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June 28, 2006
How not to find an agent, part 2
You'd think these tips would be obvious but both came up for me today.
1) Please use only one email address, preferably something that sounds professional, ala "yourname(at)yourIsp.com." It looks bad if your email address keeps changing, and maybe even worse if your preferred email is "hotmama(at)hotmail.com. Try not to confuse prospective agents or publishers first thing out the gate.
Use the same sort of email address you would use if you were applying for a loan. You want people to take you seriously, right?
2) If you're sending equeries to multiple agents or publishers, please use common sense and add their addresses to your spam blocker ahead of time.
I'm sorry but I won't fill out the form online just to tell you I'm passing on your idea. And if I'm on the fence, having to jump through hoops will definitely kill any buzz I have for your project.
Posted by matt at 11:40 AM | Comments (0)
June 26, 2006
Five reasons I haven't responded to your Bookblaster equery
I'm entirely okay with equeries.
Feel free to email me a query any day of the week and I'll get back to you pretty quickly, though usually with a no, I'm afraid.
That's our siren song, you can hear agents in the distance whispering "it's not a good fit for me, perhaps another agent will feel differently..."
But if you Bookblast me, you won't hear even my no. Here's why --
1) You just sent an email to hundreds of agents, meaning
2) you have no clue who you're submitting to, meaning
3) you're not willing to do the research yourself to find an appropriate agent for your work, meaning
4) you're unlikely to find an agent who gives a damn what you're writing about, meaning
5) I'm not going to take the time to send you a personal email either, meaning,
special bonus #6) you've probably just wasted $95.
Hey, Writer Beware blogged about this earlier this year.
I think it's great that writers can use the web to find an agent. Our contact info and preferences litter the web, from Everyone Who's Anyone, to Preditors and Editors, to Agent Query. Best of all is probably Publisher's Marketplace.
Lots of these sites are free. My advice is to use them.
Posted by matt at 8:23 AM | Comments (1)
June 22, 2006
The Unconference for Dummies Authors has a web-site
The Unconference for Dummies Authors.
Fun idea. It will be great if they can generate some media for the authors in attendance.
I'm speaking Saturday, November 4, from 1:15 to 2:15. I'm to explain my "services and answer author questions."
I'm looking forward to it, I'm born to schmooze. Unfortunately, I'm just there for the day as we'll have a new arrival here and my "services" will be required at home.
Posted by matt at 8:09 AM | Comments (0)
June 21, 2006
How the "net generation" learns
via Publisher's Lunch, here's an interesting article summarizing the recent Association of American University Presses conference in New Orleans.
Textbook publishers have been struggling more than most in light of a robust used textbook market, and in being dependent on the leading edge of "net generation" learners who are increasingly used to learning online and expect information for free.
Plenty of money quotes here about this new audience. It's worth reading.
Posted by matt at 7:31 AM | Comments (0)
June 20, 2006
Client news: Marketing Made Easy, by Kevin Epstein
I'm pleased to announce the publication of Fresh Books client Kevin Epstein's first book Marketing Made Easy, which has just been released by Entrepreneur Press.
Sometimes a client comes along who's a rock star from the get-go, and Kevin really fits the bill. You should check out his new blog, StupidMarketing, for all sorts of marketing advice.
My favorite take-away from Kevin's book --
Consider the number of great discoveries that were made by mistake -- penicillin, Post-It brand notes, and Coca Cola all originated because of an error. As the entrepreneur, the final outcome of any situation often rests in your hands. So when it all seems to be going wrong, relax; take a deep breath, ask what the situation lets you provide to customers, and dive in.
Posted by matt at 8:32 AM | Comments (0)
June 14, 2006
Scholastic Kids and Family Reading Report
Scholastic Books and Yankelovich have released a study on reading trends among kids and families.
This is important reading for anyone who wonders about the future generations of readers. You can find the pdf and the press release linked here.
Critical takeways:
While more than 40% of "kids ages 5-8 are high frequency readers," that drops to "29% among kids aged 9-11." (High frequency readers read every day)
"Children of high frequency reading parents are more likely than other youth to regularly engage in reading for fun."
Age 8 seems the critical drop-off point, according to the study.
I don't know what the larger solution is but I come from a reading family where books were something like our religion, and for me access was one of the main drivers of my reading habit. That meant lots of trips to the library, and lots of books all over the house, and time spent quietly reading as a family.
Today that somehow seems quaint and old-fashioned but my fondest memories of growing up include scenes of sitting around and reading with my parents.
The main point of the study is that parents can set a better example, Read every day for pleasure yourself and you'll teach your children the importance of a good reading habit.
Posted by matt at 7:34 AM | Comments (0)
June 9, 2006
Pardon me, my gravitas is showing
Andersen Cooper says ""In the TV news business, gray equals gravitas. In fact, in just about any line of work being prematurely gray is an advantage."
I'm ready for my close-up ;-)
Posted by matt at 7:47 AM | Comments (0)
June 7, 2006
Call for submissions: romantic camping stories
A client is writing a book that will include short romantic camping stories (think sidebar length). The book will be published next year by Wilderness Press, and although there's no payment for the short stories, she'd be happy to send you a copy of the finished book. If you're interested or know someone who might like to share a funny camping story, please feel free to share her call for submissions, below:
I’m putting together a new book that looks at the joys and challenges of camping as a couple, and I need your help! I would like you to share your experiences and advice in the following areas:
• Sexy, funny and/or romantic stories of things you have done or seen on camping trips together. (Your names will not be used in the book, so don’t worry about your mother finding out what you did in the woods.) Just a few paragraphs long is ideal. Tell me about the time you tried to do it in a canoe, or the way your partner always rubs your shoulders after a long hike, or how he popped the question at the top of a mountain.
• Tips and advice on camping as a couple – making decisions together, splitting up the work, dealing with size and skill differences etc.
• The best places you’ve gone camping together – most romantic, best scenery etc.
• The places you’d love to camp if you had the time and money to get there.
• Your best camping recipes for two.
Please send your contributions to me at loveinatent@hotmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you, and I thank you for sharing.
Posted by matt at 10:17 AM | Comments (0)
Client news and notes
I'm extremely pleased to announce the publication of Mike Fine's Canoeing and Kayaking in Utah: A Complete Guide to Paddling Utah's Lakes, Reservoirs & Rivers, which was just published by Countryman Press. This was one of the first books I sold after I went out on my own last year, and I've come to love the category. Congrats, Mike!
Congrats also to writing duo and Fresh Books clients Michele Davis and Jon Philips on the publication of Learning PHP and MySQL from O'Reilly Media. Thanks for working with me.
Posted by matt at 8:02 AM | Comments (0)
June 6, 2006
Author Marketing at the Average Joe Blog
Joe Wikert had an interesting post yesterday, Author Marketing.
Recently Joe noted the obviously effective and concentrated online marketing plan for The AdSense Code, by Joel Comm, which rose from 12,000 at Amazon to the top few spots in the space of a day, a meteoric rise unusual for any tech title (and a tide which seemed to lift other boats as well, including a title I rep, Google Advertising Tools: Cashing in with AdSense, AdWords, and the Google APIs, by Harold Davis, which simultaneously rose to the top ten in the computer and internet category).
Joe talked to Joel and cracked his marketing code (sorry!), which turned out to be a blend of co-marketing and sponsored "add-on" content (e-zines for one). Joe writes --
"For example, let’s say you’re writing a book about Excel. Maybe I’ve got a small business selling Excel add-on’s. If I offer up my mailing list and a free piece of my core product, I could be a sponsor for your book. Gather enough of these sponsors and you suddenly have a completely new value proposition for your book: “Buy my book this week on Amazon and you’ll get over $300 in third-party Excel add-on’s."
It's common to license demo-ware, time-expired software, etc. for books but we rarely then ask for an email blast campaign or multi-partner co-marketing plan on top of it. Based on Joel Comm's success, it might be a good idea to coordinate such a program in any book that features value-add bundles. I know I'm going to try it with a book I'm working on right now. It's a great idea. The only caution I have is about certain "pay for play" scenarios where good advice might be trumped by better marketing -- i.e., I don't like your product but boy do you have a great email list and maybe I'll partner with you anyways.
Either way, you have to deal with this sort of third party marketing while you write the book, you have to plan ahead.
Of course this sort of software "add-on" is somewhat unique to the tech publishing industry, but you might be able to bundle coupons, special offers, online memberships, in a variety of books.
In some cases the book is just the come-on to the extra content: look at what Kevin Trudeau did with his book, Natural Cures They Don't Want You To Know About, offering limited memberships to his web-site as an "add-on." You don't spend ten million dollars marketing a book unless the book is just the tip of the iceberg. And although Kevin is somewhat controversial it's worth noting that other well respected Alternative Health authors also have a robust online presence, from Deepak Chopra to Andrew Weil.
Another point of interest to me, Morgan James seems* to be one of the newer hybrid publishers, a sort of cross between POD and more hands-on self-publishing consultant. Here's a link to a recent PW article on hybrids, Link, and here's the "About Morgan James" page, Link.
Morgan James calls their model the "Entrepreneurial Publishing Model" -- and they've trademarked it :-). I'd be curious to learn what sort of brick and mortar success they've had. They say --
"We actively work with our authors to help them not only maximize revenue from their book royalties, but also build new business and increase their revenue substantially through follow-on sales to their readers."
That sounds cool. And (or but)--
"We've also set up a number of imprints, like Knowledge Exchange Press, where authors can republish (and customize as they wish) books that are in the public domain. No other publisher is actively offering turnkey publishing packages like this, to our knowledge."
That sounds like pretty much standard POD. What other publisher talks about "turnkey publishing packages?"
*I've written to them to learn what I can about their business. I'll report back.
Update
I had a nice long talk with David Hancock at Morgan James, and it does sound to me like this is something of a hybrid model: no advances but reasonably high royalties; they may use offset printing on first runs but will probably replenish the channel with print on demand; they use Ingram Publishing Services for distribution; and they have what they call an author-centered approach: i.e., the author retains the rights to resell the project to another publisher, and retains audio, and other subsidiary rights. He re-iterated that they like to call their model "entrepreneurial publishing," which, as far as I can tell, boils down to coaching the author to generate as many leads and direct sales opportunities as possible. In all he sounds like he has a reasonable plan, and this sort of publishing may work well for projects where the author has a strong platform and sales channel, or where an author wants to control the rights to his or her book. And that seems to be their focus: business, finance and related self-help. Their author list confirms this, including folks like Jay Conrad Levinson and Tony Alessandro. It's important to note that these authors have great platforms. They tour and speak constantly, and they have the experience and pedigree to function as a sort of "co-publisher."
Posted by matt at 7:49 AM | Comments (0)
June 5, 2006
Book proposal faux pas, un-sept
Did you know the plural of faux pas is spelled the same but pronounced "foe pause?"
I'm overdue on cataloging the violence done to good ideas in non-fiction book proposals, so I figured I'd add a few tips and tricks to the catalogue and maybe learn to count to 100 in French while I'm at it. If my advice sounds snarky, I'm just copying you know who.
un - Please don't tell your editor or agent that the market for your book is "everyone." Last I heard, everyone doesn't even read, and I know from personal experience that everyone doesn't watch Oprah, and editors don't really care that everyone you've talked to just loves your idea.
Instead, try to be specific about your market and your reach. Good: Fly fishermen spend $500 of their disposable income each year on equipment, flies, and books. Better: 15,000 fly fishermen read my blog. Best: 30,000 fly fishermen belong to my email newsletter and 20,000 bought my last book.
deux - "Oh, maybe not everyone but certainly everyone in the 90210 will buy my book," Sorry, it ain't gonna happen and you're only going to irritate whoever is reading your proposal. Most often that's an instant no. Same thing goes for "every Mac user," "every fly fishermen," and just about every "every" you can list up to and including every AA member or evangelical end-timer. Be realistic. Study the numbers of some other bestsellers.
trois - Here's one I see all the time: "This book will sell like gangbusters if it's on the counter next to the register."
Sure it will. That's why you've seen some publishers make an entire business out of small point-of-purchase books. But it's not as easy as all that: how much better would your book sell than someone else's? And how much money is your publisher willing to pay for that real estate? Because your publisher will have to pay for that display "dump" and space rental, and/or for co-op advertising in exchange for a window display.
March is one of my favorite months because I know for sure that B&N, Borders, and even some independents will stock some of my "for Dummies" books stacked on a table right inside the front door, because the publisher has paid for this promo (Dummies month) for more than ten years now, and worked hard with its booksellers to make it a successful promotion every year. Shelving doesn't happen by accident.
quatre - RBGS, Another one I see more than you'd think. Really Big Google Stats.
Google statistics are are often meaningless. Model Airplane Plans return 23 million hits on Google. Heck, Heart Attack Prevention only brings up 13 million or so hits. Matt Wagner brings up over 8 million pages, and that's cheating because my famous namesake, Matt Wagner, the comic book artist, eats up a lot of space.
More targeted searches, or Google Trends, for instance, might provide some interesting statistics, especially with tech topics. For instance, check out the Google trends for Ajax.
cinq - A book proposal is not a book report. Avoid boring overviews, avoid passive voice. Don't start a string of five sentences in a row with "this book." I don't want to hear that "This book will examine the business of divorce in America. This book will help the reader crack the legal code...." Be direct and original, "From the therapist's couch to the courthouse, divorce is big business in America. The Divorce Code will help readers crack the code and help save them time, money and self-respect."
It's okay to refer to the book as Article (da book, dis book, dat book) but do it repeatedly and your reader will fall asleep. Agents and editors are your first readers. Don't bore them.
six - Marketing folderol does not equal information... Breathlessness is not effective sales copy...Ellipses don't put me on the edge of my seat...
sept - Use one font. Please. Unless maybe you're a crackerjack book designer or have one on staff, please refrain from using multiple fonts or underlining, italicizing and bolding every important word. It's okay to stress some points, but moderation is key.
Okay, I only got to sept. And I don' t have a clue on how to pronounce it. Still, that's a start. I'll make this a category of its own and maybe someday I'll make it to one hundred -- that's cent in French.
Posted by matt at 9:52 AM | Comments (0)
June 1, 2006
BookExpo Podcasts
Via The Book Standard, get your Book Expo of America Podcasts here.
I'm listening to John Updike's talk.
I've been to BEA 8 or 9 times but I've never sat in on one of the bookseller breakfasts! Very cool.
Posted by matt at 2:21 PM | Comments (0)