From Publishers Weekly

E-book sales doubled in September, to $80.3 million, at the publishers that report results to the AAP. Sales in the print segments had a mixed performance with children’s/YA hardcover sales up 2.1% at reporting publishers, although children’s/YA paperback sales fell 14.6%. Sales of mass market paperback plunged in September, falling 54.3% at reporting houses. Trade paperback did much better with sales flat at reporting houses, while hardcover sales fell 18.1%. Sales from religious publishers (all formats), fell 6.3% at reporting publishers.

For the first nine months of 2011, e-book sales were up 137.9% at reporting publishers, to $727.7 million. Sales at all print trade segments were down in the nine months, though sales of religion products rose 6.6%.

If you are thinking the book business will every go back dominance, it’s time to rethink your business.

What are you doing to get on this trend?

LOS ANGELES, Nov 02, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — For the first time, BlogWorld & New Media Expo, which first convened in 2008, will relocate its annual convention from Las Vegas to Los Angeles and will take place at the LA Convention Center, November 3-5. The three-day event will have a significant economic impact citywide yielding $3.3 million in revenue and a total of 3,700 room nights.

BlogWorld & New Media Expo provides educational experience for all levels of expertise and interests. Seasoned bloggers representing a breadth of fields and new media industries will share their knowledge, techniques and advice, while industry experts will network with attendees during seminars and moderated panels. The conference will be rich with exhibits along with an agenda of multiple concurrent sessions that allow participants the opportunity to select topics, such as podcasts and novice start-up topics that appeal to their specific interests.

“As the headquarters for many high-tech corporations, we are seeing a significant increase in companies and organizations within this specialized field wanting to stage major conventions and events in Los Angeles,” said Mark Liberman, president and CEO of LA INC. The Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau. “The Los Angeles Convention Center with its capacity to host large-scale, high-tech conferences is the perfect venue for this industry-wide, new media event. L.A.’s new developments and vibrant Downtown will certainly be something BlogWorld attendees will want to share with their audiences and followers as they experience our exciting city firsthand.”

Every major genre will be in attendance, from bloggers and podcasters to web TV and radio broadcasters. More than 27 countries will be represented at this year’s convention with titles and job descriptions ranging from CEO and director of marketing to blogger and VP of sales. Those who operate small business enterprises will be able to network and learn from those employed by some of the world’s leading brands. BlogWorld attendees reach more than 250 million people each month with new media content including blogs, digital broadcast, videos and social media networking using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Attendees will be housed at the Millennium Biltmore, Omni Los Angeles Hotel, Sheraton Los Angeles Downtown, and the Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites. Icon LA, J Restaurant and Bar, and Belasco Theater will be the backdrops for post-conference parties and events.

LA INC. The Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau is a private, nonprofit business association whose primary mission is to market and promote Los Angeles as the premier site for meetings, conventions and leisure travel. Though not part of city government, LA INC. is recognized as the city’s official tourism marketing organization. For more information, visit the official visitor information website of Los Angeles at www.discoverLosAngeles.com .

SOURCE: LA INC. The Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau

The following is an excerpt from Seth Godin’s The Domino Project If you are not subscribed, I suggest you do so right away. This is the future of publishing.

Here, Seth answers the question of what a publisher will do to help you

Many successful, serious authors are in love with the notion that they get to be serious and successful merely by writing.

There was a brief interlude, perhaps 50 years in all post-Gutenberg, in which it was possible for a talented writer to be chosen, anointed, edited, promoted and paid for her work. Where the ‘work’ refers to the writing.

This idea that JD Salinger could hide out in his cabin, write, and periodically cash royalty checks is now dying.

Authors of the future are small enterprises, just one person or perhaps two or three. But they include fan engagement specialists, licensors, new media development managers, public speakers, endorsement and biz dev VPs, and more.

No one has your back.

Sad but true. The author of today (and tomorrow) is either going to build and maintain and work with his tribe or someone is going to take it away.

Seth Godin is the founder of The Domino Project and has written twelve books that have been translated into more than thirty languages. Every one has been a bestseller. He writes about the post-industrial revolution, the way ideas spread, marketing, quitting, leadership and most of all, changing everything.

]]> http://bestsellerauthors.com/warren/the-illusion-of-patronage/feed/ 0 http://bestsellerauthors.com/warren/amazon-will-publish-122-books-this-fall/ http://bestsellerauthors.com/warren/amazon-will-publish-122-books-this-fall/#comments Tue, 18 Oct 2011 20:23:30 +0000 Warren Whitlock http://bestsellerauthors.com/warren/amazon-will-publish-122-books-this-fall/

Read the full story at the New York Times

Amazon will publish 122 books this fall in an array of genres, in both physical and e-book form. It is a striking acceleration of the retailer’s fledging publishing program that will place Amazon squarely in competition with the New York houses that are also its most prominent suppliers.

It has set up a flagship line run by a publishing veteran, Laurence Kirshbaum, to bring out brand-name fiction and nonfiction. It signed its first deal with the self-help author Tim Ferriss. Last week it announced a memoir by the actress and director Penny Marshall, for which it paid $800,000, a person with direct knowledge of the deal said.

Publishers say Amazon is aggressively wooing some of their top authors. And the company is gnawing away at the services that publishers, critics and agents used to provide.

Several large publishers declined to speak on the record about Amazon’s efforts. “Publishers are terrified and don’t know what to do,” said Dennis Loy Johnson of Melville House, who is known for speaking his mind.

“Everyone’s afraid of Amazon,” said Richard Curtis, a longtime agent who is also an e-book publisher. “If you’re a bookstore, Amazon has been in competition with you for some time. If you’re a publisher, one day you wake up and Amazon is competing with you too. And if you’re an agent, Amazon may be stealing your lunch because it is offering authors the opportunity to publish directly and cut you out.

I just saw the post on Liz Strauss’s Successful-Blog.

I’ve made the list. I’m a SOB

Each week, Liz honors successful bloggers. Her site explains:

They take the conversation to their readers, contribute great ideas, challenge us, make us better, and make our businesses stronger.

I thank all of our SOBs for thinking what we say is worth passing on. Good conversation shared can only improve the blogging community.

Should anyone question this SOB button’s validity, send him or her to me. This award carries a “Liz said so” guarantee, is endorsed by Kings of the Hemispheres, Martin and Michael, and is backed by my brothers, Angelo and Pasquale.

Are you an SOB?

Liz is one of the great givers online. If you have a blog, and want to do it right, give great value, and get recognition and respect, follow Liz Strauss and subscribe to Successful-Blog.com

Want to become an SOB?

If you’re an SO-Wanna-B, you can see the whole list of SOBs and learn how to be one by visiting the SOB Hall of Fame– A-Z Directory . Click the link or visit the What IS an SOB?!page in the sidebar.

Let me know if you are an SOB.

Bestselling author Warren Whitlock and social media management consultant Kate Buck will be teaching “Starting Social Media” social media basic for social media marketing ROI and profits at Digital World Expo, September 25-27 in Las Vegas.

Warren Whitlock, best-selling author of Twitter Revolution and Profitable Social Media will join Kate Buck, founder and CEO of social media management consultancy KBJonline to give attendees of Digital World Expo a rapid start in social media profitability

Social media offers companies the opportunity to get close to their consumers on a large scale. Warren and Kate will show how social media relates directly to the bottom-line results.

“Starting Social Media” will cover the foundation every business needs to success with social media:

• Profitable Social Media blueprint
• Understanding today’s users and what attracts them
• 12 Things every business must know about social media
• Brand management and “controlled transparency”
• Finding “truth” in your friends, fans and followers

Digital World Expo debuts an annual forum for professional education in all forms of interactive marketing, media, communications and advertising. Attendees will learn, train and build awareness of technology application in media and what’s to come. Four areas are presented to meet the needs of today’s media professionals in digital advertising, marketing, public relations, development and strategy:

Kate Buck (otherwise known as @katebuckjr on Twitter) is the founder and CEO of KBJOnline, a social media management and consulting agency in Austin, Texas. Kate has worked with some of the top names in Internet Marketing as well as consulted with dozens of entrepreneurs, businesses and nonprofits both across the United States and internationally

Warren Whitlock (@WarrenWhitlock on Twitter) is the founder BestSellerAuthors.com. He consults as a social media strategist and is the author of books on social media marketing. He is personally active in the latest social media startups and provides clients with the fast start strategies to find profits in social media. Warren is the chapter chair of Social Media Club in Las Vegas and speaks internationally on marketing and social media.

I teach authors to create content for their readers beyond their book. Most of us spend much more time online, watching video, or listening to audio than we ever spend with a book.

Go where your audience lives

I almost always suggest an author have their own radio show. Easy to set up, and adaptable to talk about any subject with any guests. I also suggest every author of a blog and social media pages about their subject.

And since you are the expert, you can guest post on other blogs, and share links to relevant content from anywhere on the web. Read and share the top blogs and sites in your field and you’ll get ideas for your own content, and a reputation for being a great source on your expertise.

Where do you find the time?

Well, fist off, it’s much faster than writing a book   And there tools cropping up that make it very ease to find and share with your readers on your blog, in social media and in your own media products.

Take a look at Scoop.it, one of the rapidly developing tools to filter out the noise and then easily share what you find: (video)

Some Curation  Ideas for Authors

1. Subscribe to the top blogs in industry. Be sure to comment on relevant posts. You are the expert. Your opinion matters.
2. Subscribe to active readers who comment on those blogs. Make sure you reach out them on their favorite social media sites. They may have their own blog, Facebook page, Twitter account.. you’ll find out by clicking on the link they use on their blog comments and then searching for where they are most active
3. Join the Facebook groups and pages in your niche. Connect with the top contributors and offer comments of value (not just a pitch for your own blog)
4. Do a search on Amazon for the top book in your category. Many of those authors will have a blog or active social media profile
5. Join your industry group on LinkedIn. Contribute and connect
6. Search for videos on your topic. If you find someone who is doing a good job posting, connect with them. If now (still likely in some niches) make plans to produce some videos on the basics

Once you have feeds from the blogs in your RSS reader (I user Google Reader, it’s just like reading email). Scan on a regular basis for posts and articles to share.

When you find an author, writer, or contributor you respect. Ask them to be on your radio show, or write a guest post for  your blog.

Each of these steps is easy. New tools like Scoop.it can really speed things up, but most of the time you spend on this activity will be the reading you do (which you would do as an expert in your field) and connect and having conversations with the other experts. Neither need any special skills, budget or cutting edge tools. The commitment from you is the key ingredient.

When I released Twitter Revolution, I didn’t do any of the book marketing and promotion campaigns we’d run before. Instead, I just used Twitter to reach out to other social media authors and speakers. It wasn’t long till I became known as and expert who added value to their goals and they were happy to review and share my book.

Who have you met by networking and sharing. Please add your success story to the comments below.

A simple idea can change everything.

I was reading “Being Wrong” yesterday and picked up where I’d left off a few weeks back when I first met author Kathryn Shultz through a TED talk.

The story at the start of this video is a perfect example of an idea that can change your life. While I’ve intellectually agreed with all Kathryn talks about, the story of the Chinese symbol was enough to get me to order the book imedately. Reading through, I’ve learned much about how we feel about being wrong and new ways to help myself and others turning mistakes into data points we can learn by.

I may still run off the cliff from time to time, but I’m not afraid to look down as much now.

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I’ve been thinking a lot about the games we play.

Some would say that life is a game. No, not the board game, LIFE. The rules are not very clear, and many of us find we’re lousy players… but I find hope in the idea that when I learn the rules, and practice playing, I win.

I sum it up with this quip:

“If you can tell the difference between work and play, you aren’t doing one of them right”

So what about gamification of the things we call work?

Salesforce.com Chief Scientist JP Rangaswami talks about going beyond sticking a few game ideas into existing work flows and calling it gamification. He says:

“putting the lipstick of gamification on the pig of work.”

The gamification of work is going to take a while. In many cases, it means looking at process that have worked well for decades, identifying where we can do better and redesigning jobs.

I think this innovation will prove to be a huge wave of increased productivity for those who do it. The things we’re calling social media today are the tools to change our business. In a few years, we’ll be just calling it the way we do business.

As we continue in this revolution, what games will you be playing?

I’ve been telling you that you MUST have your book available in Kindle format for years. It was only a matter of time till this report for the Wall Street Journal

The online retailing giant says that for the first time, it has sold more electronic copies of books than actual print editions. Since April 1, Amazon has sold 105 Kindle books for every 100 print books sold. The company has sold more than three times as many Kindle books so far this year as it did at the same time a year ago.

And that’s just Amazon and the Kindle version!