I was at the William Saroyan Writer's Conference recently when another presenter—Jack Canfield of Chicken Soup for the Soul fame—told me I needed to read Malcom Gladwell's The Tipping Point. People are always telling me to read this book or that book, but I figured Jack probably knew a thing or two I didn't so I ordered the book from Amazon.com and read it on the plane coming and going to sales meetings in New York City. I think it was probably good use of what might have been wasted time.

In The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference Gladwell shows that three factors, or "rules" as he calls them, combine to raise an idea, a trend, or a social behavior to a threshold that, when crossed, causes that specific idea, trend, or behavior to spread like wildfire.

Gladwell calls these three rules the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context. Gladwell's rules may be applied when trying to understand why one book and not another equally as good seems to reach the public's collective consciousness and becomes a bestseller.

Let's skip first to Gladwell's second rule, the Stickiness Factor. This rule suggests that something people hear or learn about a book must be extra memorable, it must be "sticky." This stickiness is often a minor part of the overall message in or about the book.

For instance, a recent biography of John F. Kennedy breaks the story that he had an affair with an intern while in office. While coverage of the affair is only a small part of the biography, it may well be that the parallel between JFK and a later president's affair with an intern will provide the stickiness required to make this book a bestseller.

Gladwell's third rule, The Power of Context, says the current social environment has to be ripe to embrace a specific principle or concept.

As I write this, I have on my desk a book proposal by an airline pilot on what one should do in the event one is a passenger on a hijacked airplane. Undoubtedly the social environment today is more receptive to this book's subject matter than it would have been prior to September 11, 2001.

Gladwell's first rule, The Law of the Few, states that a few people–the right few people in each instance–have the power to influence a great number of others. The few's currency is word-of-mouth, and, as we all know, word-of-mouth publicity is the best type of promotion a book can receive.

Gladwell breaks these few into three categories, "connectors," those who know and are able to spread the word to a large number of others; "mavens" who are looked to by others for advice; and "salesmen," who are capable of persuading others to take some action.

In publishing, the few often come in the guise of reviewers who write about the books, booksellers who hand sell books they like, and, perhaps not so surprisingly, the author of the book himself.

So, how can we who want our books to reach the tipping point use this information? By keeping these three factors in mind when we are writing and promoting our books.

As you write your book, see what kind of sticky material you can build into it. If it is a novel you are writing, maybe you can make the lead character so compelling that he or she becomes the stickiness factor. Sherlock Holmes, the pipe-smoking, clue-deducing detective provided stickiness for Arthur Conan Doyle's mysteries.

If you are still looking for a publisher or agent, mention this sticky material in your query letter or book proposal. If your book's due to be published, help your publisher's staff identify what detail or details about your book are likely to be "sticky" and suggest that they draw attention to these details in their catalog, back cover copy, news releases, and other promotional material.

Take advantage of The Power of Context by selecting a topic for your book that is currently high in the public's mind. The Big Seven–money, diet, health and fitness, beauty, relationships, sex, and power–are always good choices for nonfiction books, but, if you can find a popular but lesser-mined topic, all the better.
If your book's already written and published, spin or slant your promotional efforts to take advantage of the current social environment. For a nonfiction book on family values, talk about how important mutual family support is in these stressful times.

And finally, take your book to the all important "few." See to it that appropriate opinion makers such as reviewers, industry leaders, clergy members, university professors, and other authors who write in your field or genre know about your book. Do this by sending them complementary copies or, at the least, copies of reviews your book has garnered. Get as many print and Web reviews as you can. Get interviewed on radio and TV shows.

Augment all this by speaking at every bookstore and to every group that will have you. There is bound to be a connector, a maven, or a salesman in every audience who will become a word-of-mouth warrior on your book's behalf.
Reaching the tipping point isn't necessarily easy, but whose book deserves it more than yours?