Do you feel lucky?

[Marc Joan]

Professor Robert H. Frank, Author of ‘Success and Luck: Good Fortune and the Myth of Meritocracy’ says..".sometimes things are famous just for being famous. Although we often try to explain their success by scrutinizing their objective qualities, they are in fact often no more special than many of their less renowned counterparts."

He's not [necessarily] talking about books; but does his comment apply to books? Discuss. [Hint: marketing is everything].

You can read the first part of his book here: http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s10663.pdf

 

[Paul Whybrow]

An interesting article, thank you for posting it.

I was reminded of an observations on the nature of success and how luck is important to get anywhere. Hector Berlioz, the 19th century composer said:

"The luck of having talent is not enough; one must also have a talent for luck."

 

[James Marinero]

The more I write the luckier I get (to paraphrase wotisname Greg Norman?). Hah!

 

[Robinne Weiss]

Good article. Thanks for posting! And, yes, I think his comment about luck does apply to books--not that a really bad book is going to become wildly popular, but that a lot of good books never do. Yes, hard work--on the book and then on the marketing--increases your chance to 'get lucky', but in the end, your book has to hit the right person's desk at the right time (or multiple people's desks at the right time), and that requires a certain amount of dumb luck.

 

[Marc Joan]

Good article. Thanks for posting! And, yes, I think his comment about luck does apply to books--not that a really bad book is going to become wildly popular, but that a lot of good books never do. Yes, hard work--on the book and then on the marketing--increases your chance to 'get lucky', but in the end, your book has to hit the right person's desk at the right time (or multiple people's desks at the right time), and that requires a certain amount of dumb luck.

Exactly. And where luck is involved, you just have to keep rolling the dice. So send out those submissions, folks.