Publishers are bizarrely hands-off when it comes to talking about their products.

If there’s one thing we know about today’s online market, it is that, collectively, they do not respond well to packaged marketing pitches or the absurdly inauthentic public relations voice. So many publishers treat the copy on their websites like it exists in a sterile environment…where is the enthusiasm about books?

Just as authors need to better market themselves and their books, so do publishers. While the audience for a publisher website is diverse — authors, booksellers, journalists, agents, readers, and more — talking about books on your website the same way you talk about books in your catalog simply isn’t cutting it. In printed material, you have various constraints. On the web, you have the ability to do something special: tell the world what excites you, the publisher, about a particular book.

I was partially joking when I titled this post, but realize that while blogging isn’t a necessity, the type of writing that makes good blogs so enticing is exactly the type of writing publishers can use to convey excitement and information about their books to potential customers. If “blogging” can help you throw off the corporate chains and lead to a more natural, casual, exciting discussion about your books, then call it blogging.

All I’m asking is that publishers join the conversation — because, you know, the only thing more fun than reading books is talking about them.

By way of example, I bring you the St. Martin’s Press page for Janet Evanovich’s Fearless Fourteen (as is typical, I chose the first publisher to pop into my head and the first book I saw). Clicking through brought me to a rather soulless page, a corporate approach to book information. I realize that publishers don’t want to compete with retailers, but c’mon, you all have invested tons of money in search engine optimization. Your website is a top result for many books and authors; why not make the experience about the book and why it should be read?

I don’t want to be hard on St. Martin’s — they’ve done a good job with their website. It’s fast with a nice layout. Book pages have links to fun stuff like excerpts and audio and previews. I like that related titles are connected and the use of categories. It’s just that the entire package feels sterile at a time when the intended audience (or one of the intended audiences) crave authentic voices.

Contrast comes when you look at Simon & Schuster’s page for Judy Blume’s Forever. While, again the publisher’s voice is absent, there is thread of reader comments about this title. Granted, it’s a book geared toward teenage girls — and when teenage girls are excited by a book, they like to talk about it — but there’s a sense of excitement about this story. And there’s a bit of disappointment as well (because the book doesn’t end in a way some readers would want).

Publishers, for reasons known only to them, are bizarrely hands-off when it comes to talking about their products. Sure, you get the occasional enthusiastic comment at a conference or during an interview, but the approach is more “we love all our children equally”…so we won’t talk about any of them. In the greater conversation about books, the publisher’s voice — the enthusiasm that propelled the acquisition of a book and the subsequent investment in getting it to readers — is so very much on message that it might as well be silent.

While there is no way for publishers to control the message about their books — the discussion is happening in too many places on too many levels — publishers can participate in more proactive ways. Rather than worrying about the future of reading, why not use today’s technology to entice readers and remind yourselves why you joined this business in the first place?

The post Why Publishers Should Blog appeared first on Booksquare.

That room should have been packed to the gills.

At this year’s Book Expo, held in unbelievably gorgeous Los Angeles — city of beautiful weather and clear skies (yes, the skies are clear) — the educational sessions on Thursday were non-stop Web 2.0, and, as attendees left their luggage and hit the Convention Center, increasingly packed with people eager to learn how they could use online activities to grow their business.

No, it’s not too late, but, man, it’s time for some serious education. Some of the panels were clearly too broad, filled with far more new concepts than the crowd could absorb (Twitter? I just got the Facebook, and what do I do with that?). Some of the panels were too short — a panel on publicity opportunities in the Web 2.0 world could have been an all-day seminar…and not comprehensive enough.

Since I’m technically supposed to be there right now (thank you Laurie Viera Rigler and husband for a great, late dinner!), I’ll leave you with a few key takeaways and a promise to revisit these ideas in other posts:

• Experiment – The cost of entry into most of these ventures is low, so it’s worth your time and effort to test new ideas, to get a little wild. You never know what’s going to work.
• Resources – Yeah, I just said the cost was low, but ain’t nothin’ free in this world. The future of marketing and reaching readers is all about building and sustaining community. You go to them and you listen to them and you give yourself to them. This takes time. Figure out how you’re going to work this interaction into your schedule. Doesn’t have to be a lot of time, but it does have to be some genuine time.
• Play to your strengths – Huh? What strengths? Whether it’s a book, author, major corporate entity, or bookstore, what methods of communication do you do best? The experimenting you’re doing after reading takeaway one should be giving you idea about what you like and what you really loathe (and don’t confuse loathing with not being good at it!). It could be a mix of approaches — actually it will be a mix of approaches — but if something is clearly wrong for you or your work, then don’t do it.

  Your dislike for the process will shine like an ugly beacon and the audience you’re trying to woo will feel your inauthenticity and turn away.

Now the team if off for a day of fun and conversation.

[tags]book expo america, book expo america 2008, bea, bea 2008, web 2.0, marketing, publishing, books[/tags]

The post BEA 2008 – Basic Web 2.0 Takeaways appeared first on Booksquare.

Why should this be baffling? If writers wanted to be marketers, presumably they would have become. . .marketers. Instead they chose to be writers, presuming that marketing was the job of publishers.

If one wants to be a “writer” and just write, that is his or her prerogative, but once becomes a published “author”, then you’re moving from the world of art to the world of commerce. Part of the job of the author is to sell books; I am not convinced there was ever an age when publishers put all manner of effort into selling books — and selling books is very much different from selling authors — but it takes thirty seconds in a bookstore to know that a lot of effort is required to rise above the noise.

Some authors might very well limp along without an active marketing strategy, but reality is that you have to sell certain numbers to earn that next contract (there are some, sure, who skate in life, but publishing is a dirty business, and if you don’t meet targets, you don’t win). Self-published authors have to market even harder. If you want someone to read what you’ve written, you have to alert them to the fact that the words exist. I can write endless words (and have), but the moment I deem something publishable and send it off to the world, my relationship with that text changes.

Successful authors engage in active marketing. They get it. It might not be natural, but it’s part of the job, just as writing books is part of the job. Signings, book tours, media appearances, begging for reviews. Authors who get glowing ”New York Times” reviews still find themselves knocking on doors, trying to get their names out. A publisher might give you four weeks of love; after that, what?, your book is dog meat? You don’t get to sell more books?

You’ll note that I distinguished between the book and the author above. The book is that point in time thing, the product being pushed right now (yeah, this is why I so deliberately separate the writing job from the author job) while the author is an entity requiring ongoing effort. The publisher helps to achieve its own goals by publishing a single book (or books, should you be lucky enough to get a multi-book deal) while the author is responsible for the care and feeding of an entire career.

It is peculiar that some believe that authors should be exempt from marketing themselves. It’s expected for musicians — who have a similar relationship with their record labels (yeah, still call them records) — they book tours and sell merchandise. Yes, all obvious business differences are duly noted. While the labels are trying to get a piece of the action, musicians realize that they need to engage in marketing to be successful. Visual artists set up shows; nobody blinks when a photographer sets up an exhibit at a gallery. To say “this is not my job” is to say “well, you know, I’m not really serious about my career.”

It’s not crude capitalism to want to sell your work — for so many writers, this is the fulfillment of their dreams and goals. I’m not going to pull out the tired Johnson quote, because I agree with the sentiment but disagree with the frequent interpretation of it, but wanting to make a living from what you love (and sometimes loathe) doing is not a bad thing.

But to make that living, you have to sell books.

Green sees the need for author-initiated marketing as a failure of capitalism, and while I would take an even harsher view than his when it comes to the failures of modern publishing (and an even harsher view of investors who are so “now” focused that they don’t see sustainability as a business model), I do not agree that taking on the mantel of marketing is “cheerfully” giving in to this. This what authors do. Look at successful authors from all genres — how many are crossing their fingers and hoping for magic beans?

Take advantage of everything your publisher offers and demand even more, but do not cede your career, your image, your future to an entity that views your work as a product in a line of products. Nobody cares more about your future than you do, and if you’re wanting to be precious about your art, then you’re going to be one of those people who grows bitter because you never had a chance. The perfect world where authors don’t market is a bit like a heaven where all the streets are lined with gold and all the lawns are perfectly green and we’re all our most beautiful selves.

I would love to live in a world where writers did just writing and publishers did everything else, but even as I imagine this dream world, one I like, I still see the author engaged in marketing. As a stakeholder in the success of your book — you’ve written this because you have something to say and you certainly want someone to read it — it’s incumbent upon you to make sure you’re reaching the right audience.

Writing a book is art, publishing one is business. Writers don’t like to think this way — I am reminded of would-be first-time author who, prior to meeting with an agent, declared, “I refuse to change a single word. I don’t care.” And I thought, “Good lucky getting published, honey.” — but successful authors tend to be more practical souls.

All entertainment media is changing. Book people, even me, like to see books, reading as somehow different, special, above it all. No, we’re not. Since I’m from Venus (truly, ask my Mom who still lives there, one block down from Mercury), I’ll let Dan Green remain on Earth. But out here in the greater universe, authors engage in active marketing of their work and their careers. Because they care.

The post Life On Venus: Authors Do Market appeared first on Booksquare.

And it totally works. For J.D. Salinger and Thomas Pynchon. Sometimes publishers try to relive the Salinger/Pynchon magic (that whole John Twelve Hawks disaster comes to mind), but, well, it’s not wise to view outliers as models for success. Or maybe you can view them that way, but don’t go putting your career on the line with the Salinger model. I mean, even Thomas Pynchon appeared on The Simpsons.

In publishing, there are two divergent-yet-complementary forces: publishers and authors (there are other forces, but we don’t have all day). Publishers are book focused; authors are author focused, with occasional flashes of book focus. The former functions in the now; the latter works on a more wholistic level (yes, I know, but I prefer this spelling in this context). Publishers buttress careers, authors have careers.

I am baffled and amazed by authors who do not see marketing as part of their jobs. First off, is there really a job description for authors? If so, please forward to me as I have a few holes in my resume and I’m too lazy to do the work myself. Second, what planet are you living on? Very, very few authors have the luxury of not engaging in marketing. And even they have to do talk show appearances or “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me”.

While, sure, there are some readers out there eagerly awaiting your next book — and congratulations for that! — the truth of the matter is that people, real people, are busy. Your publisher is juggling hundreds, maybe thousands of authors. Understandably, said publisher isn’t actively engaged in promoting you all the time (though publishers like HarperCollins and Harlequin are building tools to help you help yourself). Also, shocking as it sounds, some authors write for more than one house.

How is a poor reader supposed to keep up?

All roles in entertainment media are changing, and authors, particularly, need to switch from a book-oriented focus to a career-oriented focus. This involves little things like updating your website between books (please, please, please don’t have two-year old content on your home page!). Blogging, if you’re so inclined. Writing articles that are read by your existing and future fan base. Using social media for good (as opposed to evil). Keeping your name in the game even when you’re not actively selling something, except your backlist.

This is the author as a business, as opposed to the writer as a creative being. Note the distinction. You’re wearing two hats. One might fit uncomfortably until you realize that marketing is your job. Marketing might be a distraction for a writer, but it’s essential if you’re an author.

More, later. You’ve been warned.

The post Not A Formula For Success appeared first on Booksquare.

There is a sense that much of what’s happening online when it comes to social networking is being made up as it goes along. Fair enough. Everyone grasps the importance of reaching out and making connections; it’s the who, what, why, when, where, and how of social networking that remains in flux. This is good, this is bad, this means you need to make a lot of effort without clear payoff.

The marketing potential of social networking remains blurry. Today’s online users don’t like to be marketed “to”. Once upon a time, there was this top-down approach to selling to consumers. If your marketing department still believes that’s the case, fire the whole lot. The sellers have lost control of the conversation…and attempts to regain the upper hand have fallen flat. Very, very flat.

Those who are living and working online require another new approach: authenticity. Honest, open discussion. Nothing turns off a potential customer like constant happy sunshine talk. In today’s world, where two people who didn’t attend a particular conference session can casually discuss the train wreck that ensued — no names mentioned, no specifics shared, but clear communication happening — it’s clear that bad news gets around very quickly.

Of course you want to protect your brand, defend your brand, put a smiley face on your brand. Go for it, dude, but the real conversation is happening elsewhere and it’s not pretty. Failing to acknowledge criticism in a timely, constructive manner can kill you.

So what steps can publishers take to help themselves? First, everyone from the top of the company to the mailroom needs to have serious training in online media. This should range from the latest cool tools to etiquette. Include search and commenting as well. Create a set of protocols to be followed by everyone — and then empower more members of your company to reach out and talk to your customers.

(Yes, your marketing people are having a cow; the last thing they want is for you to develop close relationships with the people who buy and read your books…what if you go off message?)

If your editorial team isn’t already using Google Alerts to track authors and books, that’s step two. In addition to following your company and yourselves, you need to know what’s being said about your products. Then, you need to join the conversation. Share your enthusiasm for the book, consider criticisms of the book. Talk to the people who are buying what you’re selling. Get to know them. They might surprise you.

You might surprise them.

Part of the problem with the online book culture is the disconnect between the extremes in the food chain. This isn’t your mother’s publishing industry. Times have changed, roles have changed. Why are you still keeping your distance from readers?

More thoughts later.

The post The Art of Conversation appeared first on Booksquare.

There is no such thing as a blogging imperative

Scott Karp, during the “Blogs as Books, Books as Blogs” session, made a comment that, sadly, was overshadowed by the bizarre twists and turns the discussion took. As a starting point, I want to highlight what he said: blogging systems are basically content management systems. Or, if you will, a blogging system — WordPress, TypePad/MovableType, Blogger — is an efficient way to publish content on the Web. Keep this thought in mind.

In the minds of many, however, blogging is this messy, post every day, create bad content sort of enterprise. Yes, blogging — weblogs — started life as a sort of online diary, but, wow, if you’re still seeing blogs in that way, I have to introduce you to the 21st century. Blogging is so much more. This is that good, bad, ugly, and misunderstood thing.

There is much angst, sturm, and whatnot about blogging. Authors say, “Everyone else is doing it, so should I.” Publishers hold meetings where someone says, “We really need to start a blog.” Booksellers think, “Maybe I should, but how?”

There is no such thing as a blogging imperative. In fact, after long consideration, I believe that most authors should not blog, especially if they’re accepting the messy diarist definition of blogging. Sad truth: most people are not good at writing about daily trials and tribulations with wit, verve, and voice. It’s hard work, and for many authors, it’s the opposite of what they prefer to write. Good blogging is good writing, but not everyone can or should do it.

Sharp readers will immediately seize upon my apparent contradiction. Surely I have been on the blogging stump for years.

No contradiction here — I have never been in favor of bad blogging. I think a poorly written and executed blog reflects very badly on authors. Lordy, if I can’t read your blog without cringing, there’s no way I’m going to dip into your fiction. Those authors who move fluidly between the short-form writing of blogs and long-form fiction are rare and to be celebrated. Champagne for all!

So we have this weird middle ground where blogs are bad but blogging systems are good. This is where Scott Karp was headed and gets back to my favorite aphorism: the blog is not the territory. Or, maybe, not all blogs are the same. Rather than jumping desperately onto the blogging bandwagon, I think authors and publishers and booksellers should be looking at the features these systems offer and using them to maximize their online presence. Stop with the bad blogging and start with the good blogging.

I have the dubious privilege of visiting a lot of author websites on a regular basis. As with author blogs, the average author-oriented website is very bad. Perhaps this is the nature of the beast. I like to think not, but time has not proven me wrong. For a large group of authors, there is a false attempt to create a homey, cozy atmosphere, a sense that there you are visiting their virtual homes (I am, by the way, declaring a ban on American authors who invite me to sit down and have a “cuppa” while I’m cruising through their websites).

The problem is these sites are often the least hospitable venues on the planet (what does that say about your physical home, you have to ask). Horrible, ugly design. Out-of-date content. Information that is remarkably uninformative — my gosh, is it so hard for authors to provide more depth and thought about their books? If I wanted a regurgitation of cover copy, I might as well hang out at Amazon.

Blogging systems such as WordPress allow people to create a mix of static pages, dynamic content (posts or the ear-cringing “blogs”), content containers (places on a page that house specific content), and — hold your excitement — well-designed sites. And I’m just typing off the top of my head. These systems offer so much and are so sadly underutilized.

Focusing still on authors (the other groups, while worthy of my time and love, different needs), you can see how a good back-end system gives you the ability to add and change content on your website without a whole lot of technical skill (and, bonus!, no need to pay a third party to manage minor site updates. Man, I hate that there are authors out there who pay good money to have a site with X-number of “pages” or to add information about a new release. Old-fashioned web development required a certain level of technical expertise. New-fashioned web technologies mask the HTML-goobledygook.

Having a good system to manage the content creates a lovely sort of flexibility for authors. So you’re just wanting to post brief items, a few sentences worth. Go for it. Maybe you are a daily diarist. If you are, then you are. Don’t fight your nature. If you’re the type who think essays are just nifty, nobody’s stopping you from a longer-form writing. And if you want to go even longer than the point where you move past essay into a paper, indulge.

Or mix it up. Stop thinking of blogs as this one thing and start thinking of blogs as the tool you need to accomplish your goals. It’s your career, you know, and you have the power to make sure you’re creating the right impression when people seek and find you.

* – Probably a lie, but let’s pretend.

The post Blogging In The 21st Century appeared first on Booksquare.

Omigosh, you’re saying, cellphone? Books? Hello? Apples, oranges, dropped calls, excessive fees, itty bitty screens.

Okay, the following is mostly fantasy. But fantasy based on solid science. As we know it*. In addition to an exclusive deal with Cingular (‘nother story, ‘nother day), the iPhone does stuff like surf the web, play media files, and make phone calls (a key feature in a phone). The iPhone also features a surprisingly large screen, and has the ability to automatically change the screen orientation when a user turns it sideways. At 3.5 inches it seems suspiciously perfect for reading.

Our technology expert informs us that iPhone runs on Mac OSX (the same OSX that can generate and read PDF files at the drop of a hat) and can connect to the Internet using any standard WiFi network. As in, you can connect to your own or other open wireless networks, thereby bypassing Cingular’s expensive data transfer fees. You can freely roam the web using a special version of the Safari browser. Sure, it’s not our browser of choice, but let’s remember that when we’re talking about the future of the world, compromises must be made.

We’ve noted in posts past that that an unheralded feature of the iTunes store is the ability to serve up PDF files. Go back and read that sentence again because one key element of the iPhone is its tight integration with iTunes (in retrospect, woefully misnamed). See, if you can browse the web and use iTunes, you can, theoretically, download PDF files. Not a heralded feature, but we have faith in Steve Jobs and his design team.

In other words, you can read lengthy texts. Articles. Short stories. Novellas. Books. Compendiums. On your cell phone/miniature computer/portable media player/killer device.

Setting aside the comfort issues, the iPhone could either kill the nascent e-reader business or take it to new levels. We’ve been saying just about forever that the problem with dedicated e-reader is the fact that the consumer isn’t seeking a device that does only one thing. With its “smart” orientation features, the iPhone could usher in the mass market e-book era.

Are you as excited as we are? Really, are you tingling? You should be. In a good way.

Think about it. Text, high resolution graphics, wireless Internet access, single device. So many readers used the Palm interface to read books…and they were really a fraction of the possible audience. The iPhone, more than any device, fulfills the promise of the future. It is the one thing that the publishing industry has desired and needed.

Please, publishing industry, don’t screw this up. You need this device more than it needs you. We did a poll of five people. They’re all buying this device. They can read.

* – Our chem lab partner spent our entire, well, chem class out with mono. We didn’t learn a thing.

[tags]iphone, apple, publishing, ebooks, pdf[/tags]

The post How The iPhone Can Save The Book Business appeared first on Booksquare.

I was given a roll of “Oklahoma Author” stickers by my local Romance Writers Chapter. Once my book is on the shelves, I go out and obsessively sticker every copy of my book within driving distance (which is not as far as it used to be). So, I’m at a Wal-Mart by my house and see the now familiar large fan that allows me to spot my book yards away. Yes, Booksquare, I went to Wal-Mart (and ran down the aisles touching product). Anyway, I’m down on the floor with all the books scattered about me as I sticker them. A woman casually walks by. Walks away. Walks back. I’m sure she’s security. Finally she asks me what I’m doing. After I assure her I’m not defacing the books (sort of) she asks me questions #1.

Did you get a lot of money?

My friend Gena Showalter told me to expect this question. A lot. Someone told me once to turn it around, ask the person how much THEY make. I can never remember that suggestion when this actually happens. Usually I just smile and babble something incoherently.

So, is there a lot of sex in this book? Is it really smutty?

This question used to really irk me. My book also has plot, dialogue…bunch of other stuff I learned in school. I work hard to deliver a good story. Sex is only a small part blah blah blah – I’m sure you get the picture why this is irritating. Now – how I answer this depends on which response I think will make you buy my book. (Acquaintances of mine might be rethinking past conversations.)

Now my husband gets versions of this question. I’ve suggested he just look really, really tired. Sigh heavily and say “yes”.

Is your husband really romantic? Is your house like that?

It takes every once of effort on my part not to laugh and laugh and laugh. I’m married to an engineer, need I say more? I’m curious, is there a particularly romantic profession out there? Actually, my husband gets off the hook in that department. I’m a romance writer, I can turn taking out the trash into a romantic gesture.

So, Brenda Hiatt did a lot of work on answering the question just how much authors make. You can see it here.

The post And You Make How Much? appeared first on Booksquare.