The Message in the Book Numbers

Did you see the book production statistics for 2010 which Publishers Weekly released (follow the link). Over three million books were release last year. Yes, that is a huge number.

From my perspective, there are at least two ways to interpret those numbers. You could moan, "My book will never get published. I can barely get my book written. Much less get the attention of an agent and get a publisher."

Or you can take a much different attitude and one that could open the doors for publishing success. You could say, "Yes there were a lot of books published last year but how many of those books actually reached their audience? My book is excellent and I'm going to redouble my efforts to find the right place for it."

These two views are common. One side says I can't and the other perspective says Yes I can. As I've said in the past, one of the keys to publishing anything (magazine or book) is to approach the right person at the right time at the right place with the right material. Yes, lots of "rights" have to align for that to happen but it is entirely possible and much of it is in your control--especially when it comes to creating an excellent idea.

The foundation of every bestselling book whether fiction or nonfiction is great storytelling. You learn to write great stories as you practice your storytelling technique over and over. I recommend the shorter writing form of magazine articles as a way to learn to tell good stories. If you are writing nonfiction, then write magazine articles for printed magazines. Yes, any of you can blog and publish newsletters online but the higher standard in the publishing community is writing that appears in printed publications. If you are writing fiction, then you need to be crafting short stories and publishing those stories in printed magazines. There are markets for these short stories and you need to be actively looking for them, sending out your material to editors and getting those stories into print. Why? It helps you build credibility (a publishing track record) with editors and agents plus it gives you experience with a shorter form of writing rather than a long novel or full length book.

Peter Guber encourages authors to tell stories with purpose in Tell to Win. If you have not read this book, I recommend this book because of the insight in it. He emphasizes that it's important to use storytelling in your persuasion process but don't just tell stories for the sake of telling them. You create a story which moves the audience toward your intended purpose. To be successful with this storytelling process you have to know your purpose and be intentional about the writing process.

In addition, to excellent writing, you have to continually focus on reaching out to your audience and touching them with your writing. I've heard the horror stories from every type of author about their lack of book sales. Whether you have been published with a large mainstream publisher or a small independent press or self-published, the reality is still the same: the author has the greatest passion for your topic and your own writing. What are you doing each day to pour that passion into telling others about your work. You have to make continual and steady effort in this area. No one else will do it for you or do it to the extent that you will do it. Step out of your comfort zone and speak or use social media to tell others in a targeted fashion. Follow the instructions and insights in this handout that I recently used at the Tucson Festival of Books about social media.

Finally, another way to build your audience and overcome the message in the book numbers is to give back to others around you. Some of you feel like you are just beginning in publishing and have nothing to give others. That is untrue. No matter where you are in the publishing world, you have learned things that you can pass on to others. This process of giving will help draw people to your message and help you enter the publishing community. It is a foundational part of my operation in the community. Here's a simple way every reader can give to others: support good books with a few words of review and a positive Five Star review on Amazon or another review site. These reviews do not have to be long or involved or complicated. They take a few minutes to write and are a way to support good books. I've written over 300 Amazon reviews. No one pays me to write these reviews but it is a consistent way that I can support good books. You can take this step with good books that you are reading.

Don't let the numbers of books overwhelm you. Be aware of these numbers but keep focused on telling good stories, getting those stories into the market and building your audience.

The Details of Making Books

Over the last few months, I've not added any entries. Several days ago, I started again and it will continue. Today I wanted to give you a glimpse at what has been filling my days as a publisher. I may have been absent from blogging but not from book publishing.

I've returned to working with authors on their books--all the details of their books such as their titles, their book covers and their words on the inside of the books. It is consuming and I have some great projects in the works. I want to tell you about one of them that is coming soon called Spiritual lessons from Wall Street.

Yesterday I was working with author Brandon Pope on a sample of the interior of his book. I am not designing the interior--but I am the connection between the author and the person doing that layout. Within our system at Intermedia, the author has more control over every detail of the process. I personally like it when an author takes a more hands on approach--because then I know they care about every detail of the book. As I've said in other entries, the details count in book publishing--and many people shrug or ignore the details. It did not happen with this author.

After about a dozen phone calls and even more emails, we finally got the sample of the interior. Toward the end of this process, I'll admit I was ready to get the approval and move on to something else which is screaming from my workload. Yet Brandon persisted on every detail of the sample until it was right.

Later that day, I was thinking about the process and I applauded this author for his persistence. From my experience, it is the difference between making something that is good and something that is great.

The essence of any book begins with an excellent manuscript. You can have a snappy title and a beautiful book cover. But if the words on the inside don't deliver on the promises of the cover and title, then you will not get that buzz going for the book. I'm talking about where readers rave about their reading experience and it is all they can talk about for several days. They tell everyone in their path -- whether through email or in person--about the book.

Yes there are many things you can do to stimulate that conversation or buzz--and as an author, you need to make that continual marketing effort.

Every writer needs to be concerned about creating an excellent manuscript and persist in getting the details right. I believe it will pay off for Spiritual Lessons from Wall Street.

Pick A Number -- A High Number

During the last week, I've seen two different large numbers touting the number of new books which were released in 2007. In my entry from a couple of days ago, I gave the links which said 300,000 books were published. Yes that is a large number but what if it was actually an additional 100,000 new books for a total of 400,000 books? According to the New York Times article, "400,000 books were published or distributed in the United States, up from 300,000 in 2006."

No matter how you count the books, that's a lot of books. Make sure you read this New York Times article to see some of the other statistics tucked into this article. Does this information make you depressed or only more determined to sell your book and make it different? I hope you fall into the latter camp and have the determination.

With millions of book ideas and proposals in circulation and the lowering financial bar for authors to enter the book market through Print-On-Demand companies, individuals are getting frustrated and jumping into the book market. Unfortunately many of those books are poorly-crafted and as a result sell poorly into the market. The authors have no clue how to promote or market their own books. Many of them don't even understand their responsibility or work to get the book into the marketplace or reach people.

This morning I received a press release from a publicist about a new book and that she had review copies available and the author was available for interviews. It looked interesting so I dug a bit deeper into this particular book. I went to the website and watched a short television video clip of the author and applauded his good work. Then I went to the particular page on Amazon.com where the book was sold and checked out the name of the publisher. Now many book buyers will never check the name of the publisher but I've spent many years in this business. I instantly recognized the name of the publisher and made a decision not to do anything additional with this book. I will not be ordering or or asking for a review copy or writing about it. Why?

I've tried books from this particular publisher in the past and the books were poor in the writing category. The publisher treats everyone equally. If you have desire and money, you can get them to publish your book. Don't get me wrong, holding that book in your hand may fulfill the dream of a lifetime and be satisfying. That's all that some people need from the book publishing world and there is a place for it. I just don't want to be involved in this aspect of publishing. Why?

I want to work with the authors and books which soar into the marketplace and touch people's lives. Yes, in that process of impact, they sell into the marketplace. To have this type of impact, it involves a lot of hard work on the front end of the publishing process. You have to craft a great book proposal or book manuscript. Then as an author, you have to be committed to consistent promotion of that book. There are many different avenues for promotion and it can be overwhelming but the key is to consistently work at it.

Here's a bit of an update on 90 Minutes In Heaven which I wrote about recently: The cover of this book proclaims over a million copies in print. An email in my box today from the writer Cecil Murphey said the book has sold about 3.3 million copies.

Don't be overwhelmed or depressed about the large number of books which are being printed. Instead, let this information drive you toward excellence in your writing and becoming a different type of author.