The Book Standard is a new site from VNU and Nielsen’s Bookscan that utilizes Bookscan data in its coverage of the book industry. For more info click the release on page one.
This is of interest as Bookscan data is hard to come by unless you have a publisher account or see the occasional leaks on Drudge. The Book Standard site will allow access to many category bestseller lists for $9.95 per month — you can review the top three titles in each category for free.
Keep in mind though that Bookscan data does not include Amazon or the retail superstores such as Sams or Costco.
I was commiserating with an author today about how his publisher has published numerous books that overlap his core series title, and which ultimately cannabalize his sales in the process. This is a real problem with successful series. His publisher wants to increase the number of books sold overall and typically has very little concern with overlapping some established books as long as overall revenues increase.
Often this process leads to what we used to call the “frankenbook,” an edited conglomeration built from other books, with maybe some new original content thrown in, and with the authors paid a derivative royalty which is almost always much smaller, proportionally, to what the author earns from his own, standalone, title. The old Macmillan Computer Publishing was famous for this and even used the name on a few books. But other computer publishers have also tried this on occasion. For the most part, there is little protection for the author in this situation: with rare exceptions the publisher holds the right to use material in derivative works, and the publisher almost never agrees not to compete with an author, although every author is compelled to sign a non-compete agreement.
Some of this competition is inevitable with companies that grow fast and develop multiple lines, or buy competitors and merge lists, but when I see publishers start to push frankenbooks I feel as though they’ve hit their creative peak and don’t know what to do next.
Since I mentioned platform before, I thought I’d share this straight from a colleague’s email –
“By ‘platform,’ I mean a president of a company who can buy back books for resale, someone involved with a high-profile website where the book can be promoted, or a speaker who gives seminars (to a significant number of people) where books can be sold.”
When you’re talking about buy-backs to make a book work, it sounds like vanity publishing, and this is from one of the larger houses, but even then some books will break through. And I’d love to work with anyone who meets the criteria above, but it does illustrate that you often need much more than a great idea to make a book work.
From the Always On Network — Writer and entrepreneur Bernard Moon has some interesting thoughts about future developments in tech use based on his experiences in Korea
Money quote for future micropublishers:
“A recent survey by Peppercoin and Ipsos-Insight revealed that from October 2003 to September 2004, the number of Americans who bought something online for $2 or less grew from 4 million to 14 millionfigures that indicate Americans are growing more comfortable with micropayments. Expect this slice of the U.S. online market to explode well beyond iTunes.”
I have a garage full of parts that will work with this. I’m guessing we’ll get one soon.
I’ve always loved the energy of Macworld — maybe not so much in the days of Gil Amelio when everything semed so grim — but now especially it’s a great show with exciting product launches and a crowd that eats it up. As Michael Roney of Wiley noted, “You wouldn’t think that so much excitement represents only 2% of the market,” and he’s right. It’s a fanatical 2%.
The tech book publishers have to be thankful. I don’t have the statistics but I’m sure that Mac users buy more books than PC users, and they’re not buying the books necessarily because they’re having trouble, they buy them to do more with what they’ve got. And Apple keeps the process moving by continuing to introduce user friendly and fun products, along with the obligatory OS update every year or so. I can’t ever imagine that MS for instance will really control the home entertainment market, but Apple will take what it can and keep its devoted users happy and eager for more.
O’Reilly — with No Starch and its other partners, Peachpit, Wiley and Sybex all had booths this year. There may have been other publishers, but I missed them. Peachpit had their typical big store on the floor, and O’Reilly had a somewhat smaller selling space but a larger presentation area for ORA authors. Both Wiley and Sybex had smaller spaces, mostly for one on ones with authors and a display of books. What’s impressive over the last five years is that ORA has become such a quality Mac publisher, and Tim has done this very well, with the huge assistance of David Pogue.
I come home looking for more Mac authors, so if you know anyone who’s looking for an agent in this space, feel free to send them my way.
Over the holidays I read Susan Rabiner and Alfred Fortunato’s Thinking Like Your Editor: How To Write Serious Non-fiction and Get It Published, and I have to recommend it to anyone who plans to write serious non-fiction, especially for the proposal development tips.
Susan was an editor at Basic Books for many years and she’s now an agent in LA specializing in narrative non-fiction. Alfred is a freelance editor and writer, and her partner of many years. Here’s a key quote:
“A thin or scatter-shot proposal that depresses the size of the advance also triggers a depressed level of investment in advertising and marketing for the book down the line.”
This is going to be one of my mantras. It won’t impact the tech proposals I do as much as the one-off non-fiction. Tech publishing is built differently, from acquisition to sales and marketing — there are a few exceptions to this rule that I’ll write about later. Still, the writer with the right platform and the ability to prove that she can market the heck out of a book to her own community definitely has a better shot at a higher advance and a more pronounced publisher commitment to marketing and placement, even with a tech publisher.
Read this book if you want to write a proposal that will be seriously entertained by the bigger houses. Your proposal is more than a sales tool, it’s the template of the book you plan to write, and the key to understanding and targeting your audience.
I’ll be at MacWorld, Tuesday, January 11. Please send me an email if you plan to be at the show and would like to meet.
Today is the first day I’ve spent working as Fresh Books. I spent the last week tying up loose ends with Waterside Productions.
It’s a great feeling to have the sense that everything lies before me. I know that segments of the publishing industry are in the doldrums, but I’m confident that I can wrangle up a great list of books, and I’m excited about the new client contacts I’m making even today.
I will continue to represent computer and tech books, and though the numbers are down there are plenty of strong publishers and authors, and quite often the books we do are better than ever.
I will also rep business, lifestyle, and reference titles, and, though I plan to be extremely selective, I may front the odd novel. I’m especially looking for books on sustainable lifestyles, books on popular science (it’s the Centennial of Einstein’s year of breakthroughs — have you noticed all the Einstein books lately?), and books on health, fitness, and medicine that may appeal to the boomers.
Stay tuned to this space for more news about what I find. After 15 years and a great ride with one company, I am psyched to be doing my own thing.
