One Hit Wonders

The music industry often talks about artists who are “One Hit Wonders,” meaning that they had a single song to hit the charts. Baha Men (“Who Let the Dogs Out?”), Billy Ray Cyrus (“Achy Breaky Heart”), Patrick Swayzee (“She’s Like the Wind”), and Bobby “Boris” Pickett (“Monster Mash”) all make the internet lists.

In the world of publishing, there are also “One Hit Wonders,” authors who release a first book that soars to the top of the charts in popularity, and then are never heard of again. Some of these authors fail to reemerge because of choice such as Harper Lee (see today’s book review). Others don’t produce a book that garners the same kind of spark as their first book did, and some are never offered another publishing contract.

Some authors who might fall into the category of One Hit Wonders might include Laura Hillenbrand who wrote her book “Seabiscuit: An American Legend” by doing research entirely from her home via the internet, L. Frank Baum who wrote fifteen books but all of them were about Oz, or sisters Emily Brontë (“Wuthering Heights”), Charlotte Brontë (“Jane Eyre”), and Anne Brontë (“Agnes Grey”).

This week, go to your local library and browse the shelves, looking for authors who have a single title listed under their name. Choose one to check out and read. You may discover a hidden talent, a total loser, or unearth treasure by an artist who thought they only had one book in them.