publishing Archives - Best Seller Authors

Aug 07 2013

Online Bookstores Gained, While Brick-and-Mortar Lost

Bowker study says bookstore chains held less than 20 percent share in 2012 while online bookstores continued to do well.

In the year following the exit of Borders from the book retail scene, online bookstores — led by Amazon — earned 44 percent of Americans’ book dollars, up from 39 percent in 2011. The insights into where book buyers are spending come from the 2013 U.S. Book Consumer Demographics and Buying Behaviors Annual Review, the publishing industry’s only complete consumer-based report integrating channel, motivation and category analysis of U.S. book buyers. The Review, an information staple published this month by Bowker® Market Research and industry trade magazine Publishers Weekly, notes that while book retailer Barnes & Noble (including BN.com) remained the second largest bookselling outlet, it depended more on sales of print books in 2012 than it did in 2011, with consumer ebook spending there declining from six percent in 2011 to four percent.

“The Review reveals the larger industry impact of the growth of ebooks,” said Jo Henry, director of Bowker Market Research, a service of ProQuest affiliate Bowker. “This is more than simply a format change. Ebooks are driving powerful behavioral changes among book buyers. The Review captures those trends, providing greater ability to predict and prepare in a very dynamic landscape.”

The Annual Review explores who is buying books, what they’re buying, along with where and why they’re buying them and the industry changes those demographics and behaviors are driving. Information is culled from the Bowker Market Research consumer panel of almost 70,000 Americans who bought books of any format and from any source in 2012 and reveals another pivotal year in the evolution of the book industry.

Among the Review’s highlights:

· Women increased their lead over men in book buying, accounting for 58 percent of overall book spending in 2012, up from 55 percent in 2011. However, men are bigger hardcover buyers – the only area where their buying outpaces women’s.

· The slowly improving economy has improved the climate for purchasing books. By the close of 2012, 53 percent of consumers said the economy was having no effect on their book buying habits, up from 51 percent at the end of 2011.

· Ebooks continue their steady upward trend, with an 11 percent share of spending in 2012, compared to seven percent in 2011.

· The growth of ebooks varies widely among the different publishing categories with their deepest penetration focused in fiction, particularly in the mystery/detective, romance, and science fiction categories, where ebooks accounted for more than 20 percent of 2012 spending.

Despite the growth of ebooks, traditional print book output grew three percent in 2012, from 292,037 titles in 2011 to 301,642 in 2012. The Review contains Bowker’s popular breakdown of print production by genre and for “Unclassified” works comprising mostly reprints and Print-on-Demand, public domain works marketed almost exclusively on the web. This category bounced back with 11 percent growth after a steep 65 percent decline between 2010 (3.8 million titles) and 2011 (1.3 million titles). In 2012, the Reprint/POD sector accounted for the largest ISBN output – more than 1.4 million titles — and as a result, drove an overall increase in print book output of ten percent.

“The book industry continued to change in some unexpected ways in 2012,” said Jim Milliot, Publishers Weekly Editorial Director and editor of the Annual Review. “The information in the annual review is just what is needed to help all industry members adjust to the new publishing reality.”

The 2013 U.S. Book Consumer Demographics and Buying Behaviors Annual Review is available now by visiting www.bookconsumer.com. Through August, the report can be purchased for $799 for a single-use PDF or print copy. After August the price rises to $999. Members of the news media can purchase at a 30 percent discount by contacting MarketResearch@bowker.com. Print copies are being manufactured on demand by Ingram Content Group’s Lightning Source, the global leader in print on demand book manufacturing and distribution.

Jun 20 2013

5 Ways Tablets are Changing Schools

Tablet shipments to K-12 schools grew 103% in the last year. Here are 5 ways tablets are changing schools: Personalized learning, creative interactivity, online learning, formative assessments, and tablets will introduce even even more change.

ablet shipments to schools grew 103% in the last year according to research from International Data Corporation (IDC). The report states ”that momentum will continue as the 2013 back-to-school season approaches.” This growth in tablets will affect learning and classroom management—but how? Here are five ways tablets will begin to change K-12 education.

Change 1: Personalized learning

Tablets allow a class of 30 students to work on 30 different specific skills at the same time. The educational model in which a teacher stands in front of neat rows of students works when subjects are being introduced, but not so much when skills are being practiced. In the future, teachers will spend more time guiding and coaching students as they work on individual activities on their tablets.

Personalized learning is efficient learning. Interactive question-and-answer quizzes on individual tablets will lighten the teacher’s load of grading and assessing—freeing them up to use their time to work face-to-face with the kids who need their attention.

Change 2: Creative interactivity

Some types of learning are ideal for lecture-and-test models—an overview of a history lesson, for example. Many others, however, are best suited for exploration and creativity. Students need a balance of both. Tables can help teachers introduce more creative, exploratory learning into their classrooms.

Applications on tablets can include drawing boards and writing notebooks that allow children to interact creatively with what they’re learning. Tablets with cameras open up new possibilities for science projects. For example students can record and comment on the growth of a flower or the development of mold over time. Interactive Q&A forms and quizzes in tablets can enhance traditional textbook content. Tablets allow students to self-monitor their learning and interact with narratives.

See full story on digitalbookworld.com

May 22 2013

Author Protection from Lies and Scams – Advice from Dan Janal

Our friend Dan Janal shared this transcript about author protection.

You can learn from reading this.

Dan Janal on Author Protection from Lies and Scams

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do?

I’ve written a book called “Internet Marketing Confidential” to help authors, speakers and coaches avoid the rip offs online. I’ve been in PR for 30 years and was a daily newspaper editor before that. I handled a lot of high-tech companies. I was on the PR team that launched AOL and was a sysop on CompuServe’s PR and Marketing forum before. So I’m dating myself! I wrote one of the first books about marketing on the Internet back in 1993! So I’ve been online a looong time!

Who can utilize and benefit from Internet marketing?

Really, every small business, as well as speakers, authors, coaches and consultants. We’ve all seen major success stories — look at the success of “Fifty Shades of Grey.” That would never have happened without online marketing and social media.

Why do you think having an Internet marketing strategy is important for authors?

Authors can reach new readers, develop a community with readers who love them, and build ands for characters and companies.

What are your recommendations for authors who don’t know how to start planning their Internet marketing strategy?

That’s a great question. There are lots of possible answers: 1) Authors should determine who their readers are. Then authors need to find out where they hang out — Facebook, blogs, Google+, etc. 2) Authors need to find out what their audiences read: newspapers, blogs, etc. 3) Authors also need to follow reporters who cover their topic by reading their blogs and comments on blogs. 4) Get known. Build relationships. 5) Authors can write press releases and get the word out to reporters as well as readers and people searching on Google. Press releases from authors can rank high on Google. I’ve had great success with PR Newswire. That’s not a plug. It’s fact. 6) Authors should fill out their profile on Amazon. 7) They can also have websites that offer free sample chapters.

How do readers find out what social media accounts their readers are using?

Authors can find groups of readers by going to Google and typing “chick lit blog” or “sci-fi blog” or “business ethics.” Authors can also find readers by searching LinkedIn and Google+. It really is easy to find readers today because so many of them join groups on social media and websites. Some authors have set up fan pages for their books and characters, especially for teen lit. It’s fun to see that! Readers discuss plots and characters — and defend authors against nonfans. It’s great to see!

What advice do you have for authors looking for an Internet marketing expert?

Authors should look for a person who has direct experience with their niche, e.g., travel, kids, or parenting books. Every niche has its own experts, buzzwords and ways of doing things. You want to find someone who has been there, done that. Authors shouldn’t have to pay to teach someone to learn your business. I guess authors could ask for references, but who is going to give a bad reference? Authors can ask their friends for referrals. Who’s done a good job for them? Meet with the person who is going to work with you. The person who sold you might not be the one who does the work. That happens a lot at PR firms. You might get an intern or young staffer. You want to meet that person and make sure she loves your book. And has contacts! You want to make sure her messages will get answered. Personal contacts are golden and well worth the price.

See full story on profnetconnect.com

Apr 21 2013

David Mamet and Other Big Authors Choose to Self-Publish – NYTimes.com

: David Mamet and other best selling authors choose to self-publish

This year, when Mr. Mamet set out to publish his next one, a novella and two short stories about war, he decided to take a very different path: he will self-publish.

When the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and author David Mamet released his last book, “The Secret Knowledge: On the Dismantling of American Culture,” with the Sentinel publishing house in 2011, it sold well enough to make the New York Times best-seller list.

Why Self-Publish?

Mr. Mamet is taking advantage of a new service being offered by his literary agency, ICM Partners, as a way to assume more control over the way his book is promoted.

“Basically I am doing this because I am a curmudgeon,” Mr. Mamet said in a telephone interview, “and because publishing is like Hollywood — nobody ever does the marketing they promise.”

Then there is the money. While self-published authors get no advance, they typically receive 70 percent of sales. A standard contract with a traditional house gives an author an advance, and only pays royalties — the standard is 25 percent of digital sales and 7 to 12 percent of the list price for bound books — after the advance is earned back in sales.

ICM, which will announce its new self-publishing service on Wednesday, is one of the biggest and most powerful agencies to offer the option. But others are doing the same as they seek to provide additional value to their writers while also extending their reach in the industry.

Since last fall, Trident Media Group, which represents 800 authors, has been offering its clients self-publishing…

See full story on nytimes.com

Mar 06 2013

The Jamie McGuire Story

I heard about Jamie McGuire and here fight with Amazon. I didn’t know much on the details, so I read the following on a blog post by Kristen Eckstein

Often, the facts of these stories are as “big company is the bad guy” as much as I’d like to suppose (I get mad a big companies from time to time), but regardless of the facts or resolution, I’m inclined to agree with Kristen’s comments.

While the author, Jamie McGuire states that one of Amazon’s problems with her book is “content,” and other trusted publishing blogs including this post at The Passive Voice and this one at Author Marketing Experts, Inc. hint at song lyric copyright issues being the primary “content” issue, all of these ideas are simply speculation as Amazon has kept conveniently silent, even to the author. In my opinion, a publisher and/or author should be informed as to anyissues with their book, especially legal issues. What if Amazon had caught a copyright infringement issue when the book was still in distribution as a self-published title? Would they require the author to pay their profits as well as hers back? And would they inform her and let her correct the book?

When it comes to copyright, if that is indeed what’s going on here (again, speculation), authors need to be more careful in general. I always coach authors to only use what they know for sure is in the public domain, and even then find a way to say it in their own words to avoid any issues like this. Again, if copyright is the primary issue at hand, most authors haven’t a clue what they can and can’t use, what’s fair use and what requires permission, so they should at least be told that is the issue and given the chance to rectify it.

Read the full post on Kristen’s Blog

My Comments on Jamie McGuire and Kristen’s Post

You referred to the relationship between the author and Amazon as if Amazon were the publisher.

The word is “self-published” and in case that isn’t clear.. it means that the publisher of the book is the author.

As a publisher, I am liable for what’s in the book. I also have a fiscal responsibility to the authors I publish. I’ve not read the terms of the KDP contract lately, but assume that Amazon is not offering to act as publisher for authors in that program.

I’ve seen discussions where uneducated authors imply that Amazon should be taking responsibility and assuming that Amazon somehow is out to defraud them. To imply intent without any evidence is reckless.

I like how you label your views as speculation. Speculation and opinion are beneficial.

On the subject of Amazon’s right to the profits they made in legal activity are covered by contract and case law. If the off author does something that harms Amazon and has accepted liability in contract between the parties, it’s probably not Amazon’s bill and the amount of money in dollars or percentages has no bearing on the legal.

It may be a good marketing for Amazon to explain themselves and/or lower the cost of defending party. I can’t comment on whether or not they are doing that as I don’t have the facts. My calculation of what fines and legal fees would be to Amazon compared to the income made from a small publisher would have me guess that the author in this story is getting off cheap:)