OVERALL 5-YEAR TRENDING REVEALS

STEADY GROWTH IN EVERY CATEGORY OF BOOKS 

A report by Nielsen BookScan at the last Book Industry Study Group (BISG) conference indicates sales of most genres have had continued growth over the past five years. That should offer some solace to all of us who currently worry about declining sales and lost jobs. 

Sales of general fiction have grown by 23.3%, literary fiction jumped by 86.1%, historical fiction increased by 24.1%. Political fiction topped them all at 157.7%. 

In nonfiction, which overall was up 11.1%, the softest category was travel, with sales falling by 4.6%. Business was up 19.4%, biography and autobiography jumped 34.1%. 

Hopefully as the economy recovers, the publishing industry will return to its traditional growth patterns.

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PUBLISHING’S PROBLEMS ARE FAR GREATER

THAN JUST THE CHALLENGE OF THE INTERNET 

Trueslant.com recently published a most interesting article by author Gary Andrew Poole. It’s titled “Troubles in Publishing? It’s Not Just the Web’s Fault.” I strongly recommend reading it in its entirety. But for those who don’t, I think this paragraph pretty much summarizes Poole’s piece: 

“It is easy to blame readers, or the Internet (for the troubles publishing is currently experiencing), but after I talked  to numerous authors and booksellers the blame was directed at publishers. There are great works being published, but many of them are “lost” because so many mediocre books clog the bookstores…Authors always complain about marketing and editing, of course, but it really has become a problem in the industry. Book publishers don’t practice quality control, a fatal decision in any business.”  

What Poole hasn’t expressed is a dilemma that faces me regularly as a book coach. I am an avid supporter of Publishing on Demand (POD) because it affords an opportunity for non professional writers to express their thoughts in print, whether fiction or nonfiction. But I also recognize the downside of this burgeoning method of publishing. 

POD houses seldom exercise quality control. They expect their authors to handle the editing before the manuscript is submitted. Even when no editing has been done, the house gladly accepts the book as long as it is accompanied by a check for the production costs. 

Although many of us idealize the written word and would like all books and manuscripts to be flawless, I don’t feel right in denying anyone the chance to publish. But the industry has got to develop controls that allow quality books to be distinguished from the output of incompetents or inexperienced wanna-be writers. 

Allowing 400,000 new titles, the majority of which don’t deserve that recognition, to reach the marketplace every year is preposterous. I fault the POD houses and the distributors and wholesalers that move these books to bookstores. The stores that accept them should be held culpable too.  

Anyone wishing to write a book for distribution just to family and friends should not be denied that chance. But widespread distribution to libraries, bookstores and the market in general should be required to meet a basic quality standard. 

With so much of the publishing industry now willing to sacrifice quality for profit, I am sure this hope is pie in the sky.

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SOME ENCOURAGING THOUGHTS ON THE FUTURE

OF READING AND THE PRINTED WORD 

In a speech recently delivered at the Authors Guild, Dave Eggers, author and editor of McSweeney’s a literary magazine, told the impressive audience, “Reports that no one reads anymore, especially young people, are greatly overstated and almost always factually lacking.” 

Eggers drew on his experience in San Francisco where he conducts reading programs with school kids and teenagers. He finds that reading in elementary and middle schools is “no different than at any other time,” and adds “their enthusiasm for the printed word is no different from that of kids from any other era.” 

Discussing the shifting trend toward digital, he argues that on and offline can exist together, but warns that “Physical forms of the written word need to offer a clear and different experience.” Eggers urged his audience to “celebrate the beauty of the printed page.” 

Despite the difficulty in achieving that goal, it not only can, it must, be accomplished. In our alleged Democracy quality communication is essential. Newspapers, magazines and now even book publishers are grappling with a formula that will provide solid content to readers, whether digital or print, and still be able to meet the demands of the bottom line. It won’t be easy, but it undoubtedly is doable. 

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GOOGLE EMERGES AS A POWERFUL PLAYER

IN THE RAPIDLY DEVELOPING E-BOOK MARKET 

Just a few days before Eggers’ speech (see above), Google made it very clear in discussions at Book Expo that the world’s largest digital empire is now ready to take on the top dog of book retailing, Amazon. 

Publishers object to the low ball pricing of e-books by Amazon as it tries to build volume for its Kindle hand readers. Google plans to sell digital editions directly to the consumer and to let the publisher set the price. Up until now, “Googlers” could download a maximum of 20% of digital versions of print books they receive from publishers. Readers were then offered a link to one of the online book sellers. 

Under the Google program, the text would be compatible with all devices that have access to the Internet in contrast to the Amazon e-books that are geared specifically for Kindle use. Amazon

prices its e-books at $9.99, angering many publishers. 

Under the new program, publishers would be able to set the retail price for their e-books which usually hovers between $12 and $15. 

Like every other trend setter, innovative Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and CEO, will be facing some hefty competition. The heavy promotion of Kindle has generated much of the consumer interest in hand held readers and in e-books. It’s all part of the major shifts the publishing industry is now experiencing. 

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Charlie’s Choice

Weekly Tips to Help You Write,

Publish & Promote Your Work

THE WONDERS OF THE WEB 

      Once upon a time—it seems long, long ago—there was no World Wide Web. The word Internet hadn’t yet entered our vocabulary. (Without delving into the technicalities and history of their development, feel free to use those terms interchangeably. Most people do.)  Those of you who are too young to have stumbled along with typewriter, whitening tapes and carbon copies can’t fully appreciate the miracle of the Web and how much easier it has made the writer’s life.

      For the next few weeks we’re going to look at how to obtain the maximum benefit from this digital technology. Today’s column will serve as a basic overview for those of you who are not

techies and perhaps not that familiar with the extraordinary possibilities of the online scene. In future columns, we’ll take a more in-depth look how you can benefit from each of its offerings. 

       Back on 14^th of January, we devoted a column to the importance of a web site to an author. You can easily scroll back through the blog archives to read that piece. The web site in essence is your digital home. Most of what you do online begins at the site, and it provides a base to which others can respond to you. Your web site serves three basic functions:

      It is a source of information for others who want to know about your and your work.

      It serves as a personal showroom to display your books and related products.

      It is the social center where others can in effect hobnob with you.

Internet Housekeeping

      There are responsibilities to maintaining a web site, if you want to gain maximum benefit from it. It is essentially a static document. By that I mean, much of the content remains intact and is not subject to change. But to continue to attract new visitors and bring back those who have previously visited, you must provide meaningful new content on a regular basis.

      This can be done in several ways. Periodically review your site in its entirety to discard any outdated material and determine whether any segment of the site should be updated. Every time you write an article, whether it is for print or digital media, place a copy on your site. Many authors produce a blog. It can be accessed through their web site or it can stand alone. If it is closely tied to your web site, it will automatically bring your visitor new content as you publish the blog daily, weekly or semi-monthly.

      A while ago Hostway, a web hosting firm, mounted a study of the pet peeves of web surfers.It found that 80% stated that outdated content is high on the list of the most aggravating.

E-mail & E-zines

      One of the most used functions of the Web is sending and receiving correspondence. It is free, as opposed to the Postal Service’s charge of 44 cents and up for first class mail. It is also far faster than traditional mail. For an author, it can be used to query agents or publishers, to conduct other aspects of business, to assist in research and of course to send and receive personal correspondence.

      While it is best to have them inter-related, the functions of your e-mail address and your web site domain are not the same. You can’t write or receive mail on your web site. Nonetheless, you can use the same name for both. For example, my site is www.retirement-writing.com. One of my principal e-mail addresses is charles@retirement-writing.com. Similar names, but very different functions.

      A primary e-mail use for authors is to send out periodic newsletter or e-zines as they are termed in “digitalize.” Despite all of the hoopla about social networking, the e-mail newsletter remains a tried and tested vehicle to promote yourself and your writings.

      While newsletters and other material sent by e-mail arrive at a limited number of specifically targeted readers, a  relatively new article distribution system has proliferated on the Internet. Article distributors, also called syndicators, will distribute articles that you write to tens of thousands of sites, newsletters and individual throughout the Web. Many offer this service at very little or no cost.

      By writing fairly short, informative articles (500 to 1,000 words) and adding a bio box (also called resource box) at the end of the article, your name, web site, book, whatever you wish to promote will be seen by these huge numbers of readers. 

E-books, the New Arrivals

      The publishing industry has long looked down its nose at e-books, those completely digital publications that can be read either on a computer screen or on the proliferating numbers of hand-held devices. The most widely publicized device is the Kindle, the child of Amazon’s  tech geniuses who implement the futurist concepts that CEO Jeff Bezos brings to their table. Even digital giant Google has jumped aboard with its new program, as you saw in the industry briefs at the beginning of this week’s blog.

      The e-book offers start-up authors a very easy and inexpensive method of publishing their books. In some cases, when sufficient interest has been created, the author can decide to redo it in print. Major publishing houses are always on the lookout for quality e-books to republish under their own imprint, just as they are for self-published and POD published works.

       Programs exist for authors to create their own e-book and sell it on their web sites. A second option is to offer the book to an e-book publisher who will format, design a cover and market it for you, returning a royalty very much like the system traditional publishers use to compensate their authors. We will devote one or more columns, as needed, to understanding the benefits of both e-books and e-zines.

The Blogosphere

      Much has been and said about this remarkable phenomenon. It has had a huge but deleterious impact on print publications, especially in the news field. Blogs appear in varying sizes and frequencies. They range from hard news to commentary to information (like this Charlie’s Choice column you’re now reading) and even to personal diaries of the activities and interests of the blogger. Once again, this is an area that is remarkably effective in selling your books and building your reputation. We’ll explore the blogosphere more fully in future columns.

      Now that you have an overall sense of what the Internet offers to you as an author, we’ll begin our individual looks at each of these components. Next week, we’ll tackle e-mail, a great promotional tool in the hands of a skilled author. See you then.

Keep Writing! 

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TWITTER INVADES THE NEWSROOM 

Several of the nation’s major newspaper are suffering from the digital explosion, but not in the ways that have been discussed almost daily. At the venerable New York Times, where the newsroom has been sacrosanct and off limits to any outside influences, an executive memo has instructed reporters to ease off on their involvement with TweetDeck which makes it easy to monitor a number of tweets simultaneously.  

This came about because reporters complained about the slowness of their computers. The paper discovered that the widespread use of the Tweeter program had slowed down operations of the reporters’ computers considerably. 

At the Washington  Post, Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times top brass is concerned about the news leaks that are occurring as journalists tweet and blog. In addition, there is a feeling that instead of heading out of the newsroom to work a story as journalists always have, the temptation to sit at one’s desk and file through tweets and blog content eliminates the digging and the investigative efforts that produce  first class stories. 

At this time when the fate of print is so shaky, the salvation of the print world depends on content and in-depth background coverage since the arena of immediacy is now controlled by online reports. There is a powerful role for print newspapers and magazines, but it will require digging in behind the news headline and offering readers a complete understanding of what those headlines mean. Most of all, it will require delivering that content in concise, clear form that can be readily understood. 

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BISG CONFERENCE ATTENDEES HEAR

FASCINATING STATISTICS EVERY AUTHOR CAN USE 

Once again the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) was the source of some really valuable information for author and publishers as well, as they plan their marketing programs. 

R.R. Bowker is an amazing source of info. You have seen me refer to it time and again in previous blogs. Kelly Gallagher, the company’s spokesman at the conference, offered a portrait of what the company found were typical buyers and readers of books in 2008. 

The most frequent buyers are in their 50’s while the average age of all buyers is 45. Half of the American population 23 years and older purchased a book last year. Female buyers outpaced males by a ratio of 65% to 35%. That figure is heavily weighted by the number of women who purchased fiction. The one exception is science fiction which attracts more men. 

The average price paid for a book last year was $10.08.  

The 15 hours per week book readers devote to the Internet is higher than the time they spend watching television, Impulse buying accounts for more than half of book sales, Gallagher said. Dave Thompson of Random House expanded on that stat telling the audience that store displays are the first awareness of a book for most readers. 44.4% of readers fall into this category. Close behind are e-mails and online advertisements. 

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ROMANCE NOVELS ARE FORGING AHEAD

AS RECESSION AXES SALES OF OTHER GENRES 

Recession pressures have been mighty tough on the publishing industry. But in the midst of severe layoffs, reluctance to gamble on new titles and falling sales at the retail level, romance novels stand out as the sole success story of the current economic slowdown. 

An Associated Press story reports Harlequin’s fourth quarter sales leaped ahead by 32% last year. The company posted a 9% for all of 2008. Kensington sales were up 5%. The piece also relates that St. Martin’s is so pleased with sales, it is increasing its romance production by more than 8%. 

Laurie Parkin of Kensington sums up the trend very simply in the AP story, “Especially when business is bad or business is down people want to escape a little bit.” Jennifer Enderlin of St. Martin’s explains the comfort a romance offers, “The endings may be predictable, but there’s solace in knowing that things are going to turn out like they should.” 

It’s just a matter of classic escapism. Things are tough out there with jobs disappearing, budgets withering and little solace available to investors, pensioners or the masses of mid-income Americans. Fiction generally provides a momentary retreat from reality, and romance does it particularly well. 

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THE MAGAZINE APPROACH TO THE DIGITAL WORLD

IS VERY DIFFERENTLY FROM NEWSPAPERS 

Newspaper executives almost universally seem to lean toward paid subscriptions as the answer to preserve income when they convert to digital. The magazine industry apparently has elected to increase income by finding new ways to create additional revenue. Many plan to offer related products designed to generate more dollars. 

That presents a fascinating contrast in approaches. Rather than taking the negative approach of denying access to non-subscribers, magazine execs are thinking in terms of offering their readers attractive new possibilities and charging for them.  

A recent story in MediaWeek.com states that Hachette is considering linking its magazines to iPhones. Meredith also plans to use mobile applications, and has already launched quilting and gardening clubs with membership fees. Conde Nast experimented with these new applications, and apparently will expand their usage.   

Despite all of these possibilities, the fundamental question that faces every publisher of print periodicals is whether or not consumers will be willing to pay for content that in so many cases has already been available free on the Internet.  

Regardless of the approach, quality text is the key to attracting readership in our industry. Content will always rule.  

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SALES OF READING AND SUN GLASSES

WILL BENEFIT THE FIGHT AGAINST CENSORSHIP 

A number of bookstores across the country have been selling the highly styled eyeglasses produced by 2020 Vision USA, a Sarasota, Florida importer. In an announcement released at Book Expo last week, the company unveiled a new program in which it will donate $1 for every pair it sells to indie bookstores. The money will be given to the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression. 

Praising the new program, ABFFE President Chris Finan said, “It will provide an important new source of the money we need to protect the First Amendment rights of booksellers and their customers.”

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