Author Archive
I’ll Pay for Lunch
I recently shared lunch with my good friend and business associate, Ray Bard. Ray is the monumentally successful mastermind behind the Bard Press publishing house where I worked from 1999-2002. We established a great dialog during my stint there and try to get together as often as possible to trade war stories about current projects and the state of affairs in the Big Bad Book Industry.
We spent most of this particular lunch discussing the challenges faced by today’s publishers. (This Brand Autopsy post should shed some light.) Ray used industry averages to illustrate just how it’s become critical for publishers to be extremely selective with the authors they choose to bring on board.
Here’s how those averages break down on a per-book basis, for those with the gag tolerance to stomach the facts:
Retail price = $20
- Trade discount to bookstores: $ 10
- Co-op displays at bookstores: $ 2
- Distributor cut (15%): $ 3
- Author royalties (15%): $ 3
- Printing costs: $ 2
Left for publisher = $0
Nice margin, isn’t it? I’m not positive, but I think convicts make more in prison.
So how do publishing houses like Bard Press survive? By holding out for authors who have either the money or the over-the-top marketing platform to make a serious run at the bestseller lists.
I can always tell when Ray finds an author with bestselling potential. At the end of those lunches, he’s a lot quicker to reach for the tab.
[Author’s Note: Read more about selecting the right authors in my article, “A Few Good Books: Just Say ‘No!’ to Authors without Healthy Marketing Platforms.”]
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Written by:Mike Drew
Tell the Truth: Have You Ever Read Email in Traffic?
There was a good article in Sunday’s New York Times by Steve Lohr, called “Slow Down, Multitaskers, and Don’t Read in Traffic”
“Confident multitaskers of the world, could I have your attention?
Think you can juggle phone calls, e-mail, instant messages and computer work to get more done in a time-starved world? Read on, preferably shutting out the cacophony of digital devices for a while.
Several research reports, both recently published and not yet published, provide evidence of the limits of multitasking. The findings, according to neuroscientists, psychologists and management professors, suggest that many people would be wise to curb their multitasking behavior when working in an office, studying or driving a car.” read the article (registration required)
Attention fellow “CrackBerry” addicts: The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. 
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Written by:Mike Drew
Book Publishers Need a Reality Check
A Day in the Life of a Persuasion Architect brought back an interesting blog post by “Mike” on Techdirt.
In it, ‘Mike’ argues that:
“Book publishers have been pretty vocal in their dislike for Google’s plan to scan books and make them searchable via a great big electronic card catalog — claiming that this somehow is a misuse of their content.”
“The question, really, is why bother? All these publishers are creating limited, expensive, fragmented searches for books, when Google (and others such as Yahoo and Amazon) are more than willing to do the work for them, while bringing all the offerings together.”
I couldn’t agree more. Then ‘Mike’ really hits the nail on the head when he states, “There are very, very few people in this world who think about books in terms of who published them.”
The problem with the publishing industry today—especially most large New York publishers—is that their mindset is the same as it was 10 years ago; which is to say their posturing suggests they still “make” authors, as though a book’s reader ever gave a damn about its publisher in the first place. This highly seductive form of self-delusion, a seemingly benign relic of a forgone era, is the publisher’s biggest challenge in today’s marketplace–and hitting the proverbial ’snooze button’ on the internet for the past 10 years hasn’t helped.
The very few exceptions to this phenomenon include niche categories in which there are very few publishers to begin with. For instance, TOR (fantasy books), ELSEVIER (medical books), Lawgic Publishing Company (forms, document-generating systems, and reference books for lawyers), or IEEE Publishing and Information Services (technology books). Otherwise, book buyers tend to notice the publisher once they’ve already bought it, if at all.
Publishers need to understand that book consumers buy what THEY want to read. Sometimes they buy because an author commands their respect. Sometimes they buy books because of referrals from friends, family, colleagues, co-workers, or trustworthy and/or engaging critics. Sometimes they buy a book simply because it directly fills their immediate whim or need. But none of theses reasons have anything to do with the publisher.
Instead of worrying about brand affinity–which, ironically, only impresses aspiring authors–or whether they’re losing potential buyers because of Google’s plan to scan books and make them searchable, publishers need to catch up with the times and start treating books for what they are: content. Lest they should perish, publishers should ask bigger questions, like, “What other ways are there to develop content?” or “How else can I sell content in today’s market?” Or better yet, they should find answers to these questions–and quickly.
Note to publishers: So, you publish books. Fantastic. Want to buy a PDF? If you don’t wish to become obsolete within the decade, stop focusing on what others are doing and start focusing on how you can actually “make” authors through content diversification.
Note to authors: If you think publishers know how to market, I’ve got some land near Atlantis I can sell you at a low, fixed rate.
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Written by:Mike Drew
Introduction/WSJ Best-sellers list
It’s apropos that my first blog post would be another first for me. For those of you who don’t know me, My name is Michael Drew I am the Eisenberg’s book agent and resident book expert. I apply Persuasion Architecture in all of my book marketing ventures, and will be posting about my adventures in Persuasion Architecture from time to time.
Today Waiting for Your Cat to Bark? hit # 2 on the Wall Street Journal Business list, but, even more remarkably, three of my author clients had books in the Wall Street Journal’s business lists in the top 4, Succeed on Your Own Terms, by Herb Greenberg and Patrick Sweeney at #1, Waiting for Your Cat to Bark? by the Eisenberg’s at #2 and Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by Harv Eker at #4.
Congratulations Herb, Patrick, and Harv!!!
And of couse kudos to Bryan & Jeffrey
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Written by:Mike Drew
