The Willamette Publisher -- July - 08
by Dick Lutz

An interesting website has recently come on the scene. It seems like a good site for a writer to practice his/her craft, get some feedback from other writers, and (maybe) make some money. It's called WEbook (www.webook.com/). The site asks authors, editors, and writing groups to create written works, either collaboratively or individually. If a book gathers enough votes from members, WEbook copyedits, typesets, and publishes the book. The author gets 5% royalty on sales. That's without spending a dime! WEbook makes their money from sales of member written books. They market on their own site and on Amazon.

Apparently the site is well funded and has eleven employees. Thus, it's not just started by some college kid, as are some websites. They've been alpha testing since August and signing up published writers. The free membership allows you to sign up for one of three types of membership. You can keep your work private, share it with a defined group, or list it as public so everyone on WEbook can read it.

I'm not endorsing WEbook but it certainly sounds interesting. Maybe some WW member will check it out, write something, and let me know his/her experience?

There are controversies in the publishing industry but the major ones are reported in the press. So, I don't write about the James Frey or the OJ flaps. But here's one that you probably haven't heard about. It speaks to the question of when is a publisher a publisher?

The Romance Writers Association disqualified Tsaba Press from its award competitions. The RWA decided that Tsaba is a subsidy publisher and therefore not eligible for its awards. The RWA criterion for entry is that "Books must be published by a publisher that is a non–Subsidy, non-Vanity Publisher. An eligible entry must meet these criteria:"

Although it seems clear from the evidence that Tsaba Press is neither a subsidy nor a vanity publisher, the confusion on the part of the RWA is understandable. The recent technological advances in printing, particularly the development of digital printing, has led to some blurring of the lines. Digital printing (frequently called print-on-demand) has made it possible for almost anyone to publish a book.

A few years ago the book industry recognized three types of business models: conventional publishing, self-publishing, and vanity publishing. Today there is a fourth model which some call author service publishers or author-driven publishers. Examples are Author House, iUniverse, Lulu, Book Surge, Infinity, XLibris, and many others. They use digital printing but so do self-publishers and even, on occasion, commercial publishers.

The author service publishers are not in the same category as vanity publishers because they are not exploitative. They provide a legitimate service at a reasonable price whereas vanity publishers charge exorbitant fees and provide no marketing. Author service companies offer Internet marketing.

It is a fact that some WW members have been dissatisfied with their author service publisher, but many have been happy with them. I again emphasize that it is important to read the contract carefully and not have unrealistic expectations.

Self-publishing, as I view it, involves an entrepreneur who establishes a business and either performs, or hires someone to perform, such tasks as editing, layout, cover design, printing, marketing, and perhaps other things. He/she also obtains an ISBN in the name of the company. There is considerable financial risk involved and the self-publisher usually is trying to make a profit.

The author who uses an author service publisher hires another publisher (Author House, Lulu, et al) to do ALL the necessary work. And usually allows the author service publisher to get the ISBN. (More on this point next month).

This is not to imply that the user of an author service publisher is any less legitimate. He/she has simply chosen a route to get a book published that is easier, cheaper, and less likely to make a profit.

The development of digital printing has resulted in the establishment of author service publishers, which, in turn, has led to many more books being published.

Thus, it is understandable that the Romance Writers of America would screen in advance whether candidates had passed professional muster in the industry. The RWA requested some proof from Tsaba that they were a real publisher. Tsaba sent them a copy of its standard author contract, which included the usual provisions that require the author to cover the cost of artwork, indexes, and certain other things.

On that basis RWA denied Tsaba the right to participate in RWA's award contests. But the very provisions that caused RWA to reject Tsaba are in the Authors Guild Model Trade Book Contract and Guide. They are standard provisions of every publication agreement.

From what I know about this controversy the guys in the black hats are the Romance Writers of America and the white hat belongs to Tsaba Press.

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The Willamette Publisher -- June - 08

Amazon.com, in a few short years, has become a major player in the book industry. Like most book people, I have mixed feelings about the online bookseller. Of course, Amazon has expanded to carry more than just books but it's books that I'm interested in.

As a publisher, I think Amazon is wonderful. For several years the bulk of my sales have come through Amazon. (DIMI PRESS belongs to the Amazon Advantage program.) They pay promptly in thirty days whereas others in the industry pay in ninety days or more. They almost never return books and then only because they are damaged. On the negative side if you e-mail Amazon a question, you will likely get a form letter in reply, which may or may not address your question. They make it very difficult to contact them by phone.

As a book lover, I regret Amazon's impact on the bookselling business.

Along with the chains, they have helped to decrease the number of independent bookstores. And all booklovers cherish the independent bookstore.

As a book buyer, if I know what title I want it is much less trouble to buy it from Amazon than to travel to Powell's to save the shipping cost.

As a book seller (of used books) I don't sell through Amazon. Instead I sell through Alibris and Half.com.

Known as a company that innovates, Amazon's latest innovation is the capability of buying books from your cell phone. Their TextBuyIt service makes it possible for customers to buy items direct from their mobile phones.

A customer must first set up a TextBuyIt account. To do this, she must log in to her account on Amazon.com and then activate the TextBuyIt option. Once she has set up her TextBuyIt account, the steps to actually buy a book are as follows:

The customer sends a text message to "AMAZON" (262966) with the title or the ISBN of the book she wants to order. Amazon sends a response confirming the book and stating its price, telling the customer to reply with the text message "1" to purchase the book. Once the customer has done that Amazon then calls the customer with the final details and asks the customer to confirm or cancel the purchase. That’s all there is to it.

Now there’s one more way to buy books!

But another new scheme from Amazon is raising hackles among the independent publishing community. It could affect those many WW members who have, or will, print books through POD publishers.

As I mentioned in last month's column, Amazon has a Print-on-Demand publishing arm called BookSurge. The online Goliath has recently notified some POD publishers that if they wish to continue selling books through Amazon they must print their books with BookSurge. At present, Amazon places orders through the distributors for the POD publishers. (There are a lot of middlemen in the publishing business.) Evidently soon publishers will have to convert their files to a format compatible with BookSurge, which will then print the books themselves.

Amazon released an open letter, explaining the move: "Simply put, we can provide a better, more timely customer experience if the POD titles are printed inside our own fulfillment centers. In addition, printing these titles in our own fulfillment centers saves transportation costs and transportation fuel."

Not surprisingly, this new policy has resulted in a storm of protests. Terry Nathan, Executive Director of the Publishers Marketing Association, called on Amazon to reconsider the policy. He pointed out the harm it will do to small publishers.

The Author Guild also criticized the policy and said they were reviewing the anti-trust and other legal implications of Amazons "bold move." They believe the motivation behind the policy is simply to increase the profits of Amazon rather than just lowering costs. The Guild maintains that the policy is a direct assault on Ingram's Lightning Source, which apparently does the bulk of the book printing for the POD publishers.

Just to add to the confusion, some publishing industry commentators are not critical of Amazon's new policy. The CEO of Trafford Publishing in a wishy-washy statement appears to have no problem with it. John Kremer, a book-marketing guru, seems to think it makes some marketing sense.

From what I know at this writing it doesn’t need to affect any decisions made by WW members—but at the same time KEEP ALERT.

Amazon continues to stir up controversy with its every move.

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The Willamette Publisher -- February 08
by Dick Lutz

Book retailers are either destination or impulse markets. Bookstores are destination markets. The individual who goes into a bookstore does so with the idea of buying a book or at least looking for one. (That does not account for people like me who go into a bookstore simply because it feels good to be surrounded by books.)

That reminds me of the newspaper account I saw some years ago of a man sleeping under shelves full of books. An earthquake struck, the books fell on the man and he was killed. All I could think of was "What a way to go!" But I digress…

An impulse market is one in which the individual's primary reason for visiting is not to buy a book. This includes discount stores, supermarkets, gift shops, drug stores and many other retail outlets. Here, the books are not the main item but are placed to catch the individual’s eye and cause her to buy on impulse.

Of course, bookstores also offer impulse items for sale. Books placed at the ends of racks of bookshelves, called 'end caps,' are frequently locations for impulse items. The right to place a book on an end cap is frequently purchased by major publishers, particularly in chain bookstores. Impulse items (not necessarily books) are also found next to cash registers in stores of all kinds.

As an independent publisher it is unlikely that you will be able to get your book onto end caps in bookstores. But you might be able to persuade the manager of an independent bookstore to place your book as an impulse item. This would be most likely if you offered him a special holder or rack designed to hold several copies of your book. These holders are called 'dumps' in the trade.

But even as a little guy you may be able to get your book into the impulse (non-bookstore) market. For example, some years ago I published a directory that I thought might sell on magazine shelves at supermarkets. I contacted a magazine distributor and persuaded him to add the book to his line of magazines. Another way to go is to contact a gift shop (or their distributor) if your title is attractive to gift buyers. Contact wine shops if you have a book about wines, and so on.

The point of this discussion is that you need to be creative in your marketing, but you also need to be aware of what type of buyer will be interested in your book. Remember, the retailer and the distributor are not interested in carrying your book unless it will sell to their customers

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The following comes under the heading of some facts that are interesting to me and maybe they will be to you, too.

The British Library contains over 13 million books and related materials. Its UK collection is expanding at the rate of 12.5 kilometers of shelf space a year. Parliament, in 1911, decided that the British Library was entitled and required to receive a free copy of every book and monograph published in the UK.

In the United States, the Library of Congress contains some 14 million books and certain other materials. The Library of Congress handles copyright registration. Copyright registration requires two copies of the newly published book to be sent to the Library. However, the LOC does not keep every book they receive. Reportedly, the library gets nearly 22,000 volumes every business day and adds about 10,000 significant books a day to their collection. However, since it is required to submit two books with each copyright registration, it seems that most titles sent to the Library of Congress end up in the stacks.

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The National Endowment for the Arts recently released a study that shows that Americans, particularly adolescents, are reading less. It seems that with the popularity of video games, text messaging, and television, among other distractions, the results of this study would be a no-brainer.

But some of the specific findings are of interest. The average American between the ages of 15 and 24 spends two hours a day watching television and seven minutes reading. Among 17-year-olds the percentage of non-readers increased from nine percent in 1984 to nineteen percent in 2004. Not surprisingly, reading scores have continued to decline. Surprisingly, 9-year-old readers have improved their reading scores. The report doesn't appear to explain this anomaly.

Another unexpected finding was "Literary readers are more likely than non-readers to engage in positive civic and individual activities—such as volunteering, attending sports or cultural events, and exercising," the NEA reported. (Personally, I don’t find this so remarkable.)

A review of employer responders showed 38 percent found most high school graduates deficient in reading skills. A flaw in the report is that none of the studies summarized took into account Internet reading.

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Amsterdam, the Netherlands, has been designated as the World Book Capital for 2008. UNESCO and international book industry representatives pick a city each year to be proclaimed Book Capital of the World. Amsterdam was selected for 2008 because of its outstanding book promotion program and its involvement in the book sector.

Do you suppose it's just a coincidence that I'm taking my Dutch wife there this spring?

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Dick Lutz is an author/publisher. Free telephone consultation on book publishing problems is available to all WW members. Please e-mail Dick at dickbook@earthlink.net with a question or to set up a telephone consultation.

The Willamette Publisher -- January 08
by Dick Lutz

Some years ago I wrote enthusiastically about the then-new development in the book world called e-books (electronic books). I remember quoting various 'experts' who predicted that e-books would become the next big thing.

That didn't happen. Although e-books continued to exist, the tsunami that was predicted became only a gentle wave. Lately, there seems to be resurgence in the e-book market. Not a tidal wave, something more like a surfer's wave. E-book sales in the U.S. have grown from $30.3 million in 2004 to $43.8 million in 2005 and $54.4 million in 2006. E-book sales are still only a small fraction of the overall $10 billion U.S. book market.

A major development has been the introduction of an e-book reader by Amazon. Although there have been several e-book readers over the years, none has caught on. This time it could be different. Amazon has become a major player in the book industry and they carry a lot of weight. Their new reader (called KINDLE) may have a big impact on the e-book business. (I know I shouldn't make predictions but I keep doing it.)

Another item from several years ago concerned the Federal Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC). This bureaucratic office had required a license for a publisher to publish a book written by an author from an 'enemy' country (such as Cuba or Iran). The requirement of a license to publish something was extremely distasteful to the publishing industry (and probably unconstitutional). OFAC was sued by a coalition of publishing organizations and the regulations have now been changed. No more licenses are required to publish!

Here's another threat to the local independent bookstore.

The Espresso Book Machine (EBM, as opposed to ATM) has been installed at the New York Public Library. It's a relatively inexpensive POD book-producing machine. The machine can crank out a 200-page paperback in six to 12 minutes. Currently, the library is giving away copies of certain books only, mainly public domain titles. But the machine has the capability of producing over 200,000 public domain titles and its makers are working with publishers for rights to produce copyrighted books.

The EBM is also located in the World Bank in Washington and the Bibliotheca Alexandria in Egypt. The patented automatic book-making machine may revolutionize publishing by printing and delivering physical books within minutes. It is priced low enough that libraries and retailers can install the machine and it can potentially allow readers anywhere to obtain almost any book title in any language, whether or not the book is in print.

EBM's will be installed this fall at the New Orleans Public Library, the University of Alberta (Canada) campus bookstore, the Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, Vt., and at the Open Content Alliance in San Francisco.

The EBM's proprietary software transmits a digital file to the book machine, which automatically prints, binds, and trims the reader’s selection within minutes. The quality is said to be indistinguishable from any library-quality paperback book.

From my knowing a good many self-publishers over the years, I've come to some conclusions about them. Many are naïve and have refused to educate themselves about the book business. A few think their book will sell well simply because it’s so good. Almost none realize how hard it is to sell a book. And, of course, a very few think they are going to get rich.

If I were asked to give advice to a self-publisher (and I frequently am) I would say that a good dose of humility, combined with a willingness to learn, and an ability to work hard will lead to success. Perhaps that last verb 'will' should be changed to 'may' as there is a certain amount of luck involved.

On another level of book publishing, let's look at the bestseller list that's published in the New York Times. The NYT is a powerful and mysterious institution that both reports and drives the sales of books. Popular authors make big bonuses for making the list, and their subsequent books carry the words, "By the New York Times best-selling author," leading to more sales.

Actually, there are thirteen lists covering various categories. The lists are compiled from computer reports contributed by various bookstores. The Times does not reveal which bookstores are involved in order to make it more difficult to manipulate the system.

Some publishers and authors attempt to influence the results by arranging for bulk purchases of specific books at certain bookstores.

Dick's June 2007 Willamette Publisher article.