One of the most original and promising new ideas I have heard about in the world of book publishing comes from Stephen Elliot, author of seven published books, who created his own Lending Library.  Elliott had the notion that using advance copies of his forthcoming book, The Adderall Diaries, would result in significant advance publicity and ultimately in increased book sales. Through social networking he found 400 readers who signed up to receive, read, and forward on a copy of his book. The original cost for launching the promotion were the costs of the initial number of advance copies produced and of mailing them. The cost to the person receiving the book was only the cost of mailing the book to the next person via parcel post - about $4. 

Elliott found his experiment to be wildly successful in that it gleaned many Facebook conversations and mentions on other social media sites, several articles about the method and the book, interviews, book reviews, and a web site hosted conversation about his book. In other words, he achieved his goal of creating a great deal of buzz about his book before it was actually published.

Previously in this blog when I have discussed the opportunities offered by new technologies for promoting books, I have always suggested that sharing information and generating word of mouth recommendations through social media are excellent means for authors to utilize to create interest in their works. The Lending Library is an extra hook for getting people interested in and talking about a book and may well be worth a try. << MORE >>

In a recent blog post, Alan Rinzler of The Book Deal wrote in praise of his neighborhood bookstore in the Elmwood section of Berkeley, California. You may wish to read his entire, interesting and informative post, “Let’s hear it for Neighborhood Bookstores: Here’s Mine,” right here: http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2009/05/05/lets-hear-it-for-neighborhood-bookstores-heres-mine/

 

Reading it made me think of the under-rated benefits and often ignored value of independent bookstores, so few and far between now in this age of Internet retailers, mega stores, and discount stores. But these courageous, hearty, and dedicated survivors have much to offer authors and publishers, especially self-published authors and publishers offering self-publishing services. Buyers in these stores tend to be readers themselves. They have more interest in the book publishing business than just bigger profits and movie deals. They love books and authors, and they are inclined to take time to read your book and meet with you.

 

A local bookstore is a great place to promote your book. The store may be open to stocking books, hosting a reading, or holding an autograph party. The secret is to connect with a buyer or an owner in the store. Often times the best approach is to call in advance for an appointment and then go in person.  Have a copy or copies of your book with you along with some promotional pieces. Find out what they normally do to promote local authors. Do they have a local author section in the store? Do they have groups meeting at the store itself that might like to meet a local author? Do they host signings, and do they have any autograph parties scheduled? If possible, see if you can be there when other authors are signing their books. That way you may benefit from their promotion and their traffic as well.

 

At Dorrance Publishing, over the years, we have had more success getting local and independent bookstores to promote and stock books than chains. Notwithstanding all the high tech opportunities to promote books discussed previously in this blog, these stores can play an important and valuable role in getting out the word about your book, and they should be a part of your book promotion plan.

 

 

        

Recently two large traditional publishers have opened self-publishing divisions, giving further credence to the notion that, even if not all literary purists approve, many publishing houses themselves believe self-publishing is the wave of the future. Thomas Nelson has launched its self-publishing arm, West Bow Press, and Harlequin has just announced Harlequin Horizons. The self-publishing services they offer do not come cheap, ranging from $599 to $19,999, depending upon the support and marketing services desired. And many bloggers are livid. They see this as publishers cashing in on a growing industry without concern for the quality of books they publish or the dashed expectations of authors who come to them thinking the link to their famous imprint names will guaranty success. But as I mentioned in a previous blog, the former CEO of Harper Collins has put it this way. "What is coming is not an evolution. It is a revolution." << MORE >>

The First Annual Self-Publishing Book Expo was held on November 7, 2009 in the midtown Sheraton Hotel in New York City. Organized by two veteran publishing executives, the purpose of the show was to highlight self-published authors and self-publishing companies and to expose their books to a greater audience. By all accounts, the debut was a success. Approximately 200 people attended the show which according to The Epoch Times, drew a "small but quality crowd of people, 55 exhibitors, and 12 panelists" who led lively discussions on cutting edge topics. Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc. and its various imprints had more tables with titles on display than any other company. Several authors attended and autographed copies of books they sold at the show. << MORE >>

People who love reading love to talk about the books they have recently read, just as people who love reading love to hear from others about good books. Word of mouth has always been the most effective means of book promotion. And now with the help of technology, especially the Internet, spreading the word about good reads is easier and more achievable than ever.

Authors and publishers compete for book reviews from professional reviewers in magazines, journals, newspapers, and on web sites for the readership those forms of media command and for the accompanying increase in status a review in those publications can bring. But taking into consideration the long tail of marketing theory, there is another very effective alternative to draw attention to products you are marketing.<< MORE >>

The worlds of publishing and consumer electronics have been all atwitter during the last week about two exciting additions to the options for readers who choose digital reading devices for their content consumption : The Nook and the Apple Tablet.

Last week Barnes & Noble launched the Nook, obviously in direct competition to Amazon's Kindle 2, at the exact same price as Kindle 2, $259, but boasting some impressive distinguishing features. The Nook has a dual screen that displays both grayscale (shades of black) and color print. It allows readers to browse through all the books in a store without downloading through content streaming via in-store WiFi connections, and it can be synced with about 100 mobile devices for portability.  Perhaps most distinguishing is the Lend Me feature, which allows the purchaser to share books with other readers by allowing for the transfer of files for up to fourteen days from purchase. However once the file has been transmitted, it can no longer be opened on the original Nook that purchased it. The drawback for the device, in my mind, is that it is centered on going to a bookstore for the browsing and purchasing.<< MORE >>

In a recent survey, Retrevo, a gadget review website, discovered that 21 percent of those they surveyed said they are planning to buy an e-book reader this year. Of those who were canvassed and responded positively about purchasing a digital book reader, 26 percent were men and 17 percent were women. A full ten percent said they would ask for a reader for a holiday gift, more than would be asking for MP3 players and video game players. They favor the Kindle to the Sony Reader by a 2 to 1 margin.

The largest percentage of those who plan to purchase e-book readers are men under 35 years of age, with household incomes of more than $100,000, and who live in the Northeast.

The Kindle's wide acceptance and its promotion by Amazon give it a current advantage. But more digital readers are scheduled for release within the next year, and rumors about Apple launching a Tablet abound.

In recent times only about 2.5 percent of all books sold have been sold in a digital format.  However if the survey results presented by Retrevo are true, that percentage will quickly grow.<< MORE >>

In 2005 the Author's Guild and the Association of American Publishers sued Google for scanning books without the copyright holders' permission. A settlement was negotiated and, as most people know, the terms were announced last October. The settlement would have allowed Google to set up a database from which customers could purchase books, photographs, portions fo books, etc., and the copyright holder would receive payment from revenues received by Google. Now the court has received more than 400 filings objecting to various parts of the settlement agreement, and the hearing on the settlement that was scheduled for October 7, 2009, has been indefinitely delayed. Interestingly Google did not object.

The delay will give the parties time to work out all the differences and see if they can agree to a new settlement.<< MORE >>

As in almost any industry or vocation - investment firms, medicine, home improvement companies, distance learning, mortgage banks, insurance companies, discount retailers, and many, many more - the author services industry (subsidy publishing, print on de-mand, book promotion services, editing services, literary agencies) has both legitimate providers and scam artists competing in the marketplace. All the rules of thumb apply: read the agreement carefully, don't accept vague terms, ask questions, talk to a live per-son, check business references and company history, don't be pressured, if it sounds too good to be true, be skeptical and find out why. And while it is a fact that there are indeed scammers among the companies that provide author services, by no means should all author services companies be categorized as such and painted with the same broad brush. For example, the author services company with which I have been associated for over thirty years, Dorrance Publishing and its related companies, is not and has never been a scam. There are individuals who believe authors should never pay to have their work published. For them, charging authors for publishing services is in itself a scam.<< MORE >>

Last month R.R. Bowker, the major publisher of reference books and resources for the book trade, released the 2008 U S. Book Consumer Demographics and Buying Behavior Annual Report which is being published print-on-demand by Lightning Press and retails for $999. Its findings about book buying patterns have emerged from data collected from Bowker’s Pub Track Consumer and from other information gleaned from the vast amount of statistics on titles published and books sold that the company regularly monitors. The findings are very helpful for authors and publishers who wish to perform targeted and effective promotion of their books.

Some interesting facts contained in the report are:

· Most buyers are women (53 percent as opposed to 47 percent men)
· Women buy more books than men (65 percent of all books purchased)
· Men buy more e-books than women (55 percent)
· Women buy the great majority of paperbacks, hardbacks, and audio books
· Generation X buyers (ages 30 to 48) purchase more books on the Internet (30 percent) than any other demographic group
· About 21 percent of book buyers heard about a book first online
· Mass merchandisers continue to gain market share while bookstores show large declines

For authors and publishers all this is critical information when attempting to gear promotion, publicity, or advertising to a book’ s particular audience.<< MORE >>