Beyond the Elements of Style

Selling to the New Age Market

Okay, I’m not really as lazy as the last couple of posts may make you think: but it seems that the past week for some reason has been filled with brilliant advice from colleagues that I just have to share. Here I’m quoting a post verbatim from one of my brothers in the National Writers Union (which, bizarrely enough, is also Local 49 of the UAW, but that’s a story for another time). Randy Peyser, who runs Author One Stop, has some advice for anyone out there who thinks she or he has the perfect manuscript on Wicca, astrology, the Tarot, or dowsing:

I run a national publishing consulting firm and shop manuscripts to all of the Mind/Body/Spirit publishers. Here’s what I can tell you about them:

While it is possible to shop directly to a publisher, you MUST have a very strong book proposal to accompany your manuscript — and, like anything, it helps if you have connections to people within that publishing house, especially to the acquisitions editors.

Here is more information you should know:

You must have a unique twist to your subject matter. No publisher is looking for material that has already been covered, and so much of the New Age thought/philosophy/techniques have been covered. That’s why Harper Collins, who used to be a major publisher of New Age books, rarely publishes them anymore. It wasn’t until The Secret that the MBS publishers started to really “rev” up again. Now there are a flood of Law of Attraction knock-offs on the market, but that phase will probably wear thin soon.

You had better have a very strong promotional plan and be out there promoting PRIOR to sending them your manuscript, because publishers are interested in authors who have eyeballs — in other words, those authors who are out in front of audiences where they are being seen continually. Likewise, the competition section of your proposal had better be strong, because otherwise publishers will know you didn’t do your homework.

I know the majority, if not all, of the Mind/Body/Spirit publishers. Never tell a publisher that you know you have a bestseller or that you know Oprah will want to interview you. They will see both of these statements as signs of an amateur.

While you don’t necessarily need an agent to approach many of the MBS publishers, you will want an agent or someone at the NWU to help you with your contract. I used an NWU contract advisor for my first book, which was published by a New Age publisher. That advisor was superb. She gave me eight hours of her time and went through every single detail, telling me what I should fight for and what rights I should not give away. That being said, if I had to do it over again, I would have hired a literary agent to negotiate the contract at an hourly rate, because I didn’t have the clout to get everything I wanted as a first-time author. If I’d had an agent working with me, I could have at least doubled my advance.

So, who are the few agents out there who accept New Age books? Anyone ever hear of Eckhert Tolle? I consistently shop manuscripts to Eckhert Tolle’s agent. So far, this agent has been willing to consider every client I’ve sent to him. My reputation is always on the line when I send something out, so a book has to be polished and a book proposal has to be exemplary before I will ever send it out to someone who can command the kind of advance that Tolle’s agent can command.

Then there’s Sylvia Brown’s agent, but she only takes manuscripts that she believes will get a high six or seven figure advance and you had better have the promotional plan in place to prove it.

There are a few other agents I work with who shop to MBS publishers and there are still other agents I hire to negotiate contracts when I’ve found a publisher for one of my clients. They will negotiate a contract for $50/hour and
have taken about five hours to do contracts for me in the past.

So, there you have it. I hope this letter does not come across as self-serving. It is truly my intention to provide information that helps those who publish in the Mind/Body/Spirit genre to have the success they desire.

Much of this is good advice that transcends genres. As you know, putting together the best possible book proposal and brilliant query letter, having a platform, and having a terrific manuscript are the keys to getting published anywhere, though perhaps particularly so in this niche area. Follow his advice and you’ll be … beyond the elements of style!

Checking Your Amazon Rank

It’s a sad fact of modern life, but most people, once published, spend an inordinate amount of time checking their book’s ranking on Amazon. I’ve done it. You’ve done it. We’ve all done it. We don’t necessarily know what it all means, mind you, but we do it anyway.

If you’d like to feed the obsession and have someone else keep up with the comparisons for you, then you might want to check out TitleZ, a website mysteriously still in its beta version (and therefore still free) that will help you navigate the complexities of Amazon ranking for your particular title.

Want to learn more about what it all means? Then check out this article, written by one of TitleZ’s developers (looking oddly like Harrison Ford, gotta love PhotoShop…) who gives the following bottom lines:

Bearing the above very much in mind, here’s a temperature gauge you can use to get an idea about a particular title’s success. The following numbers apply to average sales ranks over time:

• Less than 100: Best-seller. Author, publisher, agent are all getting rich
• 101-1000: Extremely good performer. Any publisher/author would be thrilled.
• 1001-10,000: Very successful book. A few of these can sustain a small publishing company.
• 10,001-50,000: A successful book by most industry standards.
• 50,001-100,000: Not bad.
• 100,000 - 500,000: Not good.
• 500,000 or more: Poor.

Keep in mind that books with average ranks above 100,000 may have performed much better before we started tracking them on TitleZ. However, books that launch with ranks above 100,000 are probably not considered successful from a publishing industry point of view. Of course, the book could be selling well through non-bookstore channels such as trade shows, speaking events, etc. In general, though, we’ve found that Amazon sales ranks provides a good indicator for how a title is doing throughout the book market as a whole.

Bear in mind, also, that Amazon isn’t everything. Write a good book, develop an aggressive marketing plan, and leave the counting to others.

If you can.

And then you’ll be .. beyond the elements of style!

What’s an Author To Do?

A colleague remarked to me the other day that he sees publishing going the way of the music business, with more and more “indies” appearing. He predicted that eventually there will be no conglomerates, no large publishing houses.

It’s a question being debated long and hard in a lot of venues, that’s for sure. I disagree with my colleague to some extent — what we’re seeing is more and more consolidation of the book industry (like many others — Beatrice Foods owns just about everything these days, doesn’t it?) and right now there are only really about seven publishers out there that matter. Oh, there are tons of other ways of getting one’s book out, and I think that that’s what my colleague is talking about. But there are some real differences between the music industry and the book industry that stand in the way of our doing what they did:

1. More and more musicians are finding that they do better just “giving” away their music: creating buzz on the net, making downloads easy, that sort of thing. Music and viral marketing were made for each other. It’s much harder to get that kind of buzz going about an author: you can’t hear two minutes of their work and decide that it’s cool.
2. Those same musicians are finding that the money is coming in in different ways, now that they’re giving away the downloads. Two major places where they’re generating income is in swag (shirts, posters, hats, jewelry, etc.) and concert tours. Neither of these is a viable money-maker even for a major author, much less anybody else.

So I don’t see that as a model. Things will change, mind you; people will hack the ebook readers and get books for free, no question about that, and we need to be ready for it (and not many really are, so many authors I know are crying that the sky is falling but not looking for creative solutions for shelter); but I think we need to find another model for it all.

And until then, the only way to get an endcap at Borders or Barnes & Noble is to pay for it, and only the Big Publishers can do that. Being in a period of transition is uncomfortable, but there’s part of me that’s hopeful: the world was never changed by people living in their comfort zones, and it seems to me that the future holds a lot of opportunities for authors — we just have to figure out how to seize them.

And then we’ll be … beyond the elements of style!

What’s in a Bestseller?

The algorithms are kept so secret as to make Google’s search terms an open book. What I’m talking about, of course, is how bestseller lists are devised and maintained. Who decides? Based on what? Every author wants to know; and anyone who claims to know is deluding him or herself.

Some authors choose to take matters into their own hands. Back when the New York Times bestseller list was based on sales alone, Jacqueline Susann bought enough copies of her new book, The Valley of the Dolls to fill her garage … and launch her to the top of the bestseller list, thus making the continued status into a self-fulfilling loop. Did the book deserve such status? Of course it didn’t; but that’s not the way the lists work.

As long as there are systems, there will be people gaming the systems.

We’re seeing a similar phenomenon now, with all the marketers shilling programs to send one’s book to the top of the Amazon bestseller list. It’s one of the few lists that can still be manipulated, and authors with enough contacts (usually marketing writers themselves) are following the plan of getting a vast number of people to purchase the book at the same time, thus catapaulting it to the top of the list for a precious fifteen seconds of fame, and thereafter claiming the title of bestselling author for themselves. It’s dishonest and manipulative, but it’s — at least as of this writing — still feasible.

Yet the list from the New York Times remains the most impressive and elusive of them all. And, as we learn from the Times’s own Clark Hoyt in this op-ed, it seems that the Times’s assessments are byzantine enough to put the mystery novels that grace its list to shame.

One of the first things I learned is that much of what the publishing world thinks it knows about the list is wrong or out of date. For example: The Book Review editor, Sam Tanenhaus, has nothing to do with compiling it, though it is published weekly in his section; it is handled by the news surveys department. The list isn’t tabulated from paper questionnaires sent to booksellers; it’s entirely computerized, after a recently completed two-year project. The roster of outlets surveyed is not adjusted only once every five years; it changes constantly.

The best route? Write a good book. No; write a great book. Market the hell out of it. Speak at libraries and church fairs and conferences. Seek out reviews from reputable sources and use them as part of your marketing. Leave the rest to the gods.

And then you’ll be … beyond the elements of style!

It’s So Mysterious …

I have to admit: it’s my favorite genre. In fact, I’d rather be curled up with a good mystery — preferably an English country-house murder, a la Dorothy Sayers — than do just about anything else.

And at a time when publishers are constantly shrinking their lists and new books remain on bookshop shelves for a mere 15 days before being returned, it’s heartening for me to know that I belong to a tribe whose appetite for mysteries is as insatiable as my own. There’s a thriving market for mystery and detective novels, which hopefully means that they will always be around for people like me to read.

According to Bowker’s Books In Print database, 5,580 new mystery and detective titles and editions were published in the U.S. in 2006. That’s a nine percent increase over 2005 and a 33% increase over 2002. The peak year for the category was 2004, when 5,715 new titles and editions were published.

How does that divide out amongst the various sub-genres that exist within the categry? Of 2006’s 5,580 new mystery and detective titles published …

• … 22% were mass market editions
• … 23% were hardcovers
• … 44% were trade paper editions
• … 13% were published for children and young adults
• … 37% were reviewed in at least one source monitored by Bowker
• … 7% appeared on at least one bestseller list monitored by Bowker

We have to see that as good news, both as readers and as writers. And it’s certainly a bunch of statistics … beyond the elements of style!

They Might Be Giants

(10 points for anyone old enough – or eccentric enough! – to still be listening to the musical duo of the same name!)

But this blog is about words, not music, and here’s the word on the latest and greatest in world publishers (with thanks to Lori Cates Hand, who shared them via her excellent blog, Publishing Careers): the Frankfort Book Fair, arguably the largest and most important book festival, has sent out the winners:

• Reed Elsevier (Reed Elsevier–UK/NL): 7.6 billion
• Pearson (Pearson plc–UK): 7.3 billion
• Thomson (Thomson Corp.–Canada) : 6.6 billion
• Bertelsmann (Bertelsmann AG–Germany) : 5.9 billion
• Wolters Kluwer (Wolters Kluwer–NL): 4.8 billion
• Hachette Livre (Lagardère–France) : 2.56 billion
• McGraw-Hill Education (The McGraw-Hill Cos.–US) : 2.52 billion
• Reader’s Digest (Reader’s Digest–US): 2.3 billion
• Scholastic Corp. (Scholastic–US): 2.2 billion
• De Agostini Editore (Gruppo De Agostini–Italy): unavailable

This list, as several knowledgeable people on one of my Internet discussion lists have pointed out, is already obsolete thanks to a few corporate mergers/purchases; but we can still draw a conclusion or two from it.

First, while those of us who live in the U.S. might sometimes feel that the center of the publishing world is New York City, it’s a good reminder that there’s a lot of world out there that doesn’t have much to do with the Avenue of the Americas.

That’s not to say that we should neglect our own publishers or our own book expos, and attending BEA (Book Expo America, which next year will be held in San Diego, California) is an experience that every writer should have at least once in his or her career.

But … it’s also time to remind ourselves that we do live in a global village, and to be more creative in our endeavors to have our voices heard. I visited the Robert Frost farm museum in Derry, New Hampshire, yesterday, and was interested to learn that the poet left his beloved New Hampshire and took his family to live in England for some time because he was unable to be published in the U.S. and found more receptive ears (and, presumably, pocketbooks) in Britain. Even then there was a recognition that one is not simply writing in a small parochial context.

The Internet is the first step toward seeing publishing in more global terms. And maybe, next year, traveling to Frankfort isn’t a bad idea, either.

Who knows? If the publishing world can come together in peace, can governments be far behind? That would surely be beyond the elements of style!

Goodnight, Sweet Prince

We’re on vacation this week, my husband, my two teenaged stepchildren, and me. The first twenty-four hours Jacob was lost to us, his nose firmly planted between the pages of J.K. Rowling’s latest; now it’s Anastasia’s turn.

Jacob is ineffably sad. It should never end, he contends; he, for one, would like to see what the elderly Harry Potter might do with magical dentures.

There’s a general sense, one gathers, of many devotees not wanting it to end. Over on Second Life, a whole role-playing group pretends to “be” Harry Potter & co., although it has to be said that that particular attempt appears to distinegrate rapidly into drama and nonsense.

But isn’t there something to be said for stories coming to an end? Despite postmodern literary meanderings, didn’t we all learn, at some point, that stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end? Those aren’t the arbutrary dictates of some nasty schoolmaster; they’re the tried-and-true conclusions of centuries of storytelling, from Gilgamesh onward.

It will be interesting to see what Rowling does next. It will be interesting to see if, in the years to come, Harry Potter is enduring enough to be granted a place next to Alice and Bilbo and Aslan in the children’s fantasy hall of fame. But in the meantime, won’t it be interesting to …

… talk about something else?...

And then we’ll all be … beyond the elements of style!

When Shouldn’t You Sign The Contract?

It’s an unconventional thought, but there are times when a writer or editor should not make a sale. When ethics becomes an issue for you, then you are forced to turn down certain clients or publications.

We’ve talked a lot about honesty, and here are some situations when honesty may be an issue with a sale:

• You don’t have the best solution for that client.
• The new business could harm the business of existing clients.
• The client asks you to engage in an unethical or dishonest practice.
• The client’s practices do not meet your standards for ethical behavior.

How about the issue of quality – of standing behind your service or product?

• The client makes unreasonable workload or pricing demands and it might not be worth what you could charge to work with them (this is an issue of the client’s quality).

• You won’t have enough time to do the job up to your normal standards.
• The client’s product is not up to your standards of acceptable quality.

While it may be counter-intuitive to turn down a sale, there are times when it is the right thing to do.

And then you’ll be … beyond the elements of style!

Book Expo America!

It’s hard to believe that it’s almost here: Book Expo America, also known simply as BEA, the largest and most important of all the annual book shows in the States — and on the world stage, second only to the Frankfort Book Festival (where most foreign rights get sold). This year BEA is in NYC (how’s that for symmetry?) and looks to be exciting from a number of points of view.

The first and most important is, of course, Booth 3148 — DreamTime Publishing’s booth! I know that Meg and Shelby will be staffing it, but I expect to spend some time there as well, talking to whomever will listen about our absolutely terrific series that present the “why-to” of our various activities and hobbies. Can’t wait to see the cool t-shirts!

It’s an amazing expo, filled with publishers giving out freebies (some people bring boxes and ship all the “stuff” that they gather up directly home), lectures, seminars, meetings, and party after party after party. I have more invitations to parties than I’ll *ever* have time to attend! Networking, selling, and learning, all clustered together into three very busy days.

I’m actually leaving on Sunday, so I won’t be there for all of BEA, as my flight out of Boston is that evening — I’m heading to Bucharest, Romania, for *another* book show/festival there, so I’ll be doing a lot of the same sort of thing for at least a week, along with some author appearances (both at the Bucharest Book Fair and on Romanian television). Pretty amazing week, all in all.

But back to Book Expo America … DreamTime’s been given a wonderfully *different* gift to raffle off — a weekend at a clothing-optional resort in Land O’Lakes, Florida. Ha! Take that, Simon & Schuster! Dream on, St. Martin’s! Don’t you wish *you* had that, HarperCollins? Okay, so I’m kidding, but seriously it’s always a good way to attract people to one’s booth and one’s books, by giving away something that no one else is giving away. And the more people who know about DreamTime Publishing, the better!

Book Expo America runs from June 1 - June 3, with some seminars and other activities in the week leading up to it — which is *next* week. I’ll be sure to post pictures here so you can all see our booth, our publisher and marketing director, and the eager attendees flocking to buy our books!

— Jeannette

What Sales Figures?

There was an interesting article in the L.A. Times last week about how publishers often hide the number of books that are sold.

In case you wonder why major publishers are less and less willing to take risks, the article noted that “we estimate that out of every 10 hardcover adult books, seven lose money, two break even and one is a hit.”

“The real problem with revealing sales numbers,” noted the article, “is that publishers put out too many books — and the vast majority sell poorly. Greco estimated that more than 200,000 titles were published last year, which averages out to 22 new books every hour. This is in addition to about 3.5 million already in print.”

There is an upside: the system allows small and medium publishers to quietly stay in business. Smaller publishers generally have 100% of titles in the break-even-to-profitable categories, so, while their unit costs are much higher (think up to 55% retail discounts, 15% wholesaler, 10% distributor), they make at least 5% on every copy sold after paying production costs.

The smaller publisher will also, almost always, have books in print for much longer periods. Sales may be far lower initially but they tend to grow slowly and then keep going for many years.

There are hundreds of small publishers who have been in business for years. They’ll have never claimed huge sales or paid dramatic advances, but they do pay authors.

So when you’re shopping your books, don’t feel that you need to aim for Random House or HarperCollins or Penguin: a smaller publisher might mean better shelf-life and better profitability in the end.

And that will bring you … way beyond the elements of style!