What Makes Ken Follett Successful?

Nobody would be surprised to know the favourite author of Ken Follett is Jane Austen, which very much explains why his female characters are so strong and why relationships matter so much in the Pillars of the Earth or even forthcoming Fall of Giants (easily guessed because it tracks three families across the 20th century). In The Pillars of the Earth, there are drawings depicting the progress of construction of the cathedral at the start of the chapters so the readers may have a better idea (visual idea) of what is there in the text.Slightly excessive sexual violenceThe only thing that detracts a little bit from the Pillars of the Earth experience is Ken Follett tendency to alternate peace with violence, and after a while readers begin to expect it. Some scenes having sexual violence also are slightly excessive for (some of the) readers, though the characters still feel familiar to them.On The Bestseller List Time And AgainIt is doesn't seem like too much work for Ken Follet
t to get his name on the bestseller list time and again. In the beginning, however, he also had to endure through some unsuccessful attempts before he finally met prodigious success. For most part of the seventies, he was working first as a journalist in a newspaper, and then in a publishing company.Ken Follett Strikes GoldThe World War II spy thriller Eye of the Needle appeared in 1978 (Ken Follett's first major success), and he has never looked back since. In The Pillars of the Earth, he struck gold again, as it was a smash hit right away and was also selected in the Oprah's book club. It went on to become a television miniseries as well. The sequel of the Pillars, titled World without End was equally successful, though the readers still want to know more about the man Ken Follett himself, and how does he manage to come up with books so voluminous and interesting at the same time, time and again.He Engages the Readers EmotionallyKen Follett himself believes these are non-i
ssues. The most important part of the novel is the readers should be engaged emotionally with the story. Even action scenes or romance work well only if the reader is involved with those scenes or identifies with the characters. If the readers don't care about the characters or the situations, the books won't sell. He started when he was going through a financial problem, he had to get his car repaired and there was no money for it. Soon he realized he had a lot of potential as a writer whereas he was not that good as a reporter.Ken Follett Is Not InsecureLike so many other successful writers, he is not insecure, which is rare. He himself says he is not tortured soul (noticed by his publisher) and he writes his books in a cheerful mood. The only struggle for him while writing The Pillars of the Earth was when he finished 200 pages in two years and realized he was nowhere near the finish line.

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