I just read The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell.
The book is an attempt to explain why strange social epidemics like the success of The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, hush puppies, and Sesame Street happen. This is what he thinks:
1) A few people with large social networks (Connectors) or people who are pathologically obsessed with something (Mavens) spread an idea.
2) The idea is likely to succeed if it is memorable (Gladwell calls this sticky).
3) Ultimately the context of the environment that the idea is released into dictates everything.
That’s the book. And it sold over 1.6 million copies.
I will now tell you how to achieve the success of Malcolm Gladwell when writing a book.
1) When introducing an idea or person always lead with a trivial or strange fact about that idea or person. The first sentence of this introduction should be no more than 8 words long.
2) Coin a name for a concept early on in your book and have multiple callbacks to that name. THIS NAME MUST BE STRANGE AND QUIRKY (e.g. stickiness) Doing this will make your reader fall in love with you like listeners fall in love with Regina Spektor.
3) Once have a hypothesis use it to explain the most unconnected events possible. This will make your reader think it has broad import and adore your intellect. If the two things are simply relate heavily suggest that one thing caused the other to support your hypothesis, but to not outwardly say it. This will make the idiots think you are a genius and the keep the skeptics from destroying you.
4) Grow an afro and look like an aging lesbian.
