Every Little Helps...Kill the Industry

By Darren E Laws
Everyone likes a bargain and it is human nature not to want to pay more for something than is necessary. Money after all is hard to come by. But at what point do we stop to look at the impact our shopping habits is having on our local economy. Arguments rage about the loss of specialist and local stores as supermarkets continue to encroach on a number of retail sectors. The ironic thing is that supermarkets sell this argument on the basis of broadening our choice. Yes, they are broadening our choice in a supermarket context but as small stores close through the impact of losing sales to the likes of Asda, Tesco, Sainsburys and Morrisons among others, we have to begin to question the social consequences as well as the blow to the local economy.

Book sales are a great example of how supermarkets are decimating specialist retail trade. A quick trip down the aisles will reveal paperbacks as low as £1.99 and sometimes less. Great for the consumer who will never want to set foot in a bookstore but bad news for real book lovers. Try purchasing anything other than a ‘popular’ title in a supermarket and then think about the consequences of having little or no alternative as genuine bookstores close.

Publishers currently have their pants in a twist over the Internet, digital content and eBooks but it appears they are quite happy to let supermarkets ride rough-shod over paper sales. The restriction on choice in a supermarket is appalling and will never match that of a decent bookstore even a chain bookstore. I for one do not wish to see any of our books in a supermarket at a give-away price. I know what the margins are and believe me they are slim especially when you take the ancillary costs of marketing, promoting, PR and any other supporting mechanisms out of the bottom line. The major publishers might be able to afford to prostitute their authors but the real price is that they are killing the industry. This all comes back to the old business model adopted by the major players. Print tens of thousands of books of each title and when they don’t sell, give them away to supermarkets and remainder outlets at knock-down prices. How much longer can the industry afford to do this? The major publishers are acting like parasites prepared to eat their own bodies when there is no longer any flesh on the carcass.

It’s crazy when you listen to the top publishers bleating over the state of industry, it would appear they don’t even know they are responsible.

e-Book Reader Wars...The Return of the Red Eye

The manufacturers of eBook readers are suddenly very serious about the concept of the eBook and the machines we will want to read them on. Sony has taken an aggressive stance with the announcement of a $199.00 machine while cutting the price of titles to a base level of $9.99. As usual for us poor Brits I dare say we are going to have to wait to see these machines. This is the third new e-reader announcement in under a week and it seems that reduced footprint is the order of the day with Merlin Digital also announcing a small reader. It will be interesting to see how the reduced footprint of both the Sony and the Merlin models is received in comparison to the cumbersome Kindle. Smaller machines have their benefits and may well appeal to holiday readers and those who want to read on the go. With a plethora of machines hitting the market and publishers finally waking up to the revenue stream available - all though they still struggle with marketing and pricing – it would seem that the next twelve months are going to be very interesting.

Will the Kindle be the UK’s Big Christmas 09 Gift?

Once again its rumour control from Amazon but it does appear that the Kindle will arrive in the UK in time for Christmas. Problems relating to the complicated mobile phone networks have been overcome and a UK Kindle will hit the stores for the season of avarice. But who will the Kindle appeal too? Will it appeal to techno-junkies; I doubt it, unless they like their techno retro. For me the Kindle has the refinement and functionality of a 1980’s computer. Great, if we were in the 1980’s.

Or will it be serious readers ready to abandon paper for pixel after a lifetime of strolling around bookstore picking up books and browsing new titles by thumbing through physical pages of neatly laid text. This too somehow I doubt.

Readers are resilient and adaptable if nothing else though. Recent surveys have proven that the UK reader’s affair with traditional bookstores is already on the wane. A huge shift in the buying habits of readers has seen a marked transition to supermarket purchases. These soulless monoliths can hardly be compared with the charm and comfort of a book store with an in house cafe. So price and convenience is a defining factor. This group of readers, if they had the available income would almost certainly opt for an eReader like the Kindle; sadly though the majority of these readers are on a lower income and not as likely to be able to afford buying an electronic reader. They have more pressing matters for what little disposable income they may have.

As a publisher, the Kindle has appeal in providing a new platform, I will definitely be making our titles available to the platform. So I am not knocking Amazon’s endeavour; it’s just the functionality of the machine that concerns me. This is by no means a small piece of equipment. It may be light and thin but it’s bulky and not very pretty. I know looks aren’t everything but they are factors in deciding popularity, unfortunately. We all know the quiet girl/guy with the glasses and few friends is actually the girl/guy you should be going out with because he/she will try harder and is less vacuous, whereas the glamour boy/girl is often all looks and little substance. But look at the popularity of the iPhone, it has some great apps and looks really good, yet behind it is some pretty ancient technology in phone industry terms. Whereas the Kindle looks like it was designed by boffins without a single aesthetic bone in their body.

Until more functionality, colour screens and better design is incorporated into eBook readers they will not achieve the potential they obviously could. I hope to be proven wrong, but eReaders of one sort or another have been available in the UK for over a year now and I have yet to see one in public or know anyone who has purchased one. There are more reasons for publishers wanting them to succeed; among them is the acceptance of eBooks as a product. The general public have to go through a whole new learning curve related in purchasing digital content. This is also a reason why the publishing industry should be embracing mobile phone publishing as a serious platform and revenue stream. eBooks work equally well on mobile phones even with small displays and with the ability to process JavaScript mobile phone eBooks can had the added functionality of multimedia. We all know how mobile phones appeal to young readers. They already use phones as cameras, for videoing, listening to music, downloading film and surfing the net. Reading books is surely just a tiny leap if they are marketed correctly.

Do people really want to carry around another piece of IT that can fail, run out of power or just be another burdensome artefact to get through customs while going on holiday? Let alone running the risks of breakage. We have laptops; we have phones, hell, we even have books, so are we ready to accept another lump of silicone and plastic whose only function is as a repository. I hope so, I really do, but I’d rather hedge my bets and ensure we don’t neglect mobile phone publishing in the race to embrace a Kindle whose market will be limited.

Borders buy-out, Penguin culling and MJ’s death causes breach of human rights

Just another week in the crazy world of publishing but it’s clear that many of the big houses are facing a tough financial outlook. The desperation is at times a little shameless such as the reaction of Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins and Headline show as they all adopt different tactics to be the first to shove any old tripe about MJ’s life and death into the bookstores. With some publishers even resorting to locking writers in rooms for 48 hours with nothing more than a case of coke (I believe it was the caramelised drink and not the famous Columbian marching powder) and orders not to see daylight until the manuscript is finished. Another publisher has turned the screws on two Chinese authors to deliver within the same timeframe. Obviously a quality read and a search for the truth are key elements here and not a single minded blood rush in the name of avarice.

Meanwhile over at Borders the US conglomerate has been keen to sell off its ugly sister, the UK arm of its business. The good news for UK readers is that the buy-out is being led by Channel 4 chairman, Luke Johnson, a man who turned around the failing Pizza empire Pizza Express in a similar deal. There is no denying that Borders may be an uphill battle but it is good news for the staff and 70 branches of the chain store.

Not such good news though for 100 people at Penguin who lost their jobs in a savage culling, which also saw the retirement of Helen Fraser, the managing director of Penguin UK. With many publishing houses refusing to change a business model that is based on waste while paying no attention to the environmental impact I dare say Penguin won’t be the to feel the pressures of the current economic recession.

Pride or Prejudice...The dilemma facing the world of publishing

By Darren E Laws
While many POD publishers are seeking the acceptance of the industry and wondering when the platforms for eBooks and other digital forms of publishing are going to truly catch on, it is apparent there are many battles ahead to win within linked sectors of the industry. Literary agents for one would rather their artists go unpublished than use a publisher who does not want to go down the traditional route.
At Caffeine Nights Publishing we occasionally get the odd leftfield submission, one that makes us stop and think. Recently one such incident occurred when a leading London agent submitted two novels to us. One novel was from a well known actor/comedian/writer and the other from a lesser know author. Both titles were excellent and the sort of titles we would normally be thrilled to publish but it was clear from the outset that the literary agent representing these two artists has not done their homework. Whether the manuscripts came to us via an intern or someone new in their position it is not clear, but the nature of the introduction letter and any lack of following submission protocol showed either arrogance, contempt or naivety, three qualities certainly not lacking in the world of publishing.
Of course the moment we informed the literary agent of our approach to publishing and our policies of not giving advances or printing thousands of copies of a title before establishing if there is a demand for the title, the agent got cold feet and withdrew the submissions with a reply that hinted that they would search the bottom of their unsellable pile to forward us something more suitable. Of course I wasn’t meant to feel insulted at such a slight. The inference being that POD and digital publishing is not ‘real publishing’. The agent in question did not even have the grace to return answers to a couple of questions I posed. I sometimes wonder where the real professionals are in this industry. Simple courtesies can go a long way to making amends for prejudice.
I am quite sure that both authors will find a home and I will follow both titles with interest to see whether they make the light of day. It would be an interesting scenario if one did not. I truly hope this is not the case. They say pride comes before a fall and one can’t help thinking the world of literature and publishing is certainly not without its fair share of hubris.

Twitter – where talk is cheap, ideology is free and banality rules

By Darren E Laws

Twitter is a brilliant tool which if used correctly can elevate the profile of the sharpest marketer, generate interest in a brand, or even build a passionate army of followers and fans awaiting your every tweet. Sadly though much of what exists is truly banal and the very fact that a celebrity such as Ashton Kutcher – a genuine ‘D’ list actor and husband to Demi Moore – is the most popular person in Twit world, tells us more about the rise of this popular culture tool among the masses than almost anything else. So, will the burning bright light that is Twitter begin to fade soon or does it have genuine longevity and use in terms of social media and social marketing. Many think so and are placing faith usually only seen by religious zealots into the tool.

Popularity is one thing and maybe Twitter’s current explosion is due to a number of social trends current faced by the media; downturns in traditional revenue streams, declining free time and attention spans, plus an increase in reality celebrity culture have all no doubt paid a apart in its success. While many bloggers see Twitter as a natural extension of their art and the chance to refine their message into short and concise paragraphs, the majority of users see it more as an evolution from texting, and maybe it is this point which sticks in the craw of social media entrepreneurs. I recently heard one bright young thing in the world of PR/journalism saying that he now only accepts proposals through Twitter. The rush to look trendy and embrace Twitter is amusing and one can’t help but cast a cynical eye over the way media wishes to manipulate the tool.

The challenge for many has been trying to utilise the service and even make money from it; and these two elements go pretty much against the grain of the bulk of its users caught up with telling the minutiae of their lives in 140 characters or less.

It is possible to build an army of followers, most of whom are only interested in having you reciprocate allegiance. If this happens then is it worth having a couple of thousand ‘twitters’ as your ‘friends’?; in fact how do you being to differentiate between those truly interested in hearing your short missives and those who do not. And even if you can, how do you keep their attention without resorting to a blow by blow account of your oh so trivial life.

The art of a good tweet is obviously judged in the end by the rapture in which you hold the audience. Twitter’s strength and weakness both lay within the limitations of the service in terms of what it allows us to say and more importantly, how we say it. There are some excellent tools or apps being devised to broaden Twitter’s appeal but what we must never forget is that Twitter is another form of communication and as such companies see this as a media channel and thus a revenue stream. If this proves too difficult to excavate the interest of the rich, the famous and the powerful will also soon dwindle.

People love Twitter because they think that Ashton Kutcher (feel free to replace this celebrity with any celebrity of your choice) is talking to them and as such the proletariat are playing their part in the world’s largest and possibly ultimate reality celebrity experience. There is nothing wrong with this but unless we understand why people are using Twitter we could be wasting a lot of time and energy trying to influence an audience who really choose not to care. I dare say the return at the box office on Mr Kutcher’s next movie may be of as much interest to sociologists as it is to movie producers and business in general.

Paper or Pixel? The Challenges Facing Publishing

 

By Darren E Laws

Debate is raging over the quality and price of eBooks compared to their paper companions in certain parts of the publishing industry. Is all of this internalising actually missing the point and is this a ruse by publishers still unsure of how to deal with digital publications? There are some in the industry who think eBooks will 'blow over', that they are merely a 'passing phase', and there are others already writing the obituary of paper books.

We have witnessed the painful recognition of the music industry as it struggled for the best part of a decade over a similar question. In fact there are many industries that have been transformed with the introduction of the computer and the Internet to a global market. There are some industries though which are also failing to move quickly - or quick enough - to either recognise the impact and benefits or changes that will affect their performance or existence.

TV, radio, newspapers, movies, in fact all forms of information and entertainment mediums are having to rethink their approach and how to generate income from the opportunities that spring forth. So to some degree it is understandable that publishing is struggling to cope. Some publishers understand and are now developing platforms and content that is exciting with value added content given to the reader as a bonus, while others will never grasp what it means, other than a perceived notion that digital is a threat that will erode its long established foothold on the market.

The truth as always will lie somewhere between, with those who are brave enough to walk with the pioneers reaping the early benefit; but if for one moment you think paper books will disappear overnight you are as mistaken as those who refuse to accept the onslaught of digital technology in publishing. The love affair of the reader and a paper book will not be replaced by Kindle's, eReader's, mobile phones or whatever surprise Moore's law will throw at us, not just yet at least. Reading a book on a plane or a beach or just before bed can all be achieved with a digital device, but somehow paper has an intrinsic bond which for the foreseeable future will not be replaced. How long that foreseeable future lasts is dependent on how consumers embrace technology. I guess we already know the answer to that if we look at the recent history of technological advancement over the past twenty years.

The bookstore of the very near future will also be a digital repository holding millions of titles which could be transferred to digital devices or printed on demand, there and then in the store; but the physical contact and thrill of picking a book up and flipping through the pages as we decide whether to buy a book or not is an emotional decision. Scanning through a digital catalogue is a more clinical decision and one where choosing a title is a process that has already to some degree been made. But there are no guarantees, when I was growing up our high streets were littered with record shops selling vinyl records at first and then making the transition to cassette and CD, there was also a boom time with the introduction of home computers and software shops. Around the same time home video rental stores were popping up everywhere. We never dreamed that there would no longer be a demand for the content sold in these stores. All of these stores have virtually disappeared now.

Whether our emotional bond with the printed page remains is questionable, because there is a new generation of reader growing up who may just prefer digital delivered content, and as the transition takes place it may become a seamless period which is in tandem with the decline of high street sales. This is why bookstores will also need to provide digital services to consumers, because if they don't then it is clear that Internet bookstores are already well placed to fill the gap on all fronts.

So the challenge facing publishing is how to balance the onset of untested technology and delivery platforms in terms of consumer response and what to do if that response achieves its potential. This is quite a challenge and a very exciting time to be in publishing.