Be Afraid...be very afraid

By Darren E Laws

Halloween is almost here, the Frankfurt Book Fair has just finished and six months after the end of the London Book Fair it is sad to report not much progress has been made by the publishing world and its eagerness (or lack of) to embrace the digital future of publishing.  Paul Coelho makes some very interesting observations that the industry is still struggling with the Internet.

Coelho says there is "a lack of understanding of the web on the part of the industry", which could mean they end up travelling the same path as the film and music industries.

"Instead of seeing in this new media an opportunity to invent new ways of promotion, publishers concentrated on creating micro sites, which are totally outdated, and a few of them complained about the 'misfortunes' of the other cultural industries, perceiving the web as the 'enemy'," he said.

Coelho's answer is to give his books away in electronic form on his blog site The Pirate Coelho.  He says openly that for the industry to survive content must be shared freely.  This is a similar challenge faced by the music and film industries both of which are investigating forms of digital rights management.

Coelho is experiencing a growth in sales even though he is giving his electronic content away.  The music industry has also survived despite the messengers of doom that foresaw the end of the industry.  The majority of young people who get their music now from the net instead of a record shop balance paying for downloads with using peer to peer (P2P) torrent sites.  Though the majority of free P2P torrent sites share illegal content young people do not consider the actions they take to be breaking the law.  In fact many bands are now joining the actions of Coelho and either giving away their content on controlled sites or allowing it to happen because 'word of mouth' from these downloads actually lead to increased legal sales.

Tackling how to produce a working model that maximises web exposure while generating income is obviously important to all artists.  Without income, artists will be severely hampered.  MJ Rose today launched her novel The Reincarnationist as a time limited free download because she knows the value of word of mouth and of giving potential customers something of value to help generate a sale.  I tend to agree with this approach and it is a subject I have been trying to come to terms with as well. 

From the perspective of an independent publisher who appreciates every sale, the decision is do we follow the trend and give away eBook versions of titles and if we do will this hamper printed copy sales.  Personally I do not think sales of physical paperback or hard back copies will be affected.  With that in mind we have decided to give away eBook versions of my next novel 'Dark Country' direct from our web sites - www.cnpublishing.co.uk and www.thefictionstore.co.uk on its publication day for a limited period to monitor the impact on sales. 

Is giving away digital content an act of madness, altruism or simply recognition that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.  Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, and Coldplay among many other bands have given away content and seen exponential growth in actual sales.  Nobody believes for a moment that because they gave their content away it was of a lower quality or worse still, worthless. 

Free can be a good thing, it scares the establishment. Quite apt for this time of year.

'How to get a lot of money out of desperate authors...

while making a very nice living as failed author!'


How many 'How to write a successful novel' or 'How to become a published author’ novels have you seen advertised both on the net and in bookstores from authors you have never ever heard. Surely if someone was to be an expert on the subject they should have a modicum of success. Often when you delve a little deeper into the background of the authors of these 'successful' authors who put their names to the 'How to' brigade of books you find that their only publishing success has been the publication of the 'How to' book in the first place. Is this not a little misleading? One thing is for sure though that there is a lot of desperate writers out there who gobble up these books and their words of wisdom without stopping to check the credentials of the author or indeed have no measure or yardstick to digest what they have to say.

A quick search through Amazon shows that this is a growth market with little or no signs of it being impacted by the current credit malaise sweeping through the world. It would appear that there are a lot of would-be writers keen to know the secrets to quick success and the riches it brings. If this was the case and the authors of these books were making their wealth through their own creative writing ability rather than suckering people wishing to lean the trick of the trade then surely we would be reading a lot more 'How to' books from famous authors and not unknowns capitalising on the dreams of the desperate. Furthermore, these authors by the very nature of practicing what they preach would be successful.

So the next time you're tempted to buy a shortcut to success, at least stop and look at the resume of the author.

P.S. This is NOT an extract taken from my latest book. How to become an incredibly successful author in only 10 days or you money back…

The Death of the Internet

Believe it or not there are publishers and book sellers out there who dream of the death of the Internet. They see it as an annoyance which has eaten into their margins rather than a tool to extend their boundaries. They view the onset digital media in the same fashion. The only thing that puzzles me is why mobile content is not more popular. The current buzz for the Kindle may the start of something exciting but somehow I don't think the Kindle is going to be Amazon's iPod. Though as a publisher believe me I would love it to be. Having just experienced a trip to the US, I managed to devour a book through the seven hour flight and looking around the flight deck found many other travellers engrossed in hardbacks, paperbacks, magazines and good old newspapers. There was not one electronic reader in sight. A few things struck me almost immediately:

• Though there was a decent onboard entertainment system, printed matter was still an option taken by near 100% of those able to read, at some point during the flight
• Convenience - The ability to open and close a book, read between naps or the sumptuous in-flight meals without having to power down to conserve batteries
• The ability to read during take off and landing for those with a phobia of flying. The Kindle would at present have to remain safely stowed away with your hand luggage
  
• My book was never under the threat of running out of power
• During turbulance spilling coffee over my book only dampened a few pages the Kindle would not have faired so well
  

I mention this not because I am one of those technophobes merely that the current practicalities of owning an electronic reader make it less desirable than holding a three hundred page novel. Maybe ten years down the line I will look around the plane to be greeted by readers holding a Kindle V9.0 who are actually downloading content by plugging into the aircraft entertainment system. That would be cool. Even cooler would be the onboard POD machine turning out paperbackes. Either way there are two things which will remain constant the printed page and the Internet. The only thing that will change will be how we access both.

Why are publishers so bad at advertising on TV?

By Darren E Laws

Book videos. Great to look at sometimes, but do they generate sales? Large established publishing houses occasionally dabble with TV commercials for established authors such as James Patterson, Penny Vincenzi and Stephen King but rarely do they place their advertising budget for such adverts in the hands of lesser-known authors. One has to ask is this because market research has shown that the book buying public is not persuaded by such a straightforward message, or is it solely due to expense. If expense were the issue then surely we would be seeing more low-cost options adopted by the big five, such as those embraced by smaller independent publishers using the net. Though not a new phenomenon, the book video as a sales marketing tool remains extremely popular especially amongst mainly independent publishers using the Internet. Many of these videos are inventive, entertaining and if targeted to a book buying audience should generate sales, but despite a proliferation of authors and publishers willing to invest part of their marketing spend on the production of these videos there appears to very little evidence that they generate sales at the moment.

Maybe the failure of larger publishers to explore TV and cinema advertising to its fullest extent is due to its approach when it has dabbled. Having seen the occasional attempt by various publishers one can only groan at the clumsiness of it all, and maybe it is the confusion of publishers to define a successful advertising model that works that has caused this reticence. How many adverts for novels can you remember? Now subtract those that you can remember for the right reasons…not many, eh?

Most independent publishers using ‘You Tube’ and various other Internet video outlets are showing a level of creativity that matches the efforts of its bigger brothers who have much larger budgets. How can it be that ‘John Doe Publishing’ can produce a video advert for under £200 ($400) that matches the creative output of one of the leading publishers in the world? The problem could lay with the fact that many publishers keep their advertising and marketing spend in-house, often refusing to employ outside agencies for a little creative input.

It strikes me that the joining of the written word into a visual medium for advertising novels has long been an uncomfortable fit for the established publisher. Maybe the injection of fresh ideas from independent publishers will help map a route that will drive readers to the bookstore in search of lesser-known ‘authors and publishers’ at the expense of the clumsy attempts of the publishing conglomerates. I also think the approach by the large publishing house can often reflect the arrogance of an established industry that thinks it knows best, even in the face of adversity and lack of success in terms of return of investment on its advertising spend. If at first you don’t succeed don’t give up, but for heavens sake, don’t keep repeating the same mistake and then blame the tool. The jury is still out on the success of using film or video to sell books but the net has allowed us all to play on a more even playing field and hopefully it won’t be long until a slick, inventive home produced video promoting a book captures the imagination of a vast audience, leading to those all important sales.

www.cnpublishing.co.uk
http://www.thefictionstore.co.uk
info@cnpublishing.co.uk

The Kindle Swindle or a Myriad of Iliad?

By Darren E Laws

Nick Hornby this week raises a perfectly valid point by highlighting the exorbitant cost of electronic book reading machines. Whist the Kindle has some pretty neat built-in technology with the capability to fetch content from Amazon’s website (though not in the UK as of this moment) and a version of the Iliad (Kindle’s main rival) can also hook up to Wi-Fi to fetch content, these machines are coming in at the cost of more versatile computer hardware and lower-end laptops, all of which have greater versatility and the ability to deliver multimedia content. So the question has to be asked, is the industry serious about the delivery of ebook content or is has it misread the market. Let’s face it, given the choice of having a multi-functioning media delivery machine such as a laptop or PDA that can deliver ebook content in a legible form that is convenient; or a lump of plastic the size of a trade paperback with a dull colourless screen, which do you think would appeal most to the technically savvy readers of today?

Price as well as a little user-friendly redesigning has to be the issues that will begin to level the playing field and make the delivery of this electronic content more appealing to readers, and more importantly to engage and encourage new readers to use these machines. At the moment the Kindle and Iliad have the appeal of a 1980’s home computer, designed by geeks for geeks. There is little sophisticated or sexy about the bodies of these machines and I can honestly say there probably is not one person under 25 (maybe even 35) that would want to be seen using one in public. These machines are just not cool.

Countries like Japan already seem to have caught on to the fact, and this is born out through the uptake of mobile media content with novels being delivered directly to mobile (cell) phones that are quick to download through Bluetooth or via the Internet. Why buy a machine to read a novel when one is probably already in your pocket? Mobile phone technology is everywhere and increasingly more and more phones have Internet access. You may think it would be an unpleasant experience reading a novel on a standard mobile phone screen but most distributors of content use advanced font technology to east the strain on the eyes and make the whole experience pain free and enjoyable. A full novel can be downloaded in seconds from anywhere you can receive a mobile phone signal or through a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth portal making ease of access and sheer convenience a real plus point for mobile books.

If Nick Hornby, who let’s face it can probably afford to buy a Kindle or Iliad, thinks that they are overpriced then these machines are never going to take off and will remain piled high gather dust and awaiting a recall. I do applaud both Amazon and Irex Technologies though for making the machines in the first place. Now if only they could improve the design and make them cheaper we may all be tempted to read an ebook now and then.


www.cnpublishing.co.uk
info@cnpublishing.co.uk

False Hopes and Expectations...Is it Time for a New Business Model?

By Darren E Laws

The current dilemma facing the publishing industry of an increased market base in the form of an enhanced global platform called the Internet, against an evolving audience which requires its fiction (and non-fiction) delivered in many different forms is challenging an industry that is pretty much set in its way. Publishing has been operating quite successfully (thank you very much) using the same business model for the past century, and now faced with a radical re-think it is struggling to come to terms with change. In the old days authors expected and received (quite deservedly in many cases) a nice fat advanced payment on the expectation that their hard work and toil would meet the expectations of their audience, who would in turn reciprocate equally by diligently going to the book store and buying copies of the said work in their thousands. This utopian arrangement existed quite happily for decades.

Now though, one has to question these ideals on the basis that technology and the internet is revolutionising and democratising publishing. Sure, every author dreams of receiving a good advance offset against royalties, but can this model be applied throughout publishing, especially when the industry is reporting increasing returns and often bad judgement of 'future' publishing stars actual earning ability. Note I do not mention potential as I am sure each author that receives a large advance does so on the basis that he or she will fulfil that potential.

Ghost written media celebrity novels and 'misery lit' (mis-lit) are the order of the day and publishers are falling over themselves to part with hefty sums, often before even checking the validity of the author or the story. Trifling matters as far as some publishing houses are concerned; so long as the celebrity stays flavour of the month long enough to see the book hit the shelves and some investment return. Watching this trend in publishing is like watching Hollywood remake classic movies because it no longer has the judgement skills to determine originality. Believe me, Hollywood nor the mountains of unpublished manuscripts sitting within publishers actually lack depth of quality, just the ability have a reader with faith in their own skills at sorting the wheat from the chaff. And so we are left with this current situation where money that could be spent in investing in new talent is handed willy-nilly to what they assume is the easy mark, the quick return. Sadly the only quick returns come from the book stores as the public becomes tired of over-hyped, over-marketed fodder made for the non-discerning. But if you are using a machine gun to hit a single target you are going to hit something every now and then and as long as the mainstream publishers have enough bullets to keep spraying and there is enough new fodder out there waiting to have their names attached to the latest celebrity novel or biography, then I guess they hope the status quo will remain.

So what is the answer; what can open the market and untap new riches of talent? Maybe the changes are already happening. Imagine for a moment a new world where the author writes a book and only gets paid for the amount of copies he or she actually sells. Imagine a world where a marketing budget is used to create demand but the books are only printed to meet that demand, and not printed by the hundreds of thousands and splurged into every book store regardless of actual demand, only to be returned six weeks or months later to be pulped. Imagine not paying hundreds of thousands of pounds to an author in a bidding war where he or she has done little to establish themselves in a market, save for looking pretty or having attended the correct schools. I am not for one moment denigrating all of the practices in place, it would be great to be in the position the large publishing houses find themselves in, of having a rich vein of new talent arriving on their desks every day. I applaud all the great work they are doing in bringing fantastic new talent to the fore, I am just questioning some unsettling practices that certain publishers seem to be adopting because they are the easy option. Remember, it is easy to choose the easy option but consider the longer term implications.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with appealing to the mass markets or even the lowest common denominator. We would all love to be in the position of selling thousands of titles, but you should at least create demand and fill demand first rather than putting all of your proverbial eggs in one basket and finding they are rotten. Are the days of huge advances, huge print runs, celeb-lit and false expectations over; sadly, not just yet, but the warning signs are there and hopefully the industry is taking heed.

www.cnpublishing.co.uk

info@cnpublishing.co.uk

Goodbye Printed Page, Farewell Bookstore...

By Darren E Laws

Mobile content will be the new book. Digital format is, like it or not, going to
have an impact on the traditional form of a physical book. While many people reading this will undoubtedly choose not to believe that this metamorphosis is occurring and for many there is nothing that beats the romanticism of holding a book and feeling the pages turn between your fingers, the change is happening.

Future generations are facing up to the fact that there are many things that are having an impact on the world they live in and amongst these will include the mass printing of millions of books only to be returned and pulped. The carbon footprint cannot continue and sooner or later this will be frowned upon by a population that looks at the sheer amount of energy the industry wastes in a most unfavourable light.

Mobile and digital content already exists and will be seen increasingly by younger audiences as the natural way to consume content. Their minds are already being trained to deal with the problems facing them. While their parents struggle with the concept of recycling and the $4 gallon (or if like me you live in the UK £2.00 litre), they are being born into a world where natural resources are dwindling, terrorism is the new cold war, Christians are the new infidels (though I believe they were the old infidels as well) and the ice caps are melting.

So how can the publishing industry continue to sustain such a flagrant waste of energy and resources? The simple answer is it can't. Alternatives have to be explored and pursed if the new world is not to become a place that sees any form of literature as pointless and future generations turn to the XBox and wii as their only hope of cultural salvation. Digital content is the language this generation understands. They download music, software, films. They socialise on-line, meet new buddies and find old buddies. Their world revolves around digital content being fed down a wire.

Bookstores will close along with a host of other retail outlets. I am not for one moment suggesting the complete closure of the shopping mall or high street, but a commercial market that is radically different to the one we take for granted today. By this I mean the world that is happy overstocking, over-printing and using huge amounts of energy transporting product only for it to be returned and literally burned or pulped.

The new consumer will get the majority of its physical wares from an on-line portal or download it directly in the form of 1's and 0's. Not a leap of the imaginations is it? The publishing industry has to wake up and sniff the java. The methods employed today cannot continue and will not be viewed favourably ten years from now.

Print-on-Demand will help allay those fears over the next decade by producing physical content only when it is actually demanded, but the new world will embrace methods that place less stress on the environment. Currently we have the eBook, mobile phone downloads, the Kindle, various other electronic book readers, and direct web site downloads as alternatives to the printed page. I am sure as the web develops these will evolve and some may even be laughed upon as anachronistic, but the future of how we consume content will change through necessity and through the evolution of the reader.