The DNA of a Successful Book [infographic]

Today’s graphic illustrates the ‘perfect’ book. A piece of literature that pleases a broad crowd a lot like pop music. Just like pop music’s 3 minute song, best selling books have a normal length of a little less than four hundred pages. Men are more likely to read a story with a male protagonist, yet a publication with women protagonists are much more likely to become a big hit. Recently books have been said to be losing ground in the entertainment industry – I don’t know if I agree. Books are still huge hits, digitally and physically. For some reason e-book didn’t put paperbacks into the grave – some argue digital sales help sell more physical copies.

I’ve been a book worm my entire life. My entire life except college. Besides re-reading the Hobbit for the upcoming film and a dozen books for classes, I haven’t read for pleasure in almost three years. This is going to change, and as an avid Game of Thrones fan I think I’ll start with A Song of Ice and Fire. My roommate last year spent hours reading the entire seriers in only a few months. We didn’t see him too often, but the literature is supposed to be superb. I’ll be taking a trip to Half Priced Books soon to see what diction they have deals on.

So what exactly makes a book successful? Is it the content, the audience you’re administering to, or maybe the length of the book? All of these are determining factors into making your book a success.

The average length of a best selling book is an average of 375 pages. And while books with a female protagonist are 40% more likely to become a bestseller, men are ten times as likely to show interest in books that feature a male protagonist. But, 50% of women are more likely to finish a book than men are.

So, what are these women reading that makes them finish their books more so than men? Love of course. Romantic books are the most popular of books amongst women. While women are delving into a world of love and romance, what are their hubbies reading? Historical books with literature creeping up in second place.

How long is too long? A book with 300 pages, 87% of readers will finish. Although, only 35% of readers will finish their book if it is 700 or more pages. Looking at a book of about 600 pages, 30% of people will have stopped reading by page 50. So, if you’re looking to make your next book a success, be sure to look at your target audience and keep to an average 300 pages if you have hopes of creating the next big seller.

Check out this infographic presented by Hiptype to learn more.