Second, writers must actively promote themselves, their writing and their content through their own social media sites which illustrates they will be aggressive with their future publisher. The old ways of selling books are changing and authors are expected to participate in their own marketing. Third, forget about the book tour and fourth, forget about the advance. Most publishers today are realizing that an author tour and advance does not drive revenue and in publishing if a piece of the puzzle does not directly impact revenue, forget it!

Fifth, understand that publishing today, even in New York, does not always mean a print book. The traditional path of hardcover, trade paper to mass paper is gone. New releases may well start as an eBook and never end up in actual print on paper. The key has always been growth in revenue, or sales. As the old methods of distribution are becoming obsolete, digital transfer of files is the future. The audience for eBook may not translate into print and if the print edition does not drive revenue, forget it!

Canada’s Indigo Books agreed with Barnes & Noble in refusing to sell any books published by Amazon. Both chains now accuse the online retailer of using predatory tactics that weaken an already struggling book industry. An Indigo spokesperson has stated “In our view Amazon’s actions are not in the long-term interests of the reading public or the publishing and book retailing industry, globally.” In addition, regional bookstore chain Books-A-Million has joined with Barnes & Noble and Indigo in deciding they will not carry Amazon Published titles.

It is expected that other book retailers including most independent bookstores will follow suit and not carry any Amazon printed titles on store shelves. As the industry struggles with rapid decline in print sales it seems ridiculous they would take a stance that is clearly not in either the best interest of the reading public or author. These large retailers only increase the divide and create a situation unhealthy for both the consumer and new writers desiring to enter the market since Amazon will become the only viable option.

Amazon has not commented however they did report fourth-quarter results which indicated that its recent fast revenue growth is slowing as revenue fell nearly one billion short of what Wall Street analysts expected. In the end, when retailers refuse to stock and sell one publisher’s titles it seems plausible that the online giant can in return refuse to sell certain big publisher titles online. In the end those that lose may be the writer and the reader.

Publishing is profitable when several good stories are available, not a single great novel. The marketplace for a writer works best they are proficient and prolific rather than great and slow. Publishers and agents are not seeking the next Hemingway, rather the next mid-list, non-bestselling writer that can produce good content quickly with the potential of growing an audience. Any publisher will be more profitable with a dozen such authors as opposed to one who makes the bestseller list once a year.

If this doesn’t make sense then consider the fact that backlist, older titles selling a few hundred copies continuously, are much more profitable that one author who manages to sell thousands of copies every year. As the older backlist titles continue to sell the single bestseller will run its course in a couple of months and then the publisher must wait another ten months for the next one. Those ten months of nothing are more costly than a constant stream of steady backlist sellers. The key is to write often, write well, and never worry about making it great, just be steady and remember success is being good many times over rather than great only once.

The best method is to start slow, test several ideas, and then evaluate the results. Patience is important; it is rare that results follow a couple weeks of marketing activity. As you gain confidence add more items to your marketing list and again evaluate the results. Authors who market their own writing have the luxury of time while authors under contract have huge time constraints of which they have zero control. Even if you are under contract keep in mind that doing some of your own book marketing is smart.

Marketing your writing is never ending and incorporates many pieces that work together to meet your personal goals as an author. It is okay to set your expectations high but it is also important to be realistic. Goals can be reevaluated and reset the same as any part of your marketing campaign, as long as your progress is forward. It all begins with information and time, followed by a plan, testing and revising, goal setting, finally execution and patience. The key is to begin the momentum.

If you think James Patterson ignores new writers coming onto the scene with the launch of a new novel you would be greatly mistaken. He is a master of the market and knows exactly what readers want. To the point he no longer writes his own novels but creates the stories, characters and provides his co-author with a strict outline. That is mastering the genre and it begins with his intense curiosity of all writers in his varying genres including suspense, mystery, young adult and now children.

Occasionally I receive emails from subscribers of my newsletter explaining they love the content but just have too much to read to keep up. There is a tremendous amount of information about publishing and book marketing, let alone reading category titles. Writers have to sift through and decide what is important. From my standpoint everyone needs encouragement and industry knowledge. Eliminate the fluff and stick with what is important but most of all read your competition.

The next step is to research the web sites, Facebook pages and social media of the notable authors in your genre, observe how they market to you, the reader and fan. Again you are making mental notes on what attracts you as both a fan and writer. The point in this exercise is to observe and research your competition in both bookstores and social media. These are your laboratories for learning the business and how to market yourself and your writing. The more you become a frequent visitor the sooner you will begin to see the subtleties in how the authors and industry react to the overall market.

Writers wanting to become authors must understand the very basics of the marketplace regardless of how they publish. This is especially important if the plan is to publish independently. The more you observe and research the better informed you will become and the better able to make wise, cost efficient decisions. In publishing you do not want to be seen as someone publishing in a manner that is well off the map, you want to remain consistent yet different from your competition. Being too unique can become a negative and not necessarily a positive for your career. Start to observe and research and over time you will be amazed at how much you learn.

Many large publishing companies have been guilty of marketing bad books but overall the writing quality is much better than the average independently published title. To restore consumers trust in independent authors they need to improve the editing of their work and begin the process of raising the standard in the industry. Good independent books exist but are rarely discovered simply because the marketplace has developed an overall negative market perception.

The author is the brand, never the publisher. Consumers who purchase your book(s) are customers. Bad writing reflects on the author, not the publisher, and will forever be linked to that person. It is time for writers to accept responsibility for the work they produce and focus on the quality of their writing. The reading public deserves the ability to trust that the books being published are well written, well edited, quality titles. Any published book is in essence a recommendation of that author and the consumer should be able to trust the quality of the writing in every published title.

Over the past four decades there have been three distinct market shifts in book publishing that transitioned the industry. The results of each were dramatic growth for both publishers and writers. As we enter a new era in book publishing we are seeing the dawn of the fourth major transitional market shift. Growth is inevitable as this market evolves and writers position themselves for dramatic changes in what has been a stagnant industry.

Hardcover

The first major shift occurred in the mid 1970’s with the emergence of the hardcover format which surpassed the mass market paper and gave publishers a new revenue stream for the same content. Up to that point the paperback was the publishing format leader and responsible for more than the majority of the company’s print order, distribution and revenue.

Trade paper was available at this time but not widely distributed. The hardcover format began to show potential as the bookstore market grew with more independent stores cropping up around the country. This enabled publishers to move away from dependence on the low price mass market format and move to a higher price more respectable hardcover edition. The result was more revenue for the publisher, higher royalties for the author and overall growth for the industry.

Superstores

The second shift in the late 1980’s was the emergence of the large bookstore chains which transitioned primarily from mass merchant or large box stores to multiple retail locations specifically designed for books. The mom and pop boutique bookstores that existed did not preclude what became the superstore because they provided little sales and profits for the big publishers.

Up to this point the mass market paperback placed within a defined space in a supermarket, drug or mass merchant was the primary source for distributing and selling books. Publishing decisions were based more on impulse buying as opposed to what is considered a destination purchase. In mass retailers most consumers made a book purchase as they pushed their cart down an aisle and spotted something interesting as opposed to driving directly to a bookstore to make a specific title purchase. This changed dramatically with the super bookstore.

Technology

The third noticeable shift occurred in late 1990’s in the emergence of the print-on-demand technology which may not have directly dented the sales of the major publishers but it certainly impacted the industry. Print-on-demand technology was first introduced to the major companies as a way to reduce inventory by printing at bookstore locations as demand warranted.  The big publishers rejected the idea which gave rise to the number of new authors, more published titles and POD publishing companies.

Even though these new titles and companies did not directly compete with the major publishers, they did provide fuel for the Amazon fire and accelerated their growth in the industry. POD companies has caused an explosion in the number of new titles available to consumers but at the same time has also dramatically eroded the perception of the consumer toward books and publishing as the quality of the product has declined.

Amazon itself did not cause a major shift in the publishing industry. The online retailer became a prominent account yet until recently was responsible for a small percent of the major publishers overall sales. Amazon capitalized on the market transition by being in the right place at the right time and becoming the major player for the print-on-demand explosion and catering to their needs.

Digital

The fourth major shift within the publishing industry began in 2007 and really took off in April 2009. These dates coincide with the release of the Kindle and iPad. It is obvious that at this very moment the book industry is transitioning into a digital marketplace where the primary format for all publications will eventually become the eBook. Even though total sales represent barely a quarter of major publishers overall revenue the increase is strong and sustainable.

As more resources are placed into enhancing the format and developing new revenue streams such as advertising and product placement, there is little doubt that publishing is undergoing a major transitional shift in the market. As publishers recognize the overall potential of the eBook goes well beyond the content there is little doubt the format will continue to experience strong growth for the publisher and unlimited potential for the writer.

Opportunity

For writers this represents perhaps the biggest opportunity for growth in the past four decades. As technology changes, grows, and provides new platforms and delivery systems for creative content the demand for that content will grow accordingly. In order for a writer to take advantage of these opportunities they need to do three things. First; make certain they have a basic understanding of the market and how their writing is positioned within that market. Second; find an editor they are comfortable with and can work with to improve the quality of their writing. Third; write as often and as much as possible.

Success as a writer in the new transitional marketplace will require writers to be more publishing and marketing savvy and create a breadth of quality content within the same genre. Anything is possible in book publishing as long as writers continue to improve their work and learn how to market themselves, their content, and their publications. The key is to focus on writing, editing, and never worry about things beyond their control. Markets will continue to shift; the winners will be those in a position to take advantage.

The best description of quality is storytelling. Does the writing turn pages and leave readers wanting more? Even nonfiction must provide a good story by sharing information that readers feel compelled to read and answers questions they are searching to discover. Both fiction and nonfiction, children’s and young adult all demand that the writing be edited and meet a certain minimum standard.

All writers feel their work is the best and that is one reason editors exist, to bring them down to earth. Objective, third party evaluation of one’s writing combined with the sharp eye of a professional editor is a minimum for publication. Editors are not always right in the mind of the writer however more often than not they make the correct evaluation. Make the right choice and select an editor that will help you become a quality writer.

While book publishers have a responsibility to focus on developing quality writing so to does the writer have a responsibility to understand that lack of quality reflects negatively upon them which will forever be linked to their name as an author.  Writers that capitalize on this demand have one very important advantage over their competition and that is an editor.

Friends and family who are not professional editors do not count since quality writing demands editorial expertise. Bestselling authors often praise their editors for helping make them a better writer which is the job of a good editor. The growing demand for creative content is based solely on the quality of the work and that requires editorial assistance at every level of writing. To succeed in the new era a writer must first develop the quality of their writing.