This happens to me a lot when I'm writing: I need an event to happen, or some characters to interact, but I can't figure out a way to make it happen naturally. I'll run through several scenarios, but toss them aside because each one feels forced or implausible. "That would never happen," I say, as my writing grinds to a halt. Meanwhile, my little slice of daily writing time is dwindling and I'm no further with my story. The solution?

Behind the Bestsellers is TED's own monthly bestseller analysis, where we take a close look at what books are making splashes on three of the industry’s most valuable bestseller lists, the agents and publishers that brought them to market, and what their success or longevity on a given list tells us about the topsy-turvy world of publishing at the moment.

Everyone has a story, or at least they'd like to believe so.  And everyone who has put their fingers on a keyboard has probably thought of capturing the deep moments of their existence in a moving text sure to race up the bestseller list.

Memoirs like Julie & Julia, Eat Pray Love and The Glass Castle have spawned a number of imitators, clogging up the inboxes of agents and publishers.  In order to provide some perspective and advice for the memoir writer to be, we asked two prominent literary agents a few simple questions about the genre.  One hint...get to know your dog.

Gina Panettieri, Talcott Notch Literary

1.  What would be your simple advice to aspiring (non-famous) memoir-ists?

with Dan Gibson

One would imagine Lynda Drews wishes she didn't have the material for her first book, Run at Destruction, a murder mystery involving a member of her running group in the 1980's.

While losing a friend in a violent manner is a terrible event to experience, Drews serves her friend's memory well with a book that honors her memory and shows how a group of people tied together by a common love can become a sort of family.  Lynda Drews (virtually) sat down with Between the Lines' Dan Gibson to discuss how Run at Destruction came to be.

The spark of passion that inspires a person to write a nonfiction book is often very different from the reason someone else might buy and read it. This gulf sometimes sabotages the author's efforts to sell a nonfiction project, and bridging it can lead to publication and success.

One client came to us with a nonfiction project on the subject of healthcare. He was a highly credentialed, experienced, and articulate expert in his field with media exposure and a growing public platform. His manuscript eloquently outlined the current problems and a proposed solution, all in an engaging, entertaining manner. We helped him complete the proposal and found him an agent, but the first few acquisitions editors who saw it didn't come kicking down the agent's door for first crack at publishing it. We all had one of those forehead-slapping moments when the agent put her finger on the problem: while the ms gave a vivid picture of the overall subject, it didn't say much about what good the book could do for the individual reader. The solution was simple: the author added a couple of chapters giving readers advice on what they can do right now to improve the quality of the medical care. The proposal then quickly found a buyer and was published.

With Jesse Steele

{addthis off}First of all, Peter Gelfan is not a magician.  You might believe so after reading some of the testimonials written about his editing work, but his abilities to pull a rabbit out of a hat or make the Statue of Liberty disappear are still unproven.  While that might make Peter a poor candidate to entertain at a child's birthday party, at the Editorial Department we are ecstatic to put the nearly two decades he has dedicated to editing, ghostwriting, and generally making good writing great to quality use on our client's manuscripts.

JS: What do you do when you’re not writing or editing?

PG: Not much. (Laughs) Photography. I’ve often thought I’ve learned more about writing from photography than I have from books about how to write. It’s the same idea. You’re taking a picture of a particular thing for a specific reason, not just snapping away. You include the elements around it that support the image and the idea. You frame and selectively focus to eliminate all the things that don’t support the picture or might distract from it.

There are many challenges unique to nonfiction writing – walking the line between a tone that’s credibly serious and one that’s overly dry, organizing and arranging your material so it makes sense and reads well, making reference to real people without getting sued or alienating everyone you know – but one many writers overlook is the need for documentation.

Culture of Corruption, by Michelle Malkin

A:            P:  Regnery       C:  Politics/Government
NYT:  5     USAT:  5     PW:  5

It turns out, Barack Obama wasn't bad enough.  Michelle Malkin contends he brought a posse of criminals and thieves with him, including...wait for it...his wife, Michelle.  Malkin pores over perceived crimes and misdemeanors building a case that the "hope" and "change" that were promised were really just a facade for a criminal enterprise.

Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell

A: Tina Bennett       P: Little, Brown      C: Self Help/Improvement
NYT:  41      USAT:  41      PW:  41

In this landmark work, the author of Blink and The Tipping Point asks what makes high-achievers different. Brilliant and entertaining, Outliers is a landmark work that will simultaneously delight and illuminate.

Often, when I mention that I'm a writer, people get a wistful look and say "I'd love to write, but I just don't have the time." Really? How much time does it take to be a writer?  Very few authors make a living solely off their writing. Unless you're Janet Evanovich or James Patterson, you're likely to have a day job in addition to your writing gig. Add to that the fact that most people have family commitments (especially if kids are involved), and it does seem a bit overwhelming to fit in some writing time. So, what does it take to be a writer? What has to give?

Alex Cross's Trial, by James Patterson and Richard DiLallo

A:  Jennifer Rudolph Walsh/William Morris Agency  P:  Little, Brown  C:  Mystery/Thriller/Suspense
NYT:  1     LAT:  1     BS:  1

Instead of an Alex Cross story, per se, this new entry in the endless parade of novels with James Patterson's name on the cover is a story told by Alex about the past.  Alex tells the story of Ben Corbett, a brave lawyer at the turn of the century who takes on the Ku Klux Klan.

South of Broad, by Pat Conroy

A:  Marly Rusoff Literary Agency  P:  Doubleday  C:  Mainstream Fiction
NYT:  3     LAT:  2     BS:  3

Pat Conroy returns with his first novel in fourteen years with a book full of tearfilled moments as a gossip columnist in Charleston, South Carolina looks back on his life, his group of friends, and their loves and losses.