Shrinking Market
By Jerry D. Simmons | August 3rd, 2011 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
The recent bankruptcy by the nation’s second largest bookstore chain is a
blow to the marketplace for printed books. Even though this company had
struggled the past few years the fact that these retail stores are being
permanently closed wrecks havoc on planning, scheduling and sales of all
publishers. As small independent bookstores continue to downsize and with
Barnes & Noble seeking a corporate buyer and suspending their dividend to
shareholders there is a tremendous amount of uncertainty in the publishing
industry.
Uncertainty creates chaos and inevitably forces publishers to rethink their
operating budgets for the current year. The first reaction is to rethink the
number of manuscripts the major publishers purchase, creating uncertainty in
the production schedule that hurts authors much more than publishers. The
second thing they will do is rethink their support for smaller titles and newer
authors. No one can sell books without marketing and when big publishers reduce
spending on signing new authors and titles as well as advertising, promotion
and publicity the fewer copies will eventually be sold.
Fewer bookstores mean less shelf space and fewer opportunities for smaller
publishers to compete with printed books. The reason this is important for
writers is that the traditional bookstore marketplace that we have all grown up
to love continues to shrink at an alarming rate. Fewer copies are being sold
than ever before and there are fewer places to merchandise a printed book. The
majors in New York are not going to cut back on distribution or shipping large
quantities of their titles, the result will be that fewer small press titles
will get a fair opportunity to sell copies.
When the smaller quality traditional publishers get squeezed out of
bookstores it drastically limits their ability to sell copies which threatens
their survival. An industry without the small houses will greatly hinder the
business of publishing and create more of a monopoly among the six largest New
York based publishers. As the big get bigger the smaller companies will either
be bought or merged or fail to meet payroll and close their doors. It’s become
a very difficult business for the small company to survive.
Tags: Book Publishing
Do Book Publishers Know What Sells?
By Jerry D. Simmons | July 14th, 2011 | 3 Comments » (Click to add yours!)
There is an interesting question floating around many New York publishing offices these days and it borders on a new level of insecurity: what really sells in today’s marketplace? Ask a dozen professionals and you will get a dozen answers all slanted toward their personal area of expertise. The truth is that book publishers have always asked this question and the newest answers may surprise you.
Editors and publishers know that James Patterson and Janet Evanovich will sell a certain number of copies. Thomas Friedman and Malcolm Gladwell will attract an audience, as will Sarah Palin, Barack Obama and the latest Hollywood star. The problem is affordability from both the consumer and publisher level. There was a time where you had to have a high profile author on your list to bring attention and credibility. This in turn provided a certain prestige to your company but those days are going away. The biggest of the big authors will continue to command high dollars but their market is shifting along with everything else in publishing.
The real keys to success as a publisher are the older backlist titles and discovering the unknown writer who becomes a huge bestseller. They all want the same thing but go about finding them in different ways. The crux of the sales and dwindling profitability problem is the fact that publishers are not providing what their audience wants. They are unaware of what readers want to read. How else can you explain the rise in return percentage, steady decline over many years of print copy sales, higher retail cover price for all content, and the explosion of eBooks?
Here are two examples of recent announcements from some major publishers about their upcoming list of titles: graphic novel about the Bin Laden raid and a parenting book that suggests an end to punishment and focus on negotiation. Niche publishing has always been for the small houses and even independent authors but these examples signal a desperate change.
Here are two of the most recent inquiries from major publishers seeking books from Casey Anthony about her trial for $7-8 million, or tell all from Maria Shriver for $15 million. The high prices being offered to both tell me the big companies are seeking notoriety and will pay almost any price to get it. Spending this kind of money depletes the needed resources for establishing an entire publishing program that is viable and sustainable.
Editors tell writers to write what they know and not worry about sales. This is certainly true, but writers should create content that in essence is a reflection of their background, knowledge, experience and environment, not content for the sake of a contract. The surge in independent publishing is a reflection of changes in technology both with distribution and the price of a printed book. It may also signal that the audience is finally getting the kind of content they wish to read and the self-published title is filling a need in the marketplace.
Successful authors have two things in common: they are prolific writers who produce good content that sell consistently over a number of years and they market, market, market. Even the major houses strongly encourage all their authors to market themselves as well as their writing. The big companies in New York may not have a handle on what sells and are still willing to pay over market prices, but they understand what it takes to create excitement. We can all take a lesson from the big publisher mistakes.
Tags: Book Marketing, Book Publishing
Shrinking Marketplace
By Jerry D. Simmons | May 30th, 2011 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
Turn the clock back to January 1981 and imagine you are living in a comfortable 4000 square foot home, fully furnished in an ideal location. Fast forward twenty years to January 2001 and the shock when you discover that your beautiful home has shrunk to 3000 square feet. This drastic 25 percent reduction happened right under your nose while you weren’t paying attention. Fast forward again, this time ten more years to January 2011 and a new shocker, your home is now only 2000 square feet. Another huge reduction in size of 33 percent while utilities, taxes and insurance never changed, you’re still paying to support a 4000 square foot home. You’ve shed some furniture but overall you have less living space with the same costs.
Obviously houses don’t shrink but markets do and this analogy is how you could describe the book publishing industry. The marketplace that was once capable of launching a new bestseller with 2.5 million copies out the door is now stretching to make 1.2 million copies. The sale of print copies is in decline as publishers are selling fewer and fewer books each and every year. This is a trend that started in the early 1990’s and continues to this day. As the market shrinks there are fewer retail locations and even fewer shelves to place titles and so cover prices have to rise to at least attempt to keep up with eroding revenues. It is a bad scenario.
Small Changes
Now that publishers recognize the enormity of their dilemma they are making costly adjustments. Shedding people in small groups is one way the business is adjusting, they do this in a way to avoid the media attention and alarm their authors. Most of the big publishing houses have been systematically eliminating jobs a few at a time. As a result there are tons of people still employed doing the work of three or more only a few short years ago. Everyone’s plate has gotten bigger so less gets done and even less gets attention. This impacts the authors and their books while placing more emphasis on the writers to help market and support their own titles.
If you wonder why it is so difficult to get an agents attention and land a contract one simple reason is a much smaller market. Publishers are much more selective because on average, in the good old days, only seven out of every ten titles published made the company money. With that kind of track record in good times the selection has gotten much more stringent in bad times. Publishers are publishing fewer titles than ever before and selling even fewer copies at only slightly higher prices. This is a formula for serious erosion because the industry cannot continue on their current path.
Market Opportunity
Amazon launched the Kindle in 2007 just in time to give the book publishers hope. But of course Amazon was difficult to deal with and it became their way or no way and so publishers agreed to allow them to sell eBooks below a fair market price while seeding the market for the future. The publishers were making their profit margins and Amazon was losing money on each eBook sold but made up for it in the sale of the Kindle. It was Amazon’s way and the suppliers of eBooks stood along the sideline and watched.
As the eBook market began to grow, at least according to Amazon’s self promotion, publishers began to see the public pay attention and sales were small but growth was being seen for the first time in many years. This alone was enough to make a few individuals in New York wonder about the possibilities. But as with all major book publishers they reverted back to their old selves and tried frantically to fix the print book sale problem, to no avail. Resources and bodies were devoted to print and not the future potential of digital.
Apple to the Rescue
Apple changed the game when they launched the iPad whose possibilities went far beyond the simple reading of text on a tablet. Suddenly sales of eBooks went from less than one percent of a book publisher’s revenue to more than ten percent in a single year, something they had not seen in decades. Now more resources and bodies are being applied to what may well be the savior of the book publishing business, the electronic book or eBook.
Even though overall the percentage of eBook sales as a revenue source for book publishers is small, the growth and potential is astronomical. Technology is also playing a major role in the publishing business with apps for iPhones, new ways of embedding video and audio into eBooks and of course the introduction of more than a dozen new tablet reading devices at the recent electronic show in Las Vegas.
The Author
What this means for writers and authors is that the market for your content is not on life support. Your manuscript has value to the consumer but you have to think beyond the printed book. Publishing is as business, the business of producing content. Not necessarily the printed book. My generation, the baby boomers, were raised on print. My entire career in New York was devoted to print books but the market is changing dramatically and you need to be open to new ways of sharing your writing.
When considering publishing as an investment, the cost of producing a single quality print book far outweighs that of the eBook. Certainly the eBook market is much smaller but growing faster than anything publishing has seen in many, many years. As the big publishers invest more in the digital market and more reading devices are launched at lower prices the market will only continue to grow at double digit rates. You need to be available to that market.
Tags: Book Marketing, Book Publishing, writing
Romance Writers Rejoice
By Jerry D. Simmons | April 26th, 2011 | 1 Comment » (Click to add yours!)
According to the book research firm Bowker, romance is the fastest growing segment of the eBook reading market. In an article in The New York Times written by Julie Bosman, romance fiction was a $1.3 billion dollar segment of publishing in 2009 and at least 75 million romance readers purchased at least one romance title in 2008. According to William Lynch, Chief Executive with Barnes & Noble Booksellers eBook sales of romance titles in his stores will exceed sales of all romance print books in the coming year. Mr. Lynch went on to say that romance readers on average purchase three romance eBooks per month.
Certainly romance readers like science fiction readers are loyal to their brand, namely the author. However if your content is good and you have a professionally edited manuscript then publishing on your own as an eBook and priced below the market range may give you a better chance at success (selling copies). Self-published fiction has always faced hurdles however based on these romance sales figures it seems the eBook format will offer a better than average opportunity at reaching an audience.
Tags: Book Marketing, Book Publishing, Book Sales
Book Publishing – Cornerstones of Self-Publishing
By Jerry D. Simmons | February 21st, 2011 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
My background is traditional publishing and my focus has been to bring information and professional qualities to writers choosing to self-publish. There are very important considerations when self-publishing—IF those books are professionally published and fit the marketplace they have a chance of being accepted in the traditional market. These two go hand in hand, publish a professional book and you have an opportunity at commercial success as an author.
There are four major areas required of all self-published titles: (1) each book must be edited, (2) cover design must fit the market, (3) cover pricing must fit the market, and (4) publishing without marketing negates everything else. The term “fit the market” means the package and price must adhere to the standards of similar titles found in major bookstores. You cannot package or price a self-published book outside the boundaries set by traditionally published books. Authors must avoid anything and everything that screams “self-published.”
Tags: Book Publishing
Book Publishing – Expectations for Your Book
By Jerry D. Simmons | January 28th, 2011 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
There is nothing wrong with publishing your own manuscript, what’s wrong is having expectations that do not match the market or method of publishing. The marketplace for selling books is competitive, rigid and revolves around a set of unwritten rules established a very long time ago by the largest publishers in the world. They developed the marketplace, helped retailers launch their business by subsidizing inventories and providing favorable terms. These publishers have coveted relationships that enhanced and supported the efforts of all booksellers over a very long time.
It is no wonder the traditional marketplace for selling printed books is difficult to penetrate. The environment is controlled by the very people responsible for the existence of most retailers who have managed to survive today’s tough economic times. The last thing these big publishers want is their shelf space taken up by self-published titles which do not provide incentives, fees or discounts necessary to become a major player in book publishing.
Anyone who makes the decision to self-publish must understand that success as an author is difficult in any situation, finding success as a self-published author compounds the difficulty. The marketplace sets the rules and publishing contrary to those rules is always risky. However, anything is possible in publishing if certain criteria are met. Make your choice but understand how the market works before your expectations exceed your book or publishers ability to deliver.
Tags: Book Publishing
Content is all that Matters
By Jerry D. Simmons | November 16th, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
The day you sign that first publishing contract recognize that your publisher is not in love with you, but your writing. The content you create on a consistent basis that keeps readers turning pages is all that matters. You can do that from an island paradise or your basement office, at the south Pacific or Toledo, it’s all irrelevant. Content drives the bus, you are a back seat passenger, and your writing creates the revenue stream.
Once you complete that first manuscript and move on to the next step in the publishing process do not waste all of your time marketing and promoting your first work, begin writing your second and third. Once the first is off the computer and into the hands of professionals handling your publication the sooner you will need a follow-up. New writers without a few manuscript ideas ready to complete, submit and publish are seen as authors with less than stellar value. The more you have in the pipeline to publish the better.
The business of publishing centers around books to be published, if computers could write bestsellers you better believe these big companies would be the first in line to sign them up. The author is secondary, your book comes first. You are a commodity and as long as you can submit consistent, predictable writing that has the potential to sell in incrementally greater numbers year after year the greater your value. Writers that can achieve that are the gold standard, they are the ones you never hear about but who earn a substantial living as an author.
Tags: Book Publishing, Book Sales, Booksellers, eBook, Editing, writing
Creating Author Value
By Jerry D. Simmons | November 12th, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
Writers produce value in three ways: first, they create marketable content that moves the reader from page to page; second they have an ability to generate publicity through their platform namely their personality, background and writing; third they are able to deliver a product that sells consistently and predictably over the course of several years. The rest is fluff!
Writers value their work and that is understandable but at some point reality needs to set in and they must understand they are producing a product to be marketed and sold. That product has value, the writer is a commodity. There are tons of writers that can produce valued content however the market is only so big. It can accommodate only so many books. There is not an unlimited market for quality content.
As the business transitions the model under which publishers can work will change. There is little time now to nurture authors who need their hand held through the tough times. Resources are limited and the new publishing model will require authors to have a basic understanding of the market. There will be no more hand holding or nurturing through poor sales. Start now, learn the market, and get smart about your business or else you will be destined to become a former author.
Tags: Book Marketing, Book Publishing, Book Sales, Booksellers, eBook, Self-Published Author, Self-Publishing, writing
Six Majors & Five Foreign
By Jerry D. Simmons | November 11th, 2010 | 2 Comments » (Click to add yours!)
Did You Know? The publishing industry is dominated by six major companies, each operating a variety of imprints under their corporate umbrella. Five of these six are owned by companies based outside the U.S. Here is a list of those companies and partial list of their imprints.
First is Random House, Inc. is a division of Bertelsmann AG, a German Corporation. They are the world’s largest general trade book publisher with some seventy imprints, including Crown, Doubleday, Knopf Group, Pantheon, and Random House. They also own the Literary Guild. Second is The Penguin Group is owned by Pearson, a company based in the United Kingdom. They are the second largest publisher in the United States and Canada. Their imprints include Berkley, Putnam, and Viking.
Third comes Simon & Schuster, Inc. is a publishing division of Viacom based in the United States. They publish Pocket Books, Scribner and Simon & Schuster. Fourth is Harper Collins is a subsidiary of the News Corporation Limited which is headquartered in Australia. They are a Rupert Murdock company with annual revenues of over $1 billion. Its imprints include Harper Collins, and William Morrow. Its Zondervan unit publishes Bibles and Christian books; they also distribute Hyperion, and Miramax.
Fifth is Hachette Book Group USA formerly Time Warner Book Group Inc. is a French company which owns the Book-of-the-Month Club and the imprints Grand Central Publishing, Little, Brown and Company; and they distribute Time-Life Books, and Microsoft. The sixth and final major publisher is Macmillan a German company with imprints Farrar, Straus & Giroux, St. Martin’s Press, Tor, Henry Holt, Macmillan Audio, Picador, and they have a huge college division.
Tags: Book Publishing, Book Sales
Ownership, Rights & Control
By Jerry D. Simmons | November 10th, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
When you sign that publishing contract be aware, you lose ownership, rights and control of that content. You will always be the author and maintain the copyright but ownership of your writing has transferred to your publisher who is paying you for those rights. When an editor asks for editorial changes you are under a legal obligation to rewrite, revise and make any and all requested changes and deliver on time.
Writers should not marry themselves to a title and never specifically categorize their manuscript. Leave this to the experts, either your agent or publisher. Broad categorizations are fine but unless you can provide specific examples of how your writing fits a particular sub-genre then I would avoid at all costs. Your publisher may very well want to change the title, category or ending as they see fit to maximize the potential sale based on current market conditions at the time of publication.
Publishing is a business and should be approached as such. The more savvy the writers the better opportunity they have of being successful. The business is extremely competitive and writers need every advantage they can get to separate themselves from the competition including authors published under the same imprint. Knowledge is key, understand the business before you sign that contract.
Tags: Book Marketing, Book Publishing, writing
