Dan Balow

Bestselling Books in 1997

By Dan Balowon July 14, 2022

Today is a look back twenty-five years and the books selling well in 1997. Often, this type of exercise puts the present and future in perspective. You can draw your own conclusions about what any of this means.

First, the July 13, 1997 New York Times Bestseller List:

Fiction

PLUM ISLAND, by Nelson DeMille (Warner)
SPECIAL DELIVERY, by Danielle Steel (Delacorte)
FAT TUESDAY, by Sandra Brown (Warner)
THE PARTNER, by John Grisham (Doubleday)
UP ISLAND, by Anne Rivers Siddons (HarperCollins)
CHASING CEZANNE, by Peter Mayle (Knopf)
LONDON, by Edward Rutherfurd (Crown)
THE NOTEBOOK, by Nicholas Sparks (Warner) – film adaptation in 2004
THE PRESIDENT’S DAUGHTER, by Jack Higgins (Putnam)
PRETEND YOU DON’T SEE HER, by Mary Higgins Clark (Simon & Schuster)
OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO! by Dr. Seuss (Random House) – 161^st week on list
THE TENTH JUSTICE, by Brad Meltzer (Weisbach/ Morrow)
COLD MOUNTAIN, by Charles Frazier (Atlantic Monthly) – film adaptation in 2003
SNOW IN AUGUST, by Pete Hamill (Little, Brown) – film adaptation in 2001
LOS ALAMOS, by Joseph Kanon (Broadway)

Nonfiction

ANGELA’S ASHES, by Frank McCourt (Scribner) – 43^rd week on list, film adaptation in 1999
INTO THIN AIR, by Jon Krakauer (Villard) – television movie adaptation in 1997
THE BIBLE CODE, by Michael Drosnin (Simon & Schuster)
THE PERFECT STORM, by Sebastian Junger (Norton) – film adaptation in 2000
BRAIN DROPPINGS, by George Carlin (Hyperion)
THE GIFT OF FEAR, by Gavin de Becker (Little, Brown)
MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL, by John Berendt (Random House) – 156^th week on list, film adaptation in 1997
JUST AS I AM, by Billy Graham (HarperSanFrancisco/Zondervan)
THE MILLIONAIRE NEXT DOOR, by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko (Longstreet)
CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD: Book 1, by Neale Donald Walsch (Putnam) – film adaptation in 2006
INTO THE STORM, by Tom Clancy with Fred Franks Jr. (Putnam)
WITHOUT A DOUBT, by Marcia Clark with Teresa Carpenter (Viking)
THE DILBERT FUTURE, by Scott Adams (Harper Business)
UNDERBOSS, by Peter Maas (HarperCollins)
CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD: Book 2, by Neale Donald Walsch (Hampton Roads)

Christian titles released in 1997 include:

STRENGTH FOR TODAY, by John MacArthur (Crossway)
THE SACRED ROMANCE, by Brent Curtis & John Eldredge (Thomas Nelson)
WON BY LOVE, by Norma McCorvey (Thomas Nelson)
FRESH WIND, FRESH FIRE, by Jim Cymbala & Dean Merrill (Zondervan)
WHAT’S SO AMAZING ABOUT GRACE? by Philip Yancey (Zondervan)
YOU ARE SPECIAL, by Max Lucado (Crossway)
NICOLAE, by Jerry B. Jenkins & Tim LaHaye (Tyndale House)
THE TENDER YEARS, by Janette Oke (Bethany House)
ONLY THE RIVER RUNS FREE, by Bodie and Brock Thoene (Thomas Nelson)
THE ATONEMENT CHILD, by Francine Rivers (Tyndale House)
THE SHUNNING, by Beverly Lewis (Bethany House) – film adaptation in 2011
[Arguably the first bestselling Amish fiction release.]

Make the Right Media Choice

By Dan Balowon July 6, 2022

The study of communication through various methods fascinates me. Some media share audiences with other media and others have very select audiences. Each person consumes content differently. Those in education know students do not all learn at the same speed using the same tools. Fortunately, good teachers recognize those differences and adjust their methods. In the 1970s and 80s, educator Neil …

Category: Pitching

Newbery @ 100

By Dan Balowon June 23, 2022

Some rather significant publishing-related anniversaries are coming in the next week. First, the Harry Potter book series turns 25 years-old on June 26. After a dozen publishers declined the first book, Bloomsbury Publishing saw some potential in it and published Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. The rest is history. Next time your writing is rejected, just remember: A dozen people …

Category: Publishing History

Roundabouts

By Dan Balowon June 15, 2022

I like metaphors. I like everything about them. Analogies and similes are cool too. Today’s post extinguishes the notion that writer’s block is actually a thing. Every day, topics to write about are screaming at you. Writer’s block is simply a failure to pay attention to them. Almost everything makes me think about something else. In fact, baseball and driving a car in traffic are two general …

Category: Book Proposals

Could You Translate Please?

By Dan Balowon June 2, 2022

What many U.S. Christian authors write about today has little or no application outside of the U.S. It’s why the majority of Christian books are not exported or translated into other languages. Most often it is not the theology holding it back, but the theme of the book. A simple example would be homeschooling. It is illegal in quite a few countries of the world. (Germany, Sweden, and many other …

Category: Book Business, The Publishing Life, The Writing Life

Publishing in Generalities

By Dan Balowon May 25, 2022

While agents and publishers accept book proposals because they contain a number of specific things they like, most book proposals are turned down because of a general reason. For example, refer to the “Who We Are,” section of this website. Each agent has a set of filters we use to focus our efforts. The filters reflect our strengths and/or personal preferences. Outside of these, we decline. …

Category: Book Proposals, Career, Get Published, Inspiration, The Writing Life

Does Faith Limit Creativity?

By Dan Balowon May 12, 2022

No, it doesn’t. Look at nature or biology or astronomy and see how creative our God is. If anything, a Christian can see things clearer and be inspired to even greater creativity than someone who is not a Christ-follower. But, I think writers of Christian books have limited their vision for what they can write about; and maybe, just maybe, publishers have a role to play in limiting creativity. A …

Category: Creativity

What Are You Doing This Summer?

By Dan Balowon May 4, 2022

Writers conferences have been scrambling to maintain a connection to writers in two years of COVID restrictions, but maybe we are working our way toward a day when most can meet in person and get back to the best part of conferences: the planned and unplanned conversations that lead to inspiration and encouragement for everyone taking part. How will I spend some of my summer this year? May 11-14, …

Category: Conferences

The Way Publishing Never Was

By Dan Balowon April 21, 2022

In 1999, the book The Way Things Never Were: The Truth About the “Good Old Days” by Norman Finkelstein was published. I have a copy. My family grew weary of me referring to it in every conversation twenty years ago, so there it sits on the shelf. It is less than 100 pages, with plenty of pictures, so no one has the excuse that it is too long and complicated to read. Chapter titles …

Category: Book Business, Career, Publishing History

Writers Groups

By Dan Balowon April 13, 2022

Writers need good, personal support structures because so much of the work is done in solitude. Christian writers conferences, whether they are held online or in person, are part of this structure, as one receives training; exposure to different ways of thinking; critical review; advice from people with experience they lack; and, most importantly, relationships. But another level of support is …

Category: Communication, Conferences