Category Archives: Book Marketing

Publishing’s Paradigm Shift – Effect on Authors

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With all of this movement toward e-books, what can authors expect in the near future? Some of the coming changes may include the following:

•Funding for authors’ advances may begin to be provided by external investors (as they are with films and plays)

•Best-selling authors, who already have a name brand, may turn to self-publishing for higher royalties, making more room for midlist and debut authors

•Until then, the bar is higher and authors may want to consider self-publishing

•Some authors are already serializing their books online to build readership

•Publishers can’t hold on to rights indefinitely by making books available as POD or e-books, according to recent rulings (when such a book is out of print, rights will revert to author)

Average advances today are between $1,000 and $5,000 for debut literary fiction as opposed to the $50-100,000 advances of the past. For commercial fiction: $15,000 or less. And publishing houses are beginning to shrink their lists, so it’s becoming more and more difficult to get picked up as a debut author.

One option is to take your chances with self-publishing and try to find ways to grow your own fan base. One unpublished author is serializing his new book, chapter by chapter on his website where, over the next ten weeks, it will build like a part-work. In the words of a friend, he’s “doing a Dickens.” And he’s making it available for free, betting that many readers won’t want to wait and will go ahead and download the entire book for less than the cost of a paperback. After that, it will go to Amazon, with an iPod version later. A second, already published, author, John Gorman, is serializing his new thriller to a WordPress site. On the site, his Mission Statement encourages people to contribute to the story. He won’t publish their words, but he might run with their character ideas and plot twists, so there’s a collective element to this novel.

For those who decide to self-publish, Publishers Weekly now puts out a quarterly supplement, called PW Select, that announces self-published titles for $149 and reviews for free those they feel are most deserving of a critical assessment. For more information, check www.publishersweekly.com/diy.

Personally, I went the self-publishing route for my first book and it’s seen very few sales, despite the awards, simply because it’s not out there enough. I won’t go that route again. I’d rather hone my craft and keep writing and querying until I get an agent. An agent will lead me to a publisher who can get my name out there. I’m hoping that a lot of these top authors who no longer need a big publisher will go the self-publishing route, thereby making room on publishers’ lists for more midlist and debut authors.

In my next posting on this topic, I’ll share the thoughts and experiences of some of those who have.

Originally posted 2010-11-15 11:04:47.

Publishing’s Paradigm Shift – Effect on Booksellers

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Where do you buy most of your books now? Online at Amazon or other online bookstores? At big box stores like Costco? Barnes & Noble? Or are you a die-hard fan of the small, local independent bookstore where you’re on a first-name basis with the staff?

Bookstores have been a dying breed until now. So how will they be affected by the growing popularity of digitalized books? Here are some possible developments:

•Booksellers will begin adding Espresso Book Machines to stores

•Megastores may disappear and smaller, neighborhood stores could make a resurgence

•Booksellers will become more important as guides in book selection as newspapers continue to lose their book review sections

•There will be more and more niche bookstores

According to Publishers Weekly (April 16, 2010), “Lightning Source has launched an Espresso Book Machine pilot program, done in conjunction with On Demand Books, through which select publishers will be able to offer their customers the opportunity to print their titles on the Espresso machines located in bookstores…There are currently 37 EBMs in operation and 14 planned around the world. On Demand is releasing a new model of the machine which will print books faster—roughly four minutes for a 300-page book as opposed to eight minutes—and be offered at a lower price point.”

“The new bookstores may be book/coffee/tea shop hybrids, with a while-you-wait book printing facility, digital connections to facilitate e-book browsing and purchase, and staff who know and love the books they sell.” (Richard Day, publisher of Self-Councel press)

Check out the video below showing how the Espresso Book Machine works.

Originally posted 2010-11-04 13:59:14.

My Interview on “The Good Word” With Nick Galieti is Live

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Last weekend I drove all the way down to Utah to be interviewed in person by Nick Galieti for his podcast series, “The Good Word.” He’s trying to feature a different LDS writer each week (something like what I’m doing here, only he works live…either in the studio or over the phone), and I must say I was impressed by his preparation and his questions.

cropped-Nick-Galieti-Promo-Photo1

Have a listen to my interview and judge for yourself here.

I talked about both of my books, with a little more emphasis on the more recent publication. If you’re a fan of A NIGHT ON MOON HILL, you’ll want to give this interview a listen. And please feel free to leave a comment.

I encourage all of my writer friends to contact Nick and sign up for an interview at their convenience. And thanks to Trina Boice for bringing his podcast to my attention in the first place!

Originally posted 2013-03-05 13:58:08.

Successful Launch at the Library

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I don’t live in the biggest city, so when it came to selecting a venue for my book launch for A NIGHT ON MOON HILL, I only had a few options. I knew my book wouldn’t be in Barnes & Noble (yet) and, besides, that just seemed to go against one of my protagonist’s rules–encouraging the independent bookstore. Well, there were only three from which to choose and none of them quite fit what I had in mind.

Then I recalled that my main character, Daphne, and Eric, the boy with Asperger’s, spent a lot of time together in their local library. Fortunately, our local library had moved into a brand new building last year and they had a large room called the Gallery that was perfect for special events. So I called, told them I was counting on about 50 guests, and they offered to co-host the launch with me.

They had a sound system all set up, complete with a hands-free lavalier microphone, (and, if I’d needed it, a projection system), and plenty of tables and chairs–all in a lovely, glassed in setting. My friend, Billie Grimmett, a professional photographer, was kind enough to be on hand to take lots of wonderful pictures.

We began at 6:30 with about 15 or so having already arrived (including my sister, who had driven two and a half hours to surprise me . . . and Terry Deighton from my writer’s group, who, along with her husband, had driven six hours to help me out).

Me and my sister, Leslie

With classical music playing in the background (mostly Adagios by Albinoni and others–Daphne would have approved), I did my best to explain how I had come to write this particular story and then read an excerpt from the beginning, trying hard not to give anything away plot-wise.

By that point, more had arrived and we were ready for the first prize drawing. I had carefully selected prizes that somehow fit with my novel and divided them into three different drawings, with three in each group. In the first group, there was a simple pocket watch, a Kindle gift card (after all Daphne is a writer), and a home digital weather station. (Daphne also has a thing about weather . . . or, at least, she used to.)

But I didn’t want to simply draw a name and hand over a prize. Instead, I had my son, Jason, draw three names and then we had the three fish against each other for the prize they wanted. Using these little toy fishing poles (you see, in my novel, one of Eric’s obsessions is fishing), they tried to magnetically pick up as many fish as they could. The person who got the biggest catch got first pick among the three prizes. It made for some fun, competitive fishing!

Sharon won the weather station

Then while I began to sign books, those in attendance (and more were coming and going throughout the evening) either waited in line or helped themselves to some wonderful treats in back, including an “angelic” chocolate cake made by my good friend, Rebecca Elsberry, and lemon bars and cookies made by another good friend, Christy Berrett.

Rebecca slicing up her “angel” cake

After another prize drawing (for a wooden carved angel, a surprise wrapped book, and an Extra-Small Classic Ruled Moleskine notebook), I did another reading and then signed more books for those who had come later.

Terry signing in my friend, Mara

Finally, as night fell and 8:30 drew nigh, we had the final drawing, which included the biggest prize–a Nook Color gift basket–or a Moleskine Writer’s Gift Set, or a silver double dust-cover pocket watch. Afterward, I answered final questions before thanking everyone for coming.

Julie won the Nook!

And even if you didn’t win a prize, you could walk away with a bag of M&Ms (Daphne’s favorite) and a snack cup of Pringles (Eric’s favorite) . . . not to mention my book :D

I had invited 100 and slightly more than 50 came. I sold 36 books, gave 2 free copies to the library, and one each to my sister and Jason. I’m not sure what usually happens at book launches, but I felt like this was a real success. I can’t wait to do it again!

Oh, and for those of you who couldn’t make it, I’m doing a signing for “Ladies Night Out” at Far West Books in Kennewick this Saturday from 5 to 7 pm. Hope to see you there!

Originally posted 2012-10-01 06:00:02.

It’s Available!

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A NIGHT ON MOON HILL is now available for sale at the Kindle Store! Here’s the link. What a wonderful early birthday present! It would be amazing if it became available on Amazon ON my birthday, which is tomorrow. Not likely, but amazing!

Remember, if you buy it, read it, and like it, I would LOVE for you to post a review there on its Kindle page…as well as on Goodreads. (Later, it would be great if you would copy your review to the Amazon page once it’s finally up there.)

If you REALLY want to help guide people to my book, hit the “Like” button near my name and then scroll halfway down the Kindle page to the part that reads: “Tags Customers Associate With This Product” and click on “Agree with these tags.” The more agreements I get, the more likely those tags will pull in readers interested in those things.

Thanks for all your support!

Originally posted 2012-09-08 17:36:14.