What Can Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill Tell You About Writing?

You'd Be Surprised!

Billy, this is Chad Bradford. He's a relief pitcher. He is one of the most undervalued players in baseball. His defect is that he throws funny. Nobody in the big leagues cares about him, because he looks funny. 

This guy could be not just the best pitcher in our bullpen, but one of the most effective relief pitchers in all of baseball. This guy should cost $3 million a year. We can get him for $237,000.

In the movie Moneyball, Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Bean (played by Brad Pitt) is handicapped with the lowest salary cap in baseball. In order to win the World Series, he must find a competitive advantage. 

Enter Assistant GM Peter Brand (played by Jonah Hill), an Ivy League economics major who knows how to apply statistical analysis to help them determine the players for the team.

The movie is based on a true story.

Here's the true story part: the Oakland A's surprised the baseball world by winning the 2002 and 2003 West Division title with mostly unheralded players and one of the lowest salary caps in baseball.

How did they do it?

Baseball analytics.

What does this have to do with writers? Everything.

Please join me…

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Your Audience Must Garner Your Highest Commitment

Please forgive me for sounding like a broken record, but over the last twenty-five years, everything has changed in the reader landscape. More than ever, we must be more committed to our audience than to our story or message.

Know it. Believe it. Live it.

But let’s be honest, how much do you really know about your audience and how committed are you to reaching them?

Creating an avatar of your ideal reader is the best place to start. You need to identify their likes and dislikes, gender, economic status, buying habits, etc.

Yes, these are important—but do you know their reading habits? That’s where reader analytics is immensely helpful.

Here’s What Reader Analytics Is…

Reader analytics is the study of the way we read. It examines why readers open certain books, read them, finish them, how they read them, how long it takes them to finish it, and whether or not they recommend it to their friends.

The New York Times lauded a recent study as “Moneyball for publishers.” I would add that it’s “Moneyball for authors,” too.

Here’s What Reader Analytics Does…
Sometimes researchers place cameras above readers’ heads to track the eye movements of their subjects. Other times, eBooks with tracking software are given to subjects that monitor reading habits and tendencies.

Jellybooks is probably the most well-known reader analytics company.

And just so you know, Amazon and Apple already track your reading habits on their e-reader platforms. 

The goal of reader analytics is to understand the connection between the reader and the book, and then based on the data, write better books that connect with the right readers.

Isn’t that what every author wants?

Applying reader analytics to your writing doesn’t guarantee your book will become a bestseller—there are so many other variables involved in writing a book—but ignore it to your own peril.

Here’s What Reader Analytics is Looking for…

Jellybooks collects data points that include:

• When you open and close the reading app
• When you open and close a book chapter
• How long your reading app is open (its heartbeat)
• When you highlight or select text
• When you click on a link in the book

Then they synthesize the data in terms of what they call completion rate, velocity, snacky or immersive, demographics, and recommendation factor.

Please don't fall asleep on me because you need to read this...

Reader Analytics and Your Book Cover

The information below is so mind-blowing…

For now, I’m going to leave you with one nugget: reader analytics studies have shown that book covers are much, much more influential in attracting—or repelling—readers than they anticipated.

While completion rates are driven by content, the speed by which somebody finishes a book is influenced by the cover.

In an interview with Jane Friedman, Andrew Rhomberg, the founder of Jellybooks explained,

Good covers pull people back and give people a reason to finish the book faster, which helps in sustaining a viral cycle with a fast turn-around time. Think of a virus that needs 14 days to become infectious versus one that needs only 5 days. Which virus is going to spread faster? It’s the same with books.

The most important finding we’ve made, though, is that the word-of-mouth potential for a book—the probability that somebody will recommend a book to others—is heavily influenced by the cover… this is mostly something people do subconsciously without even being aware of it.

READ. THAT. AGAIN.

Your book cover influences the readability of your book and the probability that someone will recommend it to others. Please don't let it be an afterthought.

Want to learn more?

At the upcoming October 7 Illumify Writers Conference, we’re going to delve into this further. It’s Strategy #1 of our day together: "Interpret and Apply Reader Analytics."

Our goal is to give you information you won’t find at any other conference. Sign up today!

From Manuscript to Market: 

Ten Cutting Edge Strategies for Today’s Authors

October 7, 2023

Reel Factory Events Center in Littleton, CO

Click here for more information

This event is only offered live and in person

Writing and publishing a book can be is an overwhelming experience. But it doesn’t need to stress you out.

And please don't make the mistake of "winging it" on your book cover.

Click here to set up a free consultation with me next week.

Let’s bring your book to life!