The New Hybrid Publishing Model
By Jerry D. Simmons | March 15th, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
As the major publishing companies evaluate their current situation, one thing becomes clear, what they are doing is not working. You cannot stem the tide of falling unit sales when your strategy is to produce more of the same. Propping up a broken system that makes it difficult for new talent to break in and reprinting less-than-stellar writing from old tried-and-true authors is the best way to drive your customers away, and that strategy seems to be working!
The reading public is screaming for a new approach. This is my conclusion after seeing a decade long slide in single copy sales. How can an industry constantly fly in the face of the basic law of supply and demand? When demand goes down in publishing, the big companies increase supply by shipping more books and raise cover prices at the same time. This does not make sense.
The time is right for an entirely new approach, and it’s called the hybrid publishing model—combining the experience and vast knowledge of former New York publishing executives with top quality production to assist writers in publishing their own manuscript. In the end, the finished product is made available to booksellers via direct sales to book buyers at top retailers. The advantages are considerable.
Remember, publishing is about perception—publish with the wrong company and the quality of your writing will forever be judged before your title has a chance at success.
Tags: Book Distribution, Book Marketing, Book Publishing, Book Sales, Hybrid Publishing Model, Self-Published Author, Self-Publishing
Facts not Promises
By Jerry D. Simmons | March 11th, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
I’m often asked a variety of questions regarding publishing, marketing, and book sales. The common theme among all the writers and authors who contact me is the same, when it comes to questions about publishing, products, services and marketing “who can you believe?” That is a difficult question to answer since I have my own perspective (25 years in New York publishing) and opinions (based on 7 years in the independent publishing market).
It has been my experience that writers and authors tend to believe:
(1) friends, other authors, and colleagues within their own writing group or circle of friends,
(2) the best sales pitch with the least cost and biggest promises of success, and
(3) those offering facts and not promises which is the way I describe myself and other members of the INDI Publishing Group.
There is nothing wrong with believing whom you want to believe, however, if experience makes the difference, then you should be listening to those with the most experience with a solid background in New York publishing. I am not biased towards any form of publishing. For me and my clients, it depends on their personal goals, wants, hopes, and dreams. I pride myself on telling the truth and being honest to a fault. Sometimes writers don’t want to accept the facts.
My professional services and those of my group are not the least expensive and you shouldn’t expect that. Our combined experience is unparalleled in publishing. I don’t make wild promises or offer guarantees, I refuse to paint a rosy picture of the bookselling marketplace, and I absolutely will not associate myself or do business with anyone that is not above reproach. These are the rules I go by and if that fits your criteria then send me an email. I will do everything I can to offer you my expertise and guidance with the goal of making you a successful author.
Tags: Book Publishing, Book Sales, eBook, Self-Published Author, Self-Publishing
eBook Pricing sets the Stage
By Jerry D. Simmons | March 10th, 2010 | 1 Comment » (Click to add yours!)
Regardless of where the major publishers decide to price their eBooks there will be plenty of room for independent authors to compete by pricing more aggressively. Whether $9.99 or $14.99 the big publishers have fixed costs that smaller companies and independent authors do not. There is no doubt the big publishing houses want their eBook prices to remain relatively close to the hardcover edition of each title however the closer to the $20 mark, the weaker their position.
Suggested retail pricing in publishing, especially the eBook is key to success. Unfortunately the print side of the business has such a rigid discount structure that under pricing the competition while covering the cost of printing low quantities of books makes profitability difficult, not so with eBooks. If a ground floor opportunity ever existed in publishing, this is it! Explore the possibilities; consider launching your publishing career in eBook format and wait for print. The cost of entry to the market is much lower and the possibilities are greater than print editions.
Tags: Book Publishing, Book Sales, eBook, Self-Published Author, Self-Publishing
Author Royalties for eBooks
By Jerry D. Simmons | March 9th, 2010 | 1 Comment » (Click to add yours!)
Royalties for authors under contract with traditional publishers for their printed edition average between 5 and 7 percent, for independent authors that range is around 20 percent or less of net sales. Traditional publishers are offering their authors royalty rates for digital content in the neighborhood of 20 percent or less while on the independent side that number is anywhere from 20-30 percent of net sales depending on the retailer and terms.
If you own the digital, electronic or audio rights to your print book you can create all sorts of products and set retail prices accordingly. The eBook market is small but growing and the marketing opportunities are endless compared to print.
There is more excitement among New York publishers about eBooks since Apple announced the iPad and I expect to see some innovative and impressive products coming from them in the very near future. Having the ability to slice a typical 50 or 60,000 word manuscript into several smaller eBooks is a marketers dream. This will change publishing as we know it. Print will not die, but the ability to download digital content onto an eReading device is nothing more than the goose that laid the golden egg for independent authors.
Tags: Book Publishing, eBook, Self-Published Author, Self-Publishing
eBook the Next Frontier
By Jerry D. Simmons | March 8th, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
Imagine for a moment as an author, selling copies of your books and never having to print replacement copies. Consider the elimination of shipping, handling and warehousing costs for printed books. Imagine never having to deal with book returns ever again. A market exists where all sales are final, welcome to the new frontier of bookselling with digital downloads and eBooks.
For new authors struggling to create an audience, why would you want to launch in print when the price of entry into the eBook market is so low? A writer can take a manuscript that has been professionally edited and create an eBook for a fraction of the cost of producing a printed book.
When publishing independently and working to stay within a budget for production and marketing, wouldn’t your money be better spent on marketing rather than print and production costs? If you already have a printed edition of your book, and you own the digital and electronic rights, why not add an eBook to your product mix? Times are changing, markets are shifting, the eBook is fast becoming a viable market for selling content.
The method of eBook distribution is patterned after the print distribution business which means you need a publisher or distributor to gain access to the marketplace. Print is not going away but more consumers will be moving to the eBook because of price and wider availability of eReaders. If you have interest in exploring the market for eBooks, please contact me through this web site.
Tags: Book Distribution, Book Marketing, Book Publishing, Book Sales, eBook
Making the Right Publishing Decisions
By Jerry D. Simmons | March 5th, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
It’s interesting to note that many of the self-publishing mills (the big POD companies that market aggressively and often distort the facts) are offering writers a menu of options for publishing their manuscript. The question I have is, how can any writer know what is best for their book? Success in publishing is selling books, there is no other gauge. In order to sell copies, you need to know and understand the market for bookselling. In my opinion, you cannot make the right publishing decisions if you order your trim size, cover design, interior layout, price and page count from a menu of options. Your newly published book must fit the genre in which you write, and be positioned within that category to compete with all similar titles. Can you get that information from a menu? I don’t think so, not if you expect success, which translates into selling books.
Tags: Book Marketing, Book Publishing, Book Sales, Booksellers, eBook, Hybrid Publishing Model, Self-Published Author, Self-Publishing
Writers and Authors in Control
By Jerry D. Simmons | March 4th, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
Book publishing has always favored the big companies and only a select few of the mega-bestselling authors have real input on how their titles are handled in the marketplace. For everyone else they are merely a name and title on a pub sheet and the difficulty of separating themselves and their book from all other authors under contract is difficult. Adding insult is the fact that authors under contract do not own the rights to their own content.
Along come the print-on-demand companies and the surge in new titles exploded which unfortunately did not give the author any more leverage or control over their writing. The status quo was entrenched and unsuspecting writers who turned manuscripts over to these printers found them with less money in their pocket and no market to sell their book.
Left with few options and no way to sell large quantities of books, independent authors found it difficult to compete with published titles from the big companies.
Entering the market was the new hybrid model for publishing offering independent writers a real opportunity to compete on the same level with all published books. In response and faced with mounting competition from small and niche publishers the big six New York based behemoths decided to up and ante and begin offering booksellers huge incentives, discounts and fees for anything from placement to advertising in newsletters to subsidizing author appearances. The playing field once again was stacked against the small guy and favored the deeper pocket publishers.
Then along came a new reading device called iPad from a company named Apple and the big publishing industry was knocked back on their heels. The iPad will open doors and create opportunities for independent authors never before possible in the print world of book publishing. Technology is a wonderful thing and the time will come when authors will be able to control their own destiny with the emergence of the eBook market.
The eBook is nothing new; they’ve been around for many years. When Amazon introduced the Kindle it opened up the market for eBooks however Amazon remained the 800 pound gorilla in the room that major publishers detested having to work with. Suddenly introduction of the iPad has been a major break in the stalemate over the market for eBooks. The economics have changed and the advantage is finally shifting to the independent author.
For information on how you can take advantage of the emerging eBook market, send me an email Jerry@WritersReaders.com.
Tags: Book Publishing, eBook, Hybrid Publishing Model, Self-Published Author, Self-Publishing
Publish the Professional Way
By Jerry D. Simmons | March 3rd, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
There are more opportunities to publish a book than ever, including print and eBook, and the cost is going down. However, I’m not sure this is a good thing.
You may have heard the old saying “there are good lawyers, and there are cheap lawyers, but there are no good cheap lawyers.” This is definitely true for publishing, you can publish professionally or you can publish cheaply, but you cannot expect to have a professionally produced book for a few hundred dollars.
If you invest countless hours writing then the least you can do is have your manuscript professionally edited and produced. Your book is your resume; make it the best it can be. All the marketing in the world will not help you sell a poorly written or produced book.
Tags: Book Marketing, Book Publishing, eBook, Hybrid Publishing Model, Self-Publishing
Independently Published Books
By Jerry D. Simmons | March 2nd, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
There are lots of good books that are independently or self-published and most use digital or print-on-demand technology. No doubt, if you take the entire self-published or POD community and read all the books available, you would find vast amounts of titles that would not only hold their own in sales but had the potential to become bestsellers if displayed and merchandised in bookstores. The problem is negative perception of POD and no ACCESS to the bookstore market.
Let’s examine some facts about the independent or self-publishing marketplace.
(1) The success of many self-published titles such as THE SHACK indicates there are good books that started as independently published. However, this book would not be on The New York Times bestseller list without the help of a corporate publisher who bought the book after it had sold over 300,000 copies.
(2) A recent article in Publishers Weekly titled “Big Houses Benefit from Savvy Self-Publishers clearly indicated that the success of a handful of self-published books that made it into the hands of the big corporate publishers has made that New York publishing world take notice.
(3) According to statistics provided by Ingram Books, the owner of Lightening Source, the self-published market will grow at 15-20% each year for many years to come. This of course crowds the market, but creates opportunities for authors who are self-promoters and write really good books.
(4) As the corporate publishers sell fewer copies each year, retail booksellers will search for new opportunities to sell a variety of new categories, and will welcome new unproven authors. If the New York corporate publishers won’t do it, then it’s time for a new publishing model to be introduced to the market.
For authors who want control over their writing, the ability to retain all rights, realize a royalty payment much greater than any corporate publisher would offer, and be willing to take suggestions on how best to package and price their book to maximize its potential in the market, then your time is here. This new hybrid publishing model is ready and available.
Tags: Book Distribution, Book Publishing, Book Sales, Hybrid Publishing Model, Self-Publishing
What’s wrong with Print-On-Demand?
By Jerry D. Simmons | February 27th, 2010 | 3 Comments » (Click to add yours!)
Nothing as a technology, but plenty as a publishing business model. Unfortunately for those who publish with a POD their books will not be accepted in the stores or warehouses of booksellers. What this means is that corporate and large independent bookstores will not purchase books in quantity for display in their stores that are printed by a POD publisher. That is not my rule, but the rule of the marketplace.
The reason is lack of editorial control which results in a negative perception of all published books by a POD. These companies publish anything that comes their way. There is nothing wrong with that, as long as the writer understands the limitations before they sign a contract and pay money to publish. POD’s are in the business of printing books for their authors and they do not control the editorial quality of the authors they print. They make money by selling products, services and programs to large quantities of writers and not upon selling books. This is the problem with print-on-demand as a publishing model.
The technology is wonderful, allowing authors and publishers to print small quantities of books in an instant to meet market demand. The problem is market access and the negative perception of the quality of the content based solely on the publisher. Until a company using print-on-demand technology as a form of printing exercises some editorial control over what they publish and not accept anything that walks in the door, the marketplace will continue to turn their back on these books.
Tags: Book Publishing, Book Sales, Booksellers, Hybrid Publishing Model, Self-Published Author, Self-Publishing
