Parodies and Spinoffs of Bestselling Novels

With the bestselling novel this year, Fifty Shades of Gray, and its sister books in the trilogy also bestsellers, many other authors and pseudo-authors have piggybacked off the novel.

I find the following novels are wonderful parodies of Fifty Shades of Gray. Note: The titles are listed in the order they are featured by Amazon.com when you search for Fifty Shades of Gray.

• Fifty Shades of Black and Blue by I. B. Naughtie
• Fifty Shades of Beige by Reid Mockery (Kindle only)
• Fifty Shades of Silver Hair and Socks by Phil Torcivia
• Fifty Shades of Alice in Wonderland by Melinda DuChamp (Kindle only)
• Fifty Shades of Earl Grey by Fanny Merkin and Andrew Shaffer
• Fifty Shades of Spice! by Blanche Valentine (Kindle only)
• Fifty Shades of Gray and Zombies by Grey West (Kindle only)
• Fifty Shades of Pink by Faythe America (Kindle only)
• Fifty Shades of Twilight by Secret Anonymous (Kindle Only)

Besides writing parodies, many authors have also written nonfiction sex advice books spun off the bestselling novel. Check these out sex advice books (again listed in the order Amazon.com features them):

• Fifty Shades of Gray Decoded: A Man's Playbook by M. Alan (Kindle only)
• Fifty Shades of Pleasure: A Bedside Companion by Marisa Bennett
• Fifty Shades of Stupid: The Real Man's Guide tothe World's Stupidest Book by Poupón Grey (Kindle only)
• A User's Guide for Fifty Shades of Gray by Jennifer Slingerland Ryan (Kindle only)
• Fifty Shades of Ecstasy by Marisa Bennett

If you want a bestselling book, especially a Kindle ebook, why not try writing a parody or spinoff of a hot novel? All of the books listed above are selling well without any book promotion beyond a great tie-in listing on Amazon.com.

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Bestselling Books Sell Other Products as Well

When a book becomes a bestseller, it also often inspires sales of other products. Of course, many of those products are licensed products based on the brand of the book. Think Dummies and Chicken Soup for the Soul, both of which have generated a lot of income from merchandising royalties.

But, in this post, I want to highlight some of the ancillary product sales inspired by bestselling novels and memoirs. Check out these product sales inspired by bestselling books:

• Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert - Women were inspired by this memoir to join Siddha yoga programs. You can attend a three-day Eat Pray Love yoga retreat in Montana for only $1,295.
• Fifty Shades of Gray by E. L. James - Has boosted the sales of vibrators and other sex toys.
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Inspired the sale of many tattoos, especially dragon tattoos. You can get a dragon tattoo just like Lisbeth's for only $1,200.
• Harry Potter series - The game of Quidditch inspired the sale of lots of brooms. You can buy an official Quidditch broom for $35 on up at Alivans.com.
• The Hunger Games - Sales of bows and arrows tripled in many sports stores.

When writing and promoting your novel, look to see if there is something in your novel that would inspire such fan devotion.