Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Location: Books & Such main office, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Last Friday, on my FB page, I asked for suggestions on blog topics. The ideas were wide-ranging, to say the least. I’ve decided that this week I’ll look at three books I’ve read recently (two nonfiction, one fiction) and why I think the authors succeeded (or didn’t) in reaching their audiences. Along the way, we can discuss what makes a book memorable, what readers want, what’s up with all the freebies and other topics you asked about. No guarantees are offered that we’ll cover each suggested topic. Nonetheless, I think we’ll uncover some insights together. Hi-ho, hi-ho, off we go…
Let’s start out by putting the discussion in context–where is the publishing industry going, and how do each of us fit in this brave new world? I noted the chart below in Publishers Weekly’s May 16 issue. It portrays the lay of publishing’s land as Levy Home Entertainment sees it. (Levy describes itself this way on its website: “service[s] mass merchants, warehouse clubs and drug/grocery accounts. With over 600 million in annual sales, Levy provides books and services surrounding books to, BJ’s Warehouse Clubs, Kmart, Meijer, Rite Aid, ShopKo, Stop and Shop, Target, Toys R Us, Wal-Mart and others.” In other words, Levy places physical books in box stores and other chain outlets.) I want to stress that this chart expresses Levy’s projections–educated guesses. Now, with that all in mind, here’s the chart:
At a glance, it conveys that: mass merchants’ ability to sell books will grow slightly through 2015; online stores will grow consistently and become the main venue readers turn to; bookstores will decline to the point they will be about even with mass merchants.
What does that mean for a writer today? For one thing, Levy reports that mass merchants aren’t considering reducing the amount of space they give to physical books. So while the state of bookstores is enough to put any reader in the doldrums, we shouldn’t rush to report the demise of physical books.
As I’ve considered what’s happening in publishing and how readers access–and will access books in the future–the mental image that comes to mind is that of a boat resting on a shore. The shore is “anchored” to a continent; it represents tradition and a solid foundation, the past, what we’ve always known. It is traditional publishing.
The boat is e-publishing. Its sails are set for a new land, a new way of making books accessible to readers.
Writers (and agents) have to make choices: Do they stay on land? Do they board the boat? Or…
What I’m advising my clients to do and the way I’m positioning our agency is to straddle the boat and the land. I know. What an uncomfortable idea! Aren’t we taught that’s the worst thing to do when boarding a boat? Isn’t that what causes nosedives into the water? Yup.
But the majority of sales still are physical books. As a matter of fact, Amazon’s 2011 first quarter sales report shows that for the first time e-book sales exceeded physical books. Considering that the majority of those who buy e-books do so through Amazon, it makes sense to say it’s too soon for writers to abandon physical books. Most readers still want to buy a book, not an e-book.
Just ask yourself: How many people in your church own an e-reader? How many in your book club own an e-reader? What percentage of your acquaintances own e-readers? Since we’re likely to associate with avid readers and are avid readers ourselves, our answers will tilt toward a more progressive view. For me, I don’t know anyone (but moi) in my church who owns an e-reader. Out of the 11 folks in our book club (all professionals), 2 of us own an e-reader. I’d say 75% of the people I know own e-readers, but that’s because I work in publishing. My church and my book club are more representative of typical readers in America.
Another factor in this equation is that most authors still want to publish with a traditional publisher, and most authors don’t want to play publisher themselves; it’s a more complex role than authors realize–until they start down that road. What do authors like to do most? Write. What do self-published authors do most? Divide their time between writerly tasks and publishing tasks.
If you jump into the boat, it’s unlikely you’ll become a major success or even earn much money. Yes, you will earn some, but remember that getting in the boat means you’ve abandoned land, the place where most of your readers still reside. (Even if you’re unpublished, most of your readers are on the land, not traveling to the brave new world.)
But, if you don’t put a foot into the boat, that boat will sail without you, and it is sailing into the future. You’ll want to go there.
Timing is everything for each of us.
The questions each of us must pose are:
- How do we put our foot into that boat?
- How do we stay relevant to our readers without looking stodgy?
- What do readers want?
- What do authors need?
I’m eager to hear your responses to the ideas I’ve posed here. Remember, this is a forum. We don’t have to agree, and none of us has the right answer because there isn’t any one answer.
I will end with this thought that ought to stir up some of you: I think every writer needs to own an e-reader and use it. How are you supposed to sail to the new land when you haven’t even checked out the boat?
Tomorrow we’ll turn our attention to the three books I’ve read recently and unpack what makes a strong selling book (all of these are)–even in today’s precarious world of publishing.
As a reader this is what I want:
Even though I am back to actually reading books now, I would like to see more books available on CDs. Not all books are on CDs and some new books aren’t released on CDs when they are initially released. With my commute to work and visiting my family, listening to books has been more convenient for me. As oppose to listening to the radio or a music CD, it is very easy for me to pop in a book on CD. With my busy schedule, it can be hard to find the the time to read a book. I know more and more people who are listening to books on a regular basis.
I completely agree with writers needing to own an e-reader Janet. (Or at least have access to one; if you can’t afford it, see if your local library has one).
I think for the individual author what they write determines which approach they might want to put more resources into. Are you a niche writer? Do you write books which appeal to demographics more inclined to own e-readers (techies and young professionals)?
If so, one might find that instead of trying to do public readings and travel the country promoting their work that it is better build a presence amongst various websites geared towards your niche, or amongst social media where young professionals can create a word-of-mouth campaign for your e-book.
Larry, I agree completely. Finding your audience online is a key component to success nowadays, whether your book is a physical book or e-book.
Lori, good point about CDs. Some publishers consistently make their titles available on CDs; other don’t bother. As a past commuter, I relate to you; I “read” tons of books on my drive to and from work. It actually made LA traffic of no consequence.
The reader will continue to drive the publishing industry whether on land or sea.
Because readers’ most precious resource is time and there are too many writers willing to hastily slap words on paper, it will be the book buyers who will preserve the publishing machinery. Whether it’s an e-reader or a paper book, it takes the same time to read and no-one has time to waste on drivel.
The very system we bemoan is the one which pulls our best out of us. As writers, the ball for us to keep our eyes on is not the technology (which will continue to shift out of our control), but the relevance and quality of our content.
I think having one foot on land and one on the boat is a very logical decision. I’m forty-one years old and love to hold a book while I’m reading, but I also have an e-reader and have fallen in love with that too.
My kids are teenagers,who are growing up in a world where they automatically think outside of the box. They will not just have a foot on land and one out to sea, but they’ll be building new ships with eachother and networking across the world with their new friends over xbox and kinect and facebook and every other online amazing technilogical advancement.
I love watching the minds of young people because they are building the future. I try to stick close to them and throw off my narrow views so I can see through the same lenses they are looking through. And even if I can’t see the next ship that is coming in, I know if I stick close to them and I’m open minded and willing to take chances I can go places I never dreamt possible.
I’m with Jenny … watching and, especially, relating to younger people (if you’re not one yourself) does tend to point you toward keeping up with technology to a greater degree than you might otherwise … and that’s a good thing. I like the analogy of straddling the shoreline and the boat. Stay rooted AND stay current–good advice!
I think there will always be room for both e-books and hard copies. After all, Movies didn’t eliminate stage plays and TV didn’t eliminate movies even though both were predicted. But all tech stuff fails eventually. Batteries stop being manufactured, developers invent new versions to make old ones obsolete, etc. If a book is a one-time read it’s handy in e-book format, but if a reader plans to keep one and read it again in the future or pass it on to others a hard copy is the safest way to go. And people who work with computers, etc. all day often enjoy something non-technical for relaxation. A real book is ideal for that.
I don’t care if I publish paper and ink books or e-books–I’d like to tell my stories (and SELL my stories!), and I don’t care much about what vehicle they travel in. What I don’t want to do is self-publish. I have no desire to do all the work it would take to do a good job of self-publishing.
What I find likely as I think about the projections in the chart above is that as more and more books sell online some review sites will probably rise to the top. If the bookstore is no longer the gatekeeper, the review sites will have to be the gatekeepers. Goodreads is already doing a lot of that, but I wonder if some really good writer/reviewer blogger types will gain popularity. I love reading reviews at Amazon and Goodreads, but I don’t have time to wade through them all.
But then there’s tweet of keyboard marketing, or status update marketing. Those will probably sell the most books in the future.
Michael, you’re so right about the writing still being the key. We’re about to experience an onslaught of e-book offerings, and then we’ll have to decide what we should read with few guardrails. Which brings us to Sally’s comment. She might well be correct that we’ll seek out reviewers or book review sites to help guide us to the books we’ll want to read. I also think a publisher’s imprimatur will gain in value. If a reader is looking at three e-books and trying to choose, won’t that reader be more likely to go with the one that has been sifted through a publisher’s selection process as opposed to a self-published book?
Very wise post, Janet. In every age, people have to be willing to adapt. Those with an open mind, a desire to be informed, and a willingness to stay on top of the latest developments usually find a firm spot on new land.
My two cents on ebook readers. I was given a Kindle a while back. I was excited about it when I first got it and read a lot on it. but I don’t like the feel, the way the formatting gets all messed up (I thought the authors’ editors must have been terrible until I realized it was a Kindle thing). Over time I just lost interest and now I only use it to upload manuscripts I want to read conveniently for free, or upload free books from Amazon that i wouldn’t pay money for. I’m wondering if others have lost that first love and have returned to real books like me.
As far as my own novels are concerned, i am excited to have them in e format. I know people that have bought my ebooks and read them on their iPad and would NOT have bought them and read them otherwise. This is the only way they will read a novel. they don’t buy books. So, maybe ebooks will gain new readers…
I shunned my Kindle for a while when I found out I couldn’t loan books from it. It’s apologized and I’ve taken it back. I prefer reading from my Kindle and phone to reading from a page.
I am a creature of habit. I like things the way they have been for hundreds of years, ha! I love a physical book. There is something cold about reading a book off a machine. I just don’t get the same warm fuzzies.
Thx for information.