Warning
— May Cause Nightmares.
Book industry
numbers are cold-sweat terrifying for publishers and authors alike. According to
Nielsen Bookscan, 3,000 books are published per day in the United States alone
(as reported on www.deadlyprose.com). ForeWord
can review at most a few thousand per year. Publishers report an average of
2,100 submissions per year, totaling 132 million submissions. Just under one
percent are accepted for publication.
In the face of
these staggering odds, is there any hope for authors and publishers?
The Majority of Books Sell
Fewer than 99 Copies
Of the 1.2 million
titles tracked by Bookscan in 2006, only 2.1% sold more than 5,000 books, 16.6%
sold fewer than 1,000, and a terrifying 79.6% sold fewer than 99 copies. The 99
copies are no doubt the reason only one percent of authors’ submissions make it
through the arduous publisher-review process.
This is all the
stuff of wake-in-a-sweat nightmares: 63,000 publishers vie for readers with
their wonderful author lists (according to Dan Poynter’s ParaPublishing.com).
The terror is no
less for authors: only six conglomerate publishers publish fewer and fewer
debut authors and less and less fiction. Then the real horror story commences
as a book makes it into distribution. The bestseller dreams of authors and
publishers are splashed with the cold water of real numbers.
Negative or Naïve?
Am I being
negative or naïve? Perhaps both. The naïve part of the equation is my firm
belief there are ways to break through these barriers to success. Kunati was founded with this goal in mind, and has
proven it can work.
Heather Shaw
touched on one important element of the success formula in her insightful Blog
on book covers. When competing with 1.2 million titles, first impressions
(impact) and credibility are vital. These are the twin functions of a cover.
What Works for Selling
Books?
Websites, book
videos and novel trailers, author critique groups, social marketing, author
Blog tours, old-fashioned but still-important book signings, and publicity are
the proven methods for marketing. I hope to focus on these in future Publisher
Insider Blogs in a more how-to format.
Innovation
begins with a study of what works. Read every Blog in the ForeWord archive and every article in the magazine. Visit the sites
of successful publishers—the innovative publishers who lead with new ideas such
as novel trailers, Blog touring, online publicity. (hint, hint, Kunati). Read every page on sites from
innovative publishers.
Getting Noticed is the
Primary Goal
My message is
simple. With these horrifying numbers, being noticed is almost the only thing
that matters—for both authors and publishers. Many authors are creative, even
brilliant, yet if they can’t market their “author brand” no publisher is
interested.
The publisher
faces an epic battle analogous to a Tolkien quest to get attention in the
marketplace. The publisher must build the authors’ brands, edit the manuscripts
for the market, arrange distribution, obtain reviews from magazines (which
choose from millions), then sell to wholesalers, retailers and finally readers.
The Retailer
How does a
retailer choose which titles to carry? The average retailer chooses to stock a
few thousand copies per year, far less than 1% of the titles available—similar
in numbers to the reviews published annually by ForeWord. That’s not a coincidence.
Publisher and
author success relies on buzz, which is a combination of review exposure,
social networking, book cover designs, author activities such as Blogs and
signings (the two types of touring, virtual and tangible). The last part of the
equation is wonderful content.
Innovative Authors Look
Beyond Good Prose
With the
knowledge that more than 80% of books published are going to fail, how can a
publisher risk taking on new, unproven property? How can an author convince a
publisher to take them on?
There are
certain musts in an author presentation, and in our evaluation of the author:
• Is the query
well-written? An author who doesn’t polish a query until it becomes the
choicest morsel of prose ever written has no chance at all.
• Is the idea
compelling? Yes, tell us the comparables (claims of being the next Da Vinci Code or Harry Potter are
overused though!), but what’s the UNIQUE aspect—the high concept. No matter how
small, there must be one.
• The sample
chapters? Same story. If those three chapters aren’t pure masterpiece, the
editor will tend to move on.
• Did they read
the submission guidelines on the website? One mistake here disqualifies most
authors. Take the time to study your prospective publisher.
Innovative Publishers Look
Beyond Agents
Unlike many
publishers, Kunati accepts un-agented submissions by email. How can we do this,
given the awful odds against a new author’s success?
We certainly
acquire agented manuscripts, but the creative-process required for an author to
pitch a manuscript is clearest sign of ambition, drive and creativity. We
believe in the un-agented submission. It allows the author to prove they can
develop their author “brand.” Other things we look for:
• Is the author
realistic about his/her prospects?
• Is the author
able to work with the publisher at making the book as marketable as possible?
Considering the numbers, this might be the most important of all.
• These days, we
also look for authors who are savvy about online marketing, blogging, MySpace
and social marketing, and who are not shy about public appearances. Some
writers are notoriously shy, preferring to hide behind their keyboard.
Successfully Marketing
Books Require a Publisher-Author Partnership.
The truth is,
only bestselling authors receive major publishing support in marketing. A
publisher’s first duty is to market to the trade. That’s a big job. Stores
stock thousands out of the millions of titles. Just getting the books into
distribution is monumental. Trade ads, reviews, advance reading copies,
publicity, great book covers, strong web presence, book trailers—these all
help. Even the big conglomerate publishers typically stop there. There’s not
much in the way of marketing dollars left for end-reader marketing for 90% of
authors. Hand-selling from retailers and buzz becomes the key to success.
Hand-selling and Buzz
Book
selling is still very much a word-of-mouth business. Readers don’t always
respond to what we think they will. Social marketing, in all its aspects, it
the true secret of any book’s success. Books can become bestsellers when just
one influential person finds it and starts buzzing (Oprah will do.) Social marketing involves building a broad
network of friends.
Ultimately,
the true secret to publishing success is a strong partnership between authors
and publishers, working together to create buzz. This is a big topic, and the
subject of next week’s Blog.
Posted by: Derek Armstrong