Branding Or Waste of Time

Each of us have one commodity that we can't renew called time. For each additional task we add to our lives, we have to remove or let go of something else. I understand that's not very profound but I have people ask me these questions about whether to launch a website or not. Or they wonder if they should blog or not. Some of them have tried a blog and given up after a short amount of time.

Into this sphere of thinking comes something called Twitter. You have 140 characters to answer the simple question, "What are you doing now?" And you may wonder, "Does anyone care?" The answer may surprise you.

I've been reading about Twitter for several months. Mike Hyatt at Thomas Nelson wrote an excellent post, The Beginner's Guide to Twitter. Earlier he wrote 12 reasons to Start Twittering. Also notice what he wrote in this post about experiencing a social media that almost a million people are using and it's free. Admittedly it is down from time to time but that's what happens when you are using these free tools (so be aware of it and while you can complain, it does little good).

In the last week, I've started to use Twitter and here's my profile. I'm still learning how to use it (and I'm spending minimal amount of time on it).

Like blogging and other public forums, you have to use Twitter with an intention. For example, if you look at my profile, you will notice that I've changed the settings and template to highlight my Book Proposals That Sell. It was simple to change. I've been following several people and the people who are using it effectively have "branded" their appearance. These same people are using twitter as a way to inform people about something specific.

I do not have it figured out and it might be something to experiment with for a season then let go--like some people have let go of their blog. I do not have a large following on Twitter but I have a growing following and it's been fun to watch.

I was fascinated with the response of Internet Marketing Expert Joel Comm. When I started to "follow" Joel (something you do in Twitter), he wrote that because I was following him, he would follow me. His twitter posts have been interesting to read.

I've been following Michael Hyatt on Twitter and it was fascinating that he went through airport security this week with Vice President Al Gore. Mike introduced himself to the former Vice President. It was an exchange that I would not have been able to know about except through Mike's Twitters.

While many people think that I'm high tech, I do not read my email on my cell phone or have it connected to the Internet. It means if I'm going to Twitter, it will have to be when I am sitting at my computer--and no other time.

Here's a couple of other links to read about Twitter. David Hobson suggests that one of the ways you build a following on Twitter is to consistently deliver good content. That makes sense. Here's an analysis of the people on Twitter with large followings and they have built their following other places. Here's another good post about growing a Twitter following--and once again they are building value in their content.

I suggest you try Twitter and see what you can learn from it as another communication tool. Follow a few people and see how they use twitter and note what you can learn from it. Twitter can be one more tool in your marketing arsenal so you extend your brand or it could be a complete waste of time. The use and control is in your hands.

Who Are The Top U.S. Publishers

You name the type of book but from my experience, most new authors want to be published with the top publishers. One of the things they don't understand is whether the publisher is large or small, the author is still the person on the planet with the greatest passion for their particular book. And this author will have to translate that passion into marketing action for their book to give it the best possible reception in the marketplace.

Also I've heard horror stories about marketing and publicity efforts from authors of all persuasions--whether they went with a major publisher or a relatively small house. Publishing is not an exact science because to a degree it is unpredictable which books will strike a chord with the buying public. For example, why did how-to books about canasta sweep the nation and land on the bestseller list during the 1950s? The card playing craze caught on and the public went to their local bookseller to get a how-to book on canasta. It's the same sort of unpredictable nature of publishing today.

In the paper issue of Publishers Weekly which I received in yesterday's mail, it included an article with publishing sales data from 2007 about the top publishers in the world. When it comes to the U.S. publishers, the magazine included this illustration with the data:Notice this data is about publishing of all types--textbook and trade publishing. Earlier this year, Mike Hyatt included some data about the market share of trade publishers. If you look at the Publishers Weekly information it was interesting that Thomas Nelson doesn't appear in the top 50 publishers of the world. While I don't understand the difference, I suspect it is from a different way of defining the data will be at the root cause.

As long as I'm writing about Publishers Weekly, another bit of information came out at The New York Observer about the PW reviewers. Traditionally there is no printed list of the reviewers in the magazine but in recent days they have changed this policy and The Observer pulled together an article about the background of some of the PW reviewers. I thought it was interesting and I hope it will help your knowledge of the publishing industry as well.

Finally whether you land a large publishing house or a smaller press, I continue to encourage you to take an active and consistent role in the marketing of your book. That passion will pay off in the long run.

An Intimate Look Inside

Throughout this week, I've been giving you a glimpse of my recent time in New York City. Besides giving you some information, my hope is that it is spurred you to consider the value of organizations like the American Society of Journalists and Authors as well as attending writer's conferences in general. It's a solid way to grow as a writer and in your craft.

The largest Christian publisher, Thomas Nelson, announced they are not going to be exhibiting at the Book Expo (for the general market) nor the International Christian Retail Show (for the Christian market). This company has a large presence at these events and you can follow this link and read the details. Coordinated with this announcement, Thomas Nelson hosted a two day, open house with 100 of their top accounts which represented about 1,400 store fronts.

Late last night I watched Michael Hyatt's 40 minute presentation called Why I Am (Still) Excited About Christian Retail. If you care at all about Christian publishing, I encourage you to watch this presentation. It is an incredible intimate look inside at this leader of the sixth largest book publisher. Mike tells about how he came to know Christ and the importance of books in his personal life. I hope you will find it encouraging and strengthen your own resolve in this business. It certainly did for me. I would challenge you to find any other publisher -- general market or Christian -- whose leadership provides such a peek inside. It's rare.

Toward the end of his presentation, Mike talks about the proliferation of product in the marketplace and uses the statistic that 250,000 new books were introduced in the marketplace last year. I'm sure he's got his documentation for such a statistic but it is higher than I've seen before. And he said that Thomas Nelson brought out 500 new books last year. Then he told how 23% of these new titles accounted for 90% of their revenue.

What does this last statistic tell you? I'm admittedly a words person but I believe if you look at what is not said, 76% of these new books accounted for only 10% of their revenue. It affirms the general statistic that I've read in other places that 90% of nonfiction books never earn back their advance. Thomas Nelson finished their fiscal year on March 31st and Mike also said they are taking a hard look at their own product creation and going to cut their new titles for this coming year "in half." So instead of 500 new books, they will make about 250 new titles. It means fewer books will be given book contracts at Thomas Nelson, the largest Christian publisher.

How do you react to such news? From my perspective, you have two choices. You can throw in the towel, leave book publishing and go into another business. I've seen a number of people make such a choice during my years in this business. Or you can see this information as an encouragement to improve your writing craft and improve your own visibility in the marketplace--whether you write fiction or nonfiction. The great manuscripts will always rise to the top and get published. Yes, you need a champion such as a literary agent and an editor inside the publishing house but it is possible.

I want to close this entry with an example of this type of writing. Many people want to write fiction--yet the opportunity for fiction is less each year with a growing number of writers competing for those few spots. Nonfiction out sells fiction year after year. In other entries, I've mentioned Joel C. Rosenberg and his political thriller fiction. I've been a fan since Forge Press published his first book, The Last Jihad. I just completed reading Dead Heat which is the fifth and final installment in this series.According to the March 31st issue of Publishers Weekly, "Tyndale's initial printing for Dead Heat...was 100,000 copies; two additional printings bring the total to 145,000...In May, he'll do a 10-city book tour to promote Dead Heat and to discuss his nonfiction bestseller, Eipcenter (more than 248,000 copies in print)." See the wisdom of a fiction author having a nonfiction angle to talk about with the media? Also Rosenberg's writing is brilliant and page-turning.

I hope you see this entry as a clarion call to excellence in your writing and storytelling. Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, you need to be working on and constantly practicing the craft of writing. Also you need to continually work at building your audience and presence in the marketplace. It doesn't happen overnight (for anyone as even someone like Joel Rosenberg can attest if you look closely at his background) but it can happen.