BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THE COVER PRICE FOR

THE FORTHCOMONG KENNEDY MEMOIR IS $1,000 

Who says publishers have overpriced their books. Grand Central Publishing’s Twelve imprint announced plans to print 1,000 copies of a leather bound edition of True Compass, all electronically signed by author Senator Ted Kennedy. Each copy will carry an astounding $1,000 price tag. 

Originally scheduled for 2010, release of the regular hard cover edition has been moved up to October 6 at the more modest retail price of $35. Hachette, the parent company, must have an awful lot of confidence in the venerable senator, handing him a reported $8 million advance. 

How many top-flight books by lesser known authors could that advance make possible? Although I respect the Senator highly, I can’t help but label this as a disgrace. 

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NEW FINDINGS ON ONLINE USERS A GREAT HELP

IN FASHIONING YOUR DIGITAL BOOK PROMOTIONS 

Ruder Finn has released up-to-date stats on who goes online and why. This is worthwhile info for authors who promote their work online. The catalogues reports the seven most popular activities, with “learning” topping the list according to 95% of respondents.  

Following that in receding order are having fun, socializing, expressing oneself, advocating, doing business and shopping. 100% of respondents stated they went on the Internet just to “pass time.” That may surprise some of you. 

The report, offered on eMarketer’s daily e-mail newsletter, found that men are more likely to go online for business, entertainment and news. Women use it to advocate for causes, express themselves and socialize. 

Almost 70% of young adults (18-29) post comments on social networks. Seniors, on the other hand, use the Net to manage finances and to be a part of a community. 

As Kathy Bloomgarden of Ruder Finn says, “Intent is the new demographic.” She explains that it is necessary today to “delve into the underlying motivations” of surfers so that you can become proactive in planning your online book promos. Makes an awful lot of sense.

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TALKING OF ADVANCES, HERE A NOVEL TWIST 

Aware that her new publisher Barrett-Koehler offered just royalties, no advances, media consultant Deanna Zandt decided to solicit contributions from 500 backers as she writes her first book. Its subject is social media. 

Zandt’s goal is to raise an “advance” of $7,600 to cover her expenses this summer. She posts a flow chart on her web site to show her progress. Currently she has collected $3,137 from  47 contributors. Her solicitation program ends on September 1. 

Who needs a publisher if you have to raise your own advance and then pay your own promotional and marketing costs? Self-publishing looks more and more inviting! 

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WHERE DO PEOPLE BUY THEIR BOOKS?

SOME INTERESTING STATS ON BOOK SALES 

Pub Track, a division of R.R. Bowker, released findings that show that the number of books purchased online and those bought from major bookstores is about the same, with 23% of books sold online and 22% through the larger chain stores. 

Interestingly, out of annual total book sales of $32 billion, the chains nosed out digital sellers by 28% to 27%. 

Indie bookstores captured 7%; mass merchandisers trailed at 6%. With the increasing attendance at book clubs, they now represent 10% of sales.  

We authors really have to give a boost to the indies in whatever way we can. They are truly our representatives on Main Street keeping books actively in the minds of the communities in which they operate. They deserve our undying support. Watch for information and promotional materials on National Bookstore Day scheduled for November 7. 

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Charlie’s Choice

Weekly Tips to Help You Write,

Publish & Promote Your Work 

POD, THE MOST MISUNDERSTOOD

CATEGORY OF PUBLISHING 

      Some call it just plain ”publishing.” Others claim to have self-published their books when they use Publishing on Demand (POD). Actually neither designation is completely correct. Yes, it is a kind of publishing, but a very special kind. It is not self-publishing, which is a totally different process requiring far more expertise and involvement.

      As I indicated in last week’s column, POD is an outgrowth of the huge changes that occurred in printing technology when digital printing was developed. For the first time, authors were not forced to use offset printing with its minimum press runs of 1500 to 2000 books. With this new technology, an author can order only the number of books he/she needs, and is able to fill in small quantities as future needs arise. This is a great boon for memoirists who want to distribute books just to family and friends and to beginners who are feeling their way in the publishing industry.

      The beginner enjoys the advantage of having the POD house handle all of the prepublication work that is required to produce a book. And that service is available at a very minimal initial outlay of money.

      For a production payment of between $300 and $1,000, the house will produce a finished book and in most cases do it extremely professionally. The high end of that scale represents lots of bells and whistles that the house will try to sell you, but which frankly are of little or no value. You can receive a top quality book for an investment of under $500, and that’s the level you should be at when dealing with this method of publishing. Use the company’s basic program,

no more.

The Process

      You turn your manuscript over to the POD house, along with the initial production check. In return, the house art staff produces a professional book cover. That alone would normally cost you anywhere from $300 to $600 if you were to hire a designer yourself.

      The text that comes off the computer, of course, is not what appears in a finished book. It must be formatted to conform to the page size, produced in a type font that is conducive to easy reading and leaded (spaced between the lines). This requires a high level of skill. You can learn to do it, but I strongly recommend a professional formatter. The cost depends on the length of the book. Formatting a 300-page volume, for example, can cost between $800 and $1200.  

      Every book requires an ISBN number if it is to be sold to bookstores or libraries. This is an identification number that is assigned exclusively to a single book. Barcodes are needed to accompany the ISBN. In addition, Library of Congress Cataloguing is a necessity if you plan to tap into the huge library market. All of these are obtained for you by POD staffers.

      The POD House will then print your book, bind it and register it with a major wholesaler (usually either Ingram or Baker  & Taylor), a requirement if you are selling to libraries and bookstores. The book will also be placed on Amazon, Barnes & Noble.com and Borders.com. Further distribution and promotional activities are your responsibility.

Be Aware

      Two words of caution: Most houses do not obtain a copyright for your book. But that’s not a serious problem. You can do it yourself for just a few dollars. Search for “Copyright” on the Web. The government’s copyright web site will come up and explain each step you must take. It will also supply you with a formal application form.  Completing everything is perhaps a 15-minute task and very easy to accomplish.

      The second matter you should be aware of is that when the ISBN is ordered by most POD houses, it is listed in the house’s name. You must understand that the entity that owns the ISBN controls all of the finances of the book. So when you read in the publicity, “You control the book. All decisions are yours,” it is a bit misleading.

      Don’t construe this to mean that you lose total control over your book. It is yours by copyright.

      In fact, on the finance side, you do have the right to decide how much of a royalty (percentage of the profit of the sale of the book) you wish. But the reality is that the house will insist upon taking a certain flat amount, which is usually quite substantial. As a result, if you select a high royalty, the price will shoot up above the competition. With a lower royalty, you will make very little money.

      Nonetheless, at any level of royalty, you have managed to publish your book with no more money out of your pocket than the initial production fee. That’s a pretty fair deal for what you’re getting in return.

      The only negative, aside from the minimal compensation, is that there is still some reluctance to handle POD books on the part of the better book reviewers and some book sellers. This a carry-over from the old days of the vanity press, when the level of quality was so poor and from the charlatans that infected the POD world when it first began and the sloppy, haphazard work they turned out.

      Today most of the reticence has faded. People judge POD books not by the publisher that produced them, but by the quality of the book itself. POD creations have reached the best seller lists in some cases, and they are available through the majority of bookstores even if they are not stocked on the store shelves. They can be ordered quickly. 

Finding a POD House

      Most POD publishers maintain web sites. Click onto “POD Publishers,” and you will find a number of them. Read their sites carefully, and discount the meaningless extras (the bells and whistles I spoke of above). Be extremely careful if you go to contract. Study the document before you sign or better yet ask a literary lawyer to review it. Think ahead. What impact will each of the conditions of the contract have on the sales of your book. How easily can you leave the POD house and either self-publish future editions or contract for them with a traditional publisher.

      While I am reluctant to evaluate the different houses that I have not used, I leave that task up to others. There are a number of sites that make these evaluations. The one I recommend most strongly is www.bookmarket.com/ondemand.htm. The site is owned by John Kremer, a highly respected publishing guru, and supplies information on a large number of publishing on demand houses.

      Another site I recommend to you is www.sfwa.org. This extremely informative site is maintained by the Science Fiction Writers of America, but its information is applicable to all genres. Although I do disagree with the site’s contention that POD is not the best choice for a beginning writer, I find the rest of its counsel excellent.

      Click on the site, scroll down to the box near the bottom that states “Writer Beware.” Click on it. Over on the left side of the next screen, you will find “Print-on-Demand, Self-Publishing Services.” Click on that, and read it carefully.

      Next week, we’ll look at true self-publishing. The benefits in going that route, as well as the difficulties and challenges it can offer. See you then.

      Keep Writing! 

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THE DONALD IS TRUMPED WHEN COURT

RULES AGAINST HIM IN LIBEL SUIT 

The Donald brought a totally ridiculous libel suit against author Timothy O’Brien after release of the NY Times staffer’s 2005 book Trump Nation. The case has been hanging for years, with depositions taken in 2006. This blog has written about the farce before. 

Trump’s anger was stoked when O’Brien stated his worth ranged between $150 and $250 million. The financier claimed a fortune of $5 to $6 billion, and insisted that the alleged misinformation had severely injured his business capabilities. 

Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported that Deutsche Bank had listed Trump’s worth at $788 million back in 2005 when the book was released. Trump claims that never included all of his assets, but he also admitted that his worth fluctuated regularly. 

After the decision, the great man stated, “The libel laws are very bad.” I suspect I have a lot of company when I feel very differently. Thank heavens for decent laws and competent judges. 

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HACKERS REVEAL SOME INSIDE DOPE ON TWITTER 

Back in May, hackers stole internal data from Twitter and released it on  the French blog Korben earlier this month. The social network anticipates 350 million users by 2011, with 2009 usage growing to 25 million. 

Korben’s authors claims they were shown revenue projections as well, but decided against publishing them.   

Those projections were questioned by Paul Verna, senior analyst at eMarketer who last April projected that Twitter’s numbers would reach 12.1 million American adult users this year and grow to 18.1 million next year. If realistic, Twitter’s figures indicate that usage in the U.S. represents less than half the world wide usage, and that seems unlikely to Verna. He believes that “seems unlikely given the US-centric nature of the service.”  

Nielsen Online reports that only about 40% of new Twitterers return the following month, and the Harvard Business School estimates that most users send only one tweet in their lifetime. 

Perhaps the inside info is a bit overly optimistic. Only time will tell. 

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FOR THE FIRST TIME, POD AND SELF-PUB BOOKS

OUTPACED THOSE FROM TRADITIONAL PUBLISHERS  

If Bowker’s  preliminary stats on the number of books published last year hold up, it will mark 2008 as the historic year in which self-published and POD-published books trumped the output of traditionally publishers for the very first time. That doesn’t mean they outsold traditionally published titles. Far from it. It means only that POD books flooded the market. 

The non-traditional crop grew by 132% this past year. That came on top of 2007’s phenomenal increase of 462%. 

The dismal economy has played a key role in this historic turn-about. Traditional houses have reduced staff and generally cut back operations. POD houses do not have that same level of concern about revenue. They are paid a production fee up front that covers initial costs. Income from sales is essentially all profit. 

The irksome question that casts a gloomy shadow over these statistics is, “How badly has the quality of books slipped in recent years?” The better POD houses and professional authors who turn to self-publishing will match the high standards of any traditional house. Unfortunately, not all books that come from these two sources meet those tough criteria. 

Although fiction, the mainstay of traditional publishing, was down 11%, it still remained the top category by far, reaching 47,541 new titles. 

It will be fascinating to see how all of this shakes out. Even if POD sales slip badly in future years, the houses won’t be severely impacted because of the production fee they collect. The number one negative will undoubtedly be continued clutter on the book market. Publishers and book promoters will have to devise new ways to help their products rise above the mass. 

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SALARY FREEZES HAVE BEEN INSTITUTED

AT 70% OF PUBLISHING INDUSTRY COMPANIES 

Employees and executives of the publishing industry have experienced a very tough year, according to last year’s annual salary survey conducted by Publishers Weekly. Among those who survived the widespread terminations, the average raise in 2008 was a mere 3.3%.  

More than a third of those responding to the survey stated they had received no raise at all. 

With the wage freezes in place and sales dragging, the outlook for the current year isn’t too sanguine. We can only hope the industry soon starts to reflect some of the hopeful signs other facets of the economy have already begun to experience. 

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MAGAZINE INDUSTRY CLOBBERED

BY CLOSINGS AND AD SHORTFALLS 

The magazine industry just doesn’t seem able to break the downward spiral it has experienced for the last year or more. The first half of 2009 saw a shocking 279 publications close their doors.

Advertising pages for the same period were down 27.9%. 

The  consumer category hardest hit was regionals, particularly in resort areas. Lifestyle pubs also felt the brunt of the closings.  Trade journals in fields like construction and real estate suffered, as did some of the less solid business magazines. 

The drop-offs in ad lineage can be directly attributed to the troubled industries that have dominated headlines for the last year. The Publishers Information Bureau reports that automotive publications experienced a 47.8% reduction in ad pages. Magazines serving the combined real estate and financial fields saw their pages fall by 48.8%. 

Not a pretty picture at all. 

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