Explore the world through language and math with a linguist/budding mathematician! In season one of Letters and Numbers, we focus on books - delving into the world of publishers and platforms, who writes (and why!), and what makes some books more successful than others.
https://sarahneofield.com
episode 44: How online are traditionally published authors?
Low-effort ghost-written books 'by' celebrities have long been a thing, but this type of publication exploded in popularity with the rise of internet celebrities who have amassed large followings. Meanwhile, as we saw in the previous episode, publishers themselves can hardly be said to have leveraged social media to the same extent.
So is making popular videos a viable path to 'literary' success? In this episode, we examine 12 case studies of bestselling authors' social media practices to find out just how important online celebrity is for real writers.
Join author, linguist, and mathematician-in-the-making Sarah on an exploration of the world through the lens of letters and numbers!
Links from this episode:
Simon Fraser University research
Gigi Griffis' survey of readers
Penguin and AMC infographics