What Makes a Diet Book a Bestseller
Diet books sell very well in America. There are more than
1,600 diet books for sale on Amazon.com. Historically, sales
can be staggering--over 15 million in all editions for The
Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet and over 3 million for Jane
Fonda's workout books. Other popular titles have included:
the Beverly Hills Diet, The Rotation Diet (over 800,000
copies), Elizabeth Taylor's Elizabeth Takes Off, The 8-Week
Cholesterol Cure (by medical writer Robert E.
Kowalski-382,000 copies), Eat To Win (Robert Haas), and
others.
According to leading literary agents, the diet has to be
unique, or the author's personality has to be. People have
to believe in the diet or believe in the author when that
person is on TV or radio. Celebrity authors, trusted by the
public, can often be successful. If it's a celebrity who has
gained and then lost weight in full public view, like
Elizabeth Taylor, it becomes an inspiration for the average
person. It also helps if the author has an existing
following. It is also essential that the diet "work",
meaning that it must help a person lose some weight rapidly.
Public relations agents say that: "When it comes to the
quick-fix books, if people don't lose a few pounds right
away, they won't recommend the book to their friends."
Publishers must be careful with diet books, and take a hard
look at the author's credentials. They ask around in the
medical community, among other checks. Publishers and agents
know that the "flash" and hype are everything, yet they want
solid information in the books.
Many of today's popular diet books fall into a "middle
ground"--they are not dangerous, but they're just not as
good as they should be. The problem is that the word "diet"
means one thing to the public and another to nutritionists.
Evaluating a diet book involves checking the number of
calories it allows, making sure it won't put a person into
nutritional deficiency, and seeing that it includes behavior
modification and exercise. But, will a book that meets such
criteria sell? Too often, publishers go with the potential
quick weight-loss blockbusters, despite their failings. The
fact is, quick weight loss and good nutrition are mutually
exclusive.
