What Does An African Probverb Have To Do With Writing?
By Jerry D. Simmons | March 15th, 2006 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)

Absolutely nothing! I just wanted to share with you something that I read in Thomas L. Friedman’s best-selling book The World Is Flat. On page 114 he recites an old African proverb that many of you may have heard, it goes like this.

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.Every morning a lion wakes up.It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better start running.

This proverb has been used in a number of ways, for me in realtion to business and athletics, but when I re-read it recently I felt it had some application to writers. Every day someone somewhere is sitting down to write a great book. If you aren’t writing, something, everyday, your competition is gaining on you.

I’m not trying to equate writing with life or death and I’m certainly not making a comparison between this proverb and the exercise of writing. I merely want to make the point that it is very important to write everyday.

There is no one writing with your voice, your life experiences, your background and education that will write your story the way you will. However, that story may never be written, unless, you find the time to write, everyday. Regardless of whether what you write will ever be published, the fact that you are writing and improving your skill is what is important.

I’m not trying to make a distinction between who is the gazelle and who is the lion, although a case could be made that the publishers are the lions and the writers the gazelles. Because if writers don’t pay attention to what publishers are doing, then the process of publishing books will consume them and their career. The future of writers depends on their ability to know what is happening, when, and how they can become a part of the decision making surrounding the publication of their book.

Let me help you! WritersReaders.com is for writers.

 

What Authors Can Expect From Publishers When It Comes To Marketing
By Jerry D. Simmons | March 13th, 2006 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)

Recently I received an email from a reader who asked for my views on what authors can expect from publishers when it comes to marketing. His comment was, “The old saw that writers must promote their work does little to stimulate marketing, but perhaps knowing that publishers do little or no marketing might be beneficial.” Anthony, thank you for that email.

My comments relate to authors positioned somewhere in the middle to bottom of a publisher’s seasonal list. Those whose print numbers will most likely be 20,000 copies or below. The good news is that if you are in that position and have definite plans, and suggestions, with venues and contact names, your chances of the publisher helping you are increased. Helping could be defined as budgeting a small amount of money, reaching out to use their clout to help you generate publicity, and promoting your book on a limited, regional basis.

The bad news is that because of the sheer volume of titles published each season; typically your publisher will offer little if any financial, supportive, logistical, or any other kind of marketing support. Most authors in that situation do nothing, and the results are that their book sells few copies and results in a poor sell-through. This of course hinders their chances of a career as a writer.

Regardless of your situation: Self-published, small press, or under contract with a larger publisher, the more you know about marketing and how to promote through free publicity, the better your chance of selling copies. Publishers of all sizes are more willing to help authors who want and try to help themselves. Offering ideas, providing contact names and addresses, and having a clear idea of how you want to market gives you a huge advantage.

Where do you find this marketing information: By visiting your bookstore regularly and observing what’s going on in the marketplace. Know your genre! Know your market!

 

US News & World Report
By Jerry D. Simmons | March 9th, 2006 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)

There is a cover story in their March 13th edition entitled Books Gone Wild! that requires some serious explaining. It starts with examples of questionable literary integrity for both writers and publishers, quite appropriately. Then jumps into the fact that according to the National Endowment of the Arts 2004 Report: Reading At Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America, fewer than half of all American adults now read literature (loosely defined as fiction or poetry). It goes on to say there was a 10% decline in literary reading for all ages between 1982-2002 and a 28% decline in young adults age 18 to 24. The story estimated that 20 million potential readers in literature were lost during this period.

There is a company known in the industry as Neilsen Bookscan that tabulates book sales for publishers. In the article they report that in 2005 there were sales of $709.8 million, which represented a 9.3% increase over 2004. What the article does not explain is that Bookscan tabulates sales from a variety of retailers but not all. In other words their numbers are weighted to account for the lack of retailers that report to them. This is a bit of a problem because how they weigh the results makes a huge difference in how they report sales. This was always the problem with Bookscan so publishers tend to take their information and use it to their advantage, overlooking the holes in the data. The accuracy of their reports have always been questionable.

After reading the article I contacted Susan Pavliscak at Bookscan and asked for some explanations to their numbers. Here is the email exchange.

The attached document they sent me included a list of reporting stores: B. Dalton, B&N, Books-A-Million, Borders, Deseret Book Company, Hastings, Musicland (currently in bankruptcy), Tower Book and Music (just coming out of bankruptcy), Walden Books, General Independent Bookstores (weighted since all do not report), Follett College Stores, Amazon, B&N.com, Borders.com, Buy.com, Costco, Target, Kmart. Noticeably missing is the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart as well as many other significant booksellers across the country. Keep in mind, there are over 8,000 retail locations selling books. This is important to know when you read a sales report from Bookscan.

As a footnote, the American Association of Publishers (AAP) reports that total 2005 net book sales were $25.1 BILLION. To be fair, they track every single kind of book possible, including academic, specialty, and so on. Another bit of information that you need to know when evaluating sales reports in various media.

The article went on to say that in 2005 there were 200 best-selling titles that represented 10% of the total sales. Of those, Harry Potter sold 7.2 million copies, 1% of the total book sales. This supports the fact that 10% of a publishers list represents 90% of their billing. Also, if the 9.3% increase is even close to accurate, this means that publishers shipped at a minimum 18% more units into the marketplace last year than the year before, and that assumes a 50% sell through. This supports the theory that the marketplace continues to be flooded with product, creating a continual over-distribution problem.

As a writer, and future author, I cannot stress the importance of learning what goes on behind the scenes with publishing. If you do not educate yourself about the business and how you fit into the equation, your career can be over in a flash. I encourage you, BUY MY BOOK, read it, ask questions, let’s continue to create the dialogue that will help writers become successfully published authors.

 

Jacket, Flap & Catalog Copy
By Jerry D. Simmons | March 7th, 2006 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)

Studies have shown that the cover of a book, along with the title, are determining factors in why readers pick books up off shelves and tables. Once the book is in their hands, they either turn the book over to read the back jacket or, they open the book and read the inside flap. This is where the sale can be made, on the description of the story on the back jacket or flap of the book.

This is one of those decisions that writers often leave up to their publisher and it is a huge mistake. You should always review what is written about your book, especially when it is going to be printed anywhere on the back or inside cover. The jacket copy along with the cover art and title are part of a crucial mix that must be right in the eyes of the consumer if you want them to buy your book.

To take this one step further, when the book is being sold to booksellers, there will always be catalog copy. This is a brief description a book buyer reads and often can be the reason for either placing an order or passing on your title. The catalog copy does not always coincide with the jacket or flap copy because the market is different, consumer versus book buyer. Always review the jacket, flap and catalog copy for your book!

Writing good jacket, flap and catalog copy is an art form. However because there are so many books that need to be produced in a timely fashion, chances are your book will not be given the attention it deserves. The really good copy writers will be directed to the covers of the better-positioned titles. To compensate for this fact, read what is being written and placed on the covers of the best-selling titles in your genre. Give some attention to what you want to be written about your book. It can make the difference in a sale, and every copy counts.

 

Know Your Reader
By Jerry D. Simmons | March 2nd, 2006 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)

Authors I have known and writers I respect, all say, write in your own voice. Never try to write like another author, and never try to write to fit a particular best selling title or genre. Write what you know, write with passion, write what you want, in your own voice. What makes your writing unique and your story original is your voice in your own words.

In addition, you need to know your reader. Recently a publisher told me that the vast majority of their authors could not answer the question: Who is your reader? Whether you are self-published, by a small press, or under contract to a large publisher, the question will be asked: Who is your reader and how do we reach them? This is one question you need to give serious consideration.

As publishing has changed over the past few years, so has the way in which they market books. Chances are good, regardless of where or how your book is published that you will be asked to assist with the marketing of your book. Unless you have some clear idea, who is most likely to be your reader, you are not going to be able to make a contribution to the marketing effort. This means your publisher will be making all the decisions, and this is where authors begin to get in trouble.

This is not a suggestion to write to fit an audience or particular genre, it simply means as an author, once your manuscript is complete, you need to give consideration to who will be your reader? The more you can target the person or group, the better you will be able to help your publisher and yourself to focus attention on the one area where it will do the most good. And at the same time, sell more books.

 

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