Five Top Trends Shaping The Future of Publishing

Mark Coker

I recently attended a "sit-up-and-take-notice" workshop about how to produce, distribute and sell your work in the evolving eworld given by Mark Coker, founder and CEO of Smashwords. 

His opener jolted my writer self like a sip of vanilla latte on a cold, groggy morning.  "There's never been a better time to be an author."

Okaaaay, I thought, as though he had just told me math was fun.  Prove it! 

He proceeded to do just that.

I took furious notes and now pass a bit of his expertise on to you.

Five Top Trends Shaping the Future of Publishing

1. Book selling is moving from brick and mortar outlets to the web.  The web offers better price, convenience, and selection.  As a result, shelf space is no longer in short supply.  Just think, virtual shelves!  Good for the reader.  And yes, good for the writer (see below).
2. Reading is moving to screens.  Smartphones and e-readers are becoming available to everyone.  Coker has traveled the world, and even where people are short of basics such as bread, water and electricity, he noticed they have cellphones.  Smartphones are becoming entry-level phones.  EVERYWHERE.  And that means EVERYONE now has the ability to sample and enjoy books. 
3. There is a rise in ebook self-publishing (also called Indie publishing).  This comes as a result of Indie author advantages, such as: faster time to market, greater creative control, lower expenses, better distribution to the global market, books never going out of print and more profit per book, while offering lower prices to the consumer (even selling their books at $.99 to $2.99, Indie publishers can make 60-80% more than selling through traditional publishers at $8.00). 
4. Content explosion leads to price competition.  Soon traditional publishers will no longer be able to compete with self-published authors who can make more money selling their books for less.
5. Traditional publishers are loosing their monopoly.  The printing press and knowledge about publishing, distribution and marketing are now free for all.

Instead of facing years of rejection, delays in getting their books to market and having their books forced out of print early (if they don't immediately gain a large audience), authors are becoming their own gatekeepers to the pearly gates of publishing.

But here's the clincher.  As their own gatekeepers, authors must be super-duper careful to honor their readers and only put out books that are equal in quality to (or better than) books put out by traditional publishers. 

That means NO CUTTING CORNERS. 

• Don't publish before your book is ready. 
• Revise, revise, revise. 
• Hire an editor. 
• And revise again. 

Otherwise what you get for all your hard work is Negative Virality.



By Mark Coker

When what you want - and need - is Viral Catalysts.  In other words, happy readers.

 

One satisfied reader shares with two readers, who share with four readers, who share with... 

 

I don't have a visual from Mark's presentation to demonstrate this, but I'm sure you get the picture.

 

As always, thanks for stopping by.

Self-Publishing, A Reality Check

Joe Konrath made $100,00 in three weeks selling his self-published books on Kindle. 

He explains this phenomenal achievement in an article called "Reality Check," where one sentence stands out like the warning beacon on a highway patrol car. 

"In the long run, except in the case of bestsellers and huge advances, a writer WILL make more money self-publishing."

Reality check.  Could this really be true? 

More words from Joe.

"...it isn't my name or my past that is responsible for this success. Nor is it any marketing efforts I'm doing now, because I'm not doing any. I haven't visited my Facebook page in six months. I have a fan page but don't know how to use it. I've never bought an online ad. I've got Twitter followers, but they're writers, not fans.

Right now I'm making a lot of money because I'm paying close attention to what Amazon is doing, experimenting a lot, and getting lucky."

So what does a newbie writer seeking publication do?  Take the traditional route--which means weathering rejection after rejection, frustration and delays, and (according to Joe) a smaller cut in the financial pie--or go with self publishing?

Also, unpublished writers are likely working their posteriors off writing blog posts, commenting on other people's blogs, keeping up with Facebook and Twitter, and building websites in order to put themselves in the best possible position to market their upcoming books.  Is this the best way to go? 

Could a newbie actually avoid all these marketing efforts by "paying close attention to what Amazon is doing, experimenting a lot, and getting lucky?"

Consider the viewpoint of Lee Lopez , who has a self-published book called, "She Cried Wolf," coming out in February:

"The popularity of Kindle and Nook opened the door to self-publishing or independent publication. To date there are nearly 800,000 independently published books between Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The biggest attraction for an author to go indie is complete control of the books, publication, and career choices, while earning 70% of the profits. The downfall is that few will experience Konrath’s success.

"An indie author on average is lucky to make back the cost to publish, which runs around $300. Every day the field of indie grows, with writers hoping to have some of Konrath’s pixie dust sprinkled their way. There are a couple of reasons for Konrath's success. First, he was an established author who had a following when he decided to try indie. Second, he is an early pioneer in the indie publication. The combination of those two things spelled out big sales.

"The average indie author has never been published and, with every minute of every day, another book is uploading, creating greater competition for sales.

"Regardless, indie is an attractive way to publish--to see one's name on a book cover, to take the chance that the book will outshine 800,000 other hopefuls competing for attention, and to live out one's dream."   

Another thing to consider before making the decision to self-publish is what Sherry Jones, author of "The Jewel of Medina," calls "The Elephant in the Room." 

"Am I ever glad that self-publishing wasn't easy back in 2005" when I was writing my first novel," she says.  "Why?  Because of that elephant in the room: the aspect of self-publishing that no one talks about.

"A lot of self-published work is not very good."

That's when a literary agent comes in handy--to either reject your book and tell you to get back to work, or sign you on and tell you to get back to work.

The decision to self-publish or take the traditional route of agent-editor-publisher is a personal one, but as Randy Davila, CEO of Hampton Roads Publishing Company says in his "Get Published Workshop" teleclass, "At the very least, get a good editor.  Make sure your work is in the best possible shape.  Fiction, especially, stands on beautiful prose and an incredible story." 

So how does one find a good editor?  Word of mouth is a good place to start, beginning with the three below:
Turning Stone Press:  complete editorial and marketing services for writers of metaphysical, speculative, and spiritual fiction.  Plus all you need to professionally publish your own book: A New Way to Publish.

Andrea Hurst and Associates:  Consulting/Coaching,/Mentoring/Book Evaluation/Development Editing/Platform Building/Branding/Marketing/Perfect Pitch.

Margie Lawson: Triple Pass Edit Critiques and Power-ON Coaching.

Oh, and as far as marketing your book is concerned, don't count on Amazon or anyone else, including an agent or publisher, to do it for you. According to Randy Davila and most other experts in the publishing field, that's one aspect of publishing where the key word is:  "Self."

As always, thanks for stopping by.