct from the real world, although sometimes it may exist within the context of a real-world setting. Whether you are building the main world or the side-world, chances are that your fictional society has elements different from the real world. Naturally--even if it is just subliminally--you will adjust and incorporate certain elements from the real world into your fictional settings and stories, using it as inspiration. Careful world-building can mean the

difference between a world that feels like a place a reader wants to visit, and one that feels like another fictitious construct. Building may include developing a fictional world's history and geography, and the different cultures inhabiting it. Copying existing fictional worlds also means your story will be built inherently from those authors perspectives.