What Is So Important?
By Jerry D. Simmons | November 30th, 2005 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
As I share my years of experience in publishing with writers and explain why it is so critical to understand the basics of the business, I am asked the question: What makes your information so important? My answer is that I know how it works, what I offer is unique! The exposure and insight I have based on more than twenty years working inside one of the largest publishers in the world helped me to see the big picture. The information that I offer has never been available and cannot be found anywhere. I know, I’ve searched.
So much information is available on the subject of publishing, and for every writer that hopes to get their manuscript published, regrdless of whether you self publish, rely on a small press, or one of the bigger New York houses, success depends on the number of copies you sell compared to the number that is printed and distributed. This is the only criterion that matters. You need to understand how it all works.
Regardless of how or by whom you are published, if you do not understand the marketplace, booksellers, what numbers mean in relation to your book being sold, and distribution, then your chances of being successful is limited. These companies that promise you the world to entice you to pay them to publish your work, do not have the credentials or expertise to make you guarantees. They scoff at what are called Vanity Publishers, yet the are virtually identical, cut from the same cloth.
Whether you want to believe the information I have to share is certainly your decision. All I can offer is my experience, the exposure I have had to all areas, and insight into publishing and how it works. The information on this web site will cover topics in a broad sense; it will provide you with a general understanding over the course of time. For those wanting or needing more in depth information faster, I encourage you to read my book.
My mission is to provide writers with important information about publishing and what goes on behind the scenes that will improve their chances of becoming a successfully published author. Regardless of the size of your publisher or print order, you need to know how books are sold and what you have to do to improve your chances of selling as many copies as possible. You need to know how it all works, that is what is so important!
A Word Of Caution
By Jerry D. Simmons | November 28th, 2005 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
Recently I was invited to attend an open house for a new kind of publishing company, one that will take your manuscript and edit, package, print, promote, and market everything, for a price. After a two-hour introduction that was in fact a build-up to the pitch for classes, workshops, seminars, training in public speaking, how to host your own radio talk show, and a menu of other items, the group was given a set of guarantees. I was okay with most of what was being said to the group, EXCEPT for the part about the GUARANTEES.
To everyone who is reading this blog, please make a note: THERE ARE NO GUARANTEES IN PUBLISHING! No exceptions. Current best-selling authors are the closest thing to a guarantee because everyone knows copies will sell, but there are no guarantees as to how many copies will sell. Aside from that fact, there are no guarantees. If you read information about workshops, seminars, classes, or anything else regarding writing and publishing, and there is any kind of guarantee, please run!
My specific problems came when a speaker told the audience: “We can get your book on Amazon and into Barnes & Noble, no problem.” Followed by, “We know the formula to getting your book on the New York Times bestseller list.” Both statements blatantly untrue! No one, not even the biggest publishers in the world can say they guarantee any book will go into any bookstore or online company, that is just not possible! As for the formula for getting a book on the New York Times bestseller list, well, that one completely dumbfounded me. There is no formula, no automatic level of books that must be sold within a certain amount of time to make the list.
So for any of you that may be reading this blog, please make a note and remember: THERE ARE NO GUARANTEES IN PUBLISHING! To read “What It Takes For A Book To Become A Bestseller” click HERE.
Where To Start
By Jerry D. Simmons | November 17th, 2005 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
Writers and authors who understand the importance of learning more about the business of publishing are beginning to ask, “Where do I start?” The answer would be in the marketplace, in the category in which you are concentrating your efforts. When you begin your writing, well before you start to think about an agent, you need to be a regular visitor to your local bookstore.
Writers need to know their market and the marketplace. They need to be able to speak intelligently about writers, books, publishers, editors, and changes going on in the particular cateogry in which they are writing. Writers and authors should take notice of several things.
(1) The first is recognizing the best-selling authors within their own category. Not only authors that appear regularly on the bestseller lists, but also the ones who have the most individual titles on store shelves within a particular category. To be successful you must have a good sales history. Titles that continue to sell over a long period of time are indicative of a good history. This is called “back-listed” titles and they are the heart and soul of a publisher’s profits. Writers, who have multiple titles on store shelves, may have never appeared on a bestseller list, but if their books sell at consistent levels over a period of years, they are considered extremely successful.
(2) Recognize the publishers who have the most individual titles on store shelves in your category. The same holds true for publishers as best-selling authors. It is their ability to publish titles that sell consistently over a long period of time that is important. If one dominates a particular category then you know they have editorial expertise in that area.
(3) Find out who edits the best-selling titles. Sometimes you can find their name in the acknowledgements section at the front or back of the book. Soon you will begin to recognize names. These are the people you eventually want to edit your book. Reputations of editors are important and if the same names appear to have dominance in a particular category, that is something you need to know.
(4) You want to discover the agents of the better selling authors in your category. This may take some digging if the names are not found in the acknowledgement section of the book. If not, contact the publisher, then the editor, and ask the question. Or you might find the information at the writer’s web site where you can send an email and ask. These are also names you want to begin to recognize.
Up to this point we have covered authors, publishers, names of editors and agents. Now you should begin to notice the marketing and merchandising aspects of your category and the marketplace.
(5) Notice the format of the books in your category. Typically back-listed titles are in mass market or trade paper. Seldom will you find older books still in hardcover.
(6) Publishers go to great lengths to make sure the package on a book is right for the category. Notice if the covers are primarily text, or do they have photos? Are there paintings or graphics, and are they only on the front cover, or do they wrap around to the back of the book? Is the title on the top? Are there quotes and from whom? Is there a subtitle? Where is the author’s name and how big compared to the title?
(7) Make note of the price range on the titles, your book should be somewhere in the middle and not at the high or low range. Of course the page count, trim size and quality of the paper are important factors in price determination. The important point is whether you as a consumer feel the price is right for what you get.
(8) Finally, make a note of how the titles are merchandised. Are they in floor or shelf displays? Tabletops? Are the titles in the category and on store shelves spine out or face out? Issues that can be important as you prepare yourself for a career as a writer.
These points are not presented in any particular order. The recognition of all eight is going to come over time. Your powers of observation are not going to be that keen in the beginning but if you find time to wander into a bookstore on a regular basis and review your category, all of these things will become more apparent.
This is not meant to be an exercise where you walk into a bookstore with a legal pad and begin making copious notes. It is meant to be a stroll through a store where you start introducing yourself to the books and authors in your cateogry. If you want to become a published author, it would be a tremendous benefit to your future if you had an understanding of the marketplace. This is where you begin!
Who Is Making Money In Publishing?
By Jerry D. Simmons | November 10th, 2005 | 1 Comment » (Click to add yours!)
There are two groups that are making what would be considered really big money in publishing. The first is of course those very successful best-selling authors whose books on occasion are turned into the latest motion picture or television mini-series. The second group is the largest mass merchants and bookstore chains. Here is how it breaks down.
The biggest authors command more than a million dollars per book, some several million. Publishers rarely make money on these titles. Yes, they sell lots of copies but after paying more than a million for the rights, publishers seldom recoup their advance on the sale of the hardcover.
Here’s why–publishers sell books to their customers at an average of 48% off the cover price. For a book that retails for $25, the publisher bills that title to their customer for $13 and gets paid only after the book sells. Books are guaranteed, if that customer cannot sell that $25 hardcover, they return the book and the publisher credits back $13. Only after the customer sells the book does the publisher get paid and in most cases it is many months after the sale.
The publisher absorbs all costs related to advertising, promotion, publicity, author tours, production, art, editorial, marketing, warehousing, shipping, and the overhead of running a multi-million dollar division. All of those costs in addition to the advance for the rights come out of the publisher’s portion of that $13. The margins for operating their business are squeezed very thin and in most cases the publishers end up making pennies on the sale of a $25 hardcover.
The largest mass merchants and bookstore chains make money in two ways, on the sale of copies multiplied thousands of times and the rental of real estate. Every inch of a major bookstore chain and the book aisles of the mass merchants are considered real estate and are available for rent to promote titles for a specified period of time. Consider the size of the stores times the number of locations nationwide and you get an idea of the revenue stream this creates.
In addition to the rental of retail space, publishers often pay for advertising costs associated with promoting the book in-store or in windows. They pay placement allowances for displays on the floor, on the shelf, or on the tops of tables. They pay to promote titles when authors make appearances to sign books; they also pay for any print announcements the store may offer. It seems the lists keeps getting bigger because the money to retailers for these promotions, advertising, and placement are paid regardless of whether or not the book sells.
Writers who can consistently complete a book every twelve months and maintain a consistent level of sales, can make a very nice living as an author. And who knows, you might be the next one to write the biggest bestseller of the year and end up with a million dollar paycheck!
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about this subject, “If the publishers don’t make that much money off of those best selling authors that are given a million dollars and up for the rights then why do so in the first place?” The answers are billing and publicity. Publishers today are focused on generating as much billing, and creating as much publicity as possible.
Big name authors generate lots of billing and create publicity. It is easier to get the recongizable names on television and in print than any other author. This creates a buzz that publishers use as leverage to get the less than recognizable names on television and in print. Plus the media exposure sells backlist titles.
Publishers need a complete list of titles, including big name authors that do not make money on the hardcover publication. However, they can earn a great deal of money on the paperback and subsequent sale of the older back listed titles. So they are willing to break even on the hardcover and recoup their investment on the paperback edition.
Another question, “I have been hearing stories about some of the recent new authors that have been given at least a million in advances and they have never been successfully published much less published at all in their lives. Am I missing something here?” The answer relates back to the need to generate billing and create publicity. A new unknown person who is suddenly handed a million dollars or more for a new book, had something in a manuscript that a publisher felt they could exploit and was also something they desperately needed.
With an investment of one million, they can create lots of billing and tons of publicity. The problem for the author is that if the book fails miserably, the chances are slim they will ever see another million dollar advance. Of course with a million in the bank, perhaps the new author is not interested in another big payday. My guess, based on years of working with hundreds of authors, is that the ego would take over and the need for another big advance would become increasingly important.
Big advances and loads of publicity do not guarantee sales. There are never any guarantees. The publisher of Patricia Cornwell has a pretty good idea how many copies of a new hardcover will be sold. The range hardly ever varies. So the advance per book is based on selling the same numbers. The publisher makes their money on the sale of all her older back listed books in the paperback editions sold alongside the new hardcover.
And of course do not forget, the retailer is making a nice piece of change on the sale of the hardcover, paperbacks, and space they are renting to promote the books.
What You Don’t Know Can Destroy Your Writing Career
By Jerry D. Simmons | November 7th, 2005 | 1 Comment » (Click to add yours!)
We all recognize the adage, “what you don’t know won’t hurt you.” Well in the language of publishing that is absolutely not true! During my long career it was the exact opposite that rang true. If you’ve read my book or any of my articles you will know that my central theme is, writers need to understand the basics of the business to improve their chances of a successful career as a writer. In the world of publishing there is only one thing that matters, can the book sell?
How do you improve the chances of your book selling? The first thing, and the one that seems to be difficult for some writers, is recognizing the importance of learning the basics of the business. When I speak to groups I hear such comments as, “your information is for writers who are closer to being published,” or “I’m not there yet, I’m still trying to get an agent!” Those comments illustrate a lack of understanding of the importance of learning the business side of publishing.
Let’s suppose for a moment that writing is not just a hobby, but the pursuit of a full-time career. Then before you write that first word you should start learning the market for your book. For example, if you decide your subject is to be sailing ships, and you plan to spend any amount of time researching and writing this manuscript, it would be a good idea to know something about other books on the market. Even though your local bookstore may not currently stock books on sailing ships, you need to measure the demand for such books. This kind of information is what I mean by knowing something about your market.
I recognized long ago there was a lack of understanding of the business on the part of authors. My goal is to help writers understand the importance of learning the basics. Recognizing the need to learn more is key to becoming a successful writer. Improving your skills as a writer is very important, but it is extremely important that you also learn the basics of the business. I will share with you all that I know about publishing through my blog, articles, and books. As a writer pursuing a career as an author you need to recognize the importance of understanding the basics of the business of publishing.
Three Important Points
By Jerry D. Simmons | November 3rd, 2005 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
For any writer with hopes of becoming an author, there are three very important points that need to be seriously considered and embraced. The competition in the marketplace is fierce and these points are crucial for anyone wanting to improve their chances at a successful career as a writer and author.
(1) Know your market.Regardless of the type of book being written, it is imperative that the names of the best-selling authors are recognized and as many of their books as possible are read. The publishers of those books should be noted since they would have the editorial expertise in that particular category of publishing. Attention should be paid to how the titles are packaged, priced, promoted, and advertised. No author can speak intelligently about any area of writing without knowing what is successful in the marketplace.
(2) Understand the business of publishing. Here is where readers begin to glaze over, at the mention of the word “business.” I’m not suggesting anyone take a course in publishing, but I am suggesting writers familiarize themselves with the basics of the business. It is important to know what happens from the moment of acquisition to the day their book goes on sale. They need to be able to participate in key decisions surrounding the publication of their book. I cannot stress enough the importance of this point.
(3) Learn numbers and distribution. Any writer who wants to be successful as an author must sell more copies than booksellers return. If a book does not have a good sell-through, subsequent books will not be ordered and a career may end before it starts. The numbers, how they are developed and why, will give any writer a distinct advantage. The key to distribution is knowing how many copies of a book are being sent to which customer and in what quantity. This does not mean there is a need to know the complete breakdown of sales by customer; it illustrates the need for an overall understanding of the types of booksellers that exist, their function in the market, and their ability to distribute or sell individual copies.
The absolute bottom line in determining the future of an author is whether their book sells more copies compared to the total number that is distributed. It doesn’t matter how good their skills are as a writer, what matters is how many copies their book sells. The author’s future rests against the benchmark where all books are measured.
