Society and Culture Unit 22 What It Takes to be a Bestseller? 

What It Takes to be a Bestseller ?

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This is mysterious. A crime novel called The Cuckoo’s Calling sold only about 1,500 copies in the first three months after being published. Yet, this changed overnight with the revelation of the book’s actual author―a surge of orders on Amazon lifted it from 5,076th place to top of the sales chart! What on earth was the magic potion? Mystery unraveled: it was written by J. K. Rowling, under a pseudonym, Robert Galbraith.

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25 Like her record-breaking Harry Potter novel series, The Cuckoo’s Calling was turned away by several firms before finally hitting the market. Orion Publishing’s fiction editor Kate Mills was among those who admitted to rejecting the story. She thought the work was “perfectly decent, but quiet” and confessed she could not find a unique selling-point for it in a crowded market. Cathy Rentzenbrink, a reviewer for trade magazine The Bookseller, revealed that she had read only one chapter before ditching The Cuckoo’s Calling. However, Publisher’s Weekly and the few other outlets gave the novel positive reviews. But the author’s assured style and skill at describing women’s clothes and people’s appearances led The Sunday Times to speculate that an established female novelist might be behind the book. Further detective work uncovered the fact that Galbraith and Miss Rowling shared the same publisher and editor, David Shelley. Rowling finally confessed to being the author. “David Shelley had been ‘a true partner in this crime,’ ” she said.

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In fact, it isn’t the first time Rowling has changed her name to publish her work. In 2012, her first novel for adults―The Casual Vacancy―was published under a pseudonym as well. “It has been wonderful to get feedback under a different name,” Rowling said in a statement. Rowling’s “liberating” act has indeed caused quite a stir in the publishing industry. In a tweet, one bookstore in Oxford joked: “SPECIAL OFFER: For today only, ALL of our books were written by J. K. Rowling!”

Reading Comprehension

1. The mystery in the first paragraph refers to why .

AJ. K. Rowling wrote The Cuckoo’s Calling

BJ. K. Rowling modified her name to publish The Cuckoo’s Calling

Cthe sales of The Cuckoo’s Calling soared in a very short time

DThe Cuckoo’s Calling was rejected by some publishers

2. Why did Kate Mills reject The Cuckoo’s Calling?

ABecause it was poorly written and not accessible to readers.

BBecause it was not popular on Twitter.

CBecause it wouldn’t be a profitable investment.

DBecause it didn’t get positive feedback from other editors.

3. Which of the following statements about The Cuckoo’s Calling is true?

ACathy Rentzenbrink didn’t think highly of the book.

BRobert Galbraith is the main character in the book.

CDavid Shelley inspired J. K. Rowling to write this crime novel.

DThe book and The Casual Vacancy were published under the same pseudonym.

4. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

AThe Sunday Times confirmed that the author of The Cuckoo’s Calling was J. K. Rowling.

BThe Cuckoo’s Calling got mixed feedback from publishers.

CJ. K. Rowling does not excel at describing crime scenes.

DJ. K. Rowling’s books are mainly sold in the bookstores in Oxford.

Words and Idioms

1. revelation [rHvB` eSEn] n. 被揭露的內情；驚人的事實真相

He was surprised by the revelation that he had been stalked by the police. 2. surge [sQdZ] v. / n. 遽增；飆升

Jane’s new book enjoyed a huge surge in popularity after it hit the market. 3. admit [Ed` mIt] v. 承認（三態：admit-admitted-admitted）

At first, Dave denied eating my apple cake, but later he admitted (to) it. 4. decent [`disnt] adj. 體面的；正派的；像樣的

We thought he was a decent person, but after shocking revelations about his private life appeared in the papers, we got to know his true colors. 5. confess [kEn

`fHs] v. 招認；坦承

Sam confessed to stalking the woman and taking photos of her.

6. speculate [` spHkjEclet] v. 推測；猜想

Many people are speculating whether the notorious serial killer will be put to death. 7. established [Es `tAblISt] adj. （因優秀而）被認可的；著名的

Dr. Lee is an established surgeon in keyhole surgery. His skills are greatly recognized.

8. detective [dI `tHktIv] n. 偵探

Jessie hired a private detective to find out if her husband was cheating on her. 9. feedback [`fidcbAk] n. 回饋意見（不可數名詞）

We strive to improve our products based on customers’feedback.

10. liberate [`lIbEcret] v. 解放；使自由

Modern technology has liberated people from many hard chores. 11. stir [stQ] n. 騷動

The news that the super model married the Japanese actor caused quite a stir in the entertainment industry. 12. on earth ph. 到底（用以強調語氣）

I really don’t get what you said. What on earth did you mean?

Words for Recognition

★ magic potion n. 神奇藥水（致勝祕訣） ★ unravel v. 揭開（謎團或複雜的問題） ★ pseudonym n. 假名；筆名 ★ ditch v. 丟棄 ★ outlet n. 經銷點 ★ tweet n. 推特發文

Vocabulary Exercises

I. Words in Context: Fill in each blank with a word or an idiom from the box. Change the word form if necessary.

detective established revelation decent stir admit feedback on earth confess surge speculate liberate

1. Music me from my annoying daily life. When I listen to my favorite songs, I feel happy and it seems that life is not that difficult. 2. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison last year after he killing his neighbor. 3. Why did you lie to him? I just don’t get it. 4. We are looking for a clean, quiet hostel with appropriate privacy and food. 5. Since we don’t have any more information, it is useless to on the cause of the train crash. 6. Mr.Anderson hired two private to investigate his son’s death. 7. After reading my essay, Sammy gave me a lot of to improve it. 8. The sex scandal involving the politicians and celebrities created quite a(n) in society. II. Cloze Test: Choose the correct answer to each question.

When The Cuckoo’s Calling, a crime novel written by Robert Galbraith, hit the market, it did not sell well. Yet, the sale of it soared overnight with the 1. of its actual author— J.K. Rowling. Like her record-breaking Harry Potter novel series, The Cuckoo’s Calling was rejected by several publishers before being published. Orion Publishing’s editor Kate Mills 2. to turning away the story, saying that it didn’t have a unique selling-point in a crowded market. Cathy Rentzenbrink, a reviewer for trade magazine The Bookseller, said she ditched it after reading only one chapter. However, a few outlets gave the novel positive 3. . Publisher’s Weekly, for example, praised The Cuckoo’s Calling for the author’s assured style. The Sunday Times also gave the novel the thumbs-up for the author’s skill at describing women’s clothes and people’s appearances. This led The Sunday Times to 4. that the author might be an established female novelist. Further detective work finally uncovered the fact that Rowling was the author. Rowling said in a statement, “Being Robert Galbraith has been such a liberating experience. ” Her “liberating” act has made headlines and caused a real 5. in the publishing industry. In a tweet, one bookstore in Oxford joked: “ALL of our books were written by J.K. Rowling. ” 1. Arevelation Bambition Cexploration Dreflection 2. Afeatured Bconfessed Capproached Dtransformed 3. Aitinerary Bmaintenance Cconcept Dfeedback 4. Amanufacture Bspeculate Cdisguise Devolve 5. Astripe Bcargo Cstir Dfuel