Women, Speed, & Other Publishing News
To flourish in the publishing life as a thought leader or artisanal author, know the book biz and know your options.
Easier said than done, right? A combo of at least three factors – the rise of digital tech, the recession of 2008, and Jeff Bezos – has disrupted the publishing industry for better and worse and make your doing so challenging.
I occasionally provide you with publishing news round-ups to keep you apprised of the best information, resources, and tips I can scour. The latest round-up includes news about publishers championing women authors, a trend toward speedier publishing, Amazon Publishing’s numbers, & more.
Enjoy – and keep captivating.
How do women fare in the publishing world?
Women read far more hard covers than men and champion their favorite authors, women and men. Women authors abound. Women hold top positions in publishing. But who’s reviewing books in the top book review publications? And whose books are getting reviewed? Some publishers have set out to address that issue in 2014. Dennis Abrams of Publishing Perspectives explains.
Speed Publishing
Traditionally, publishers take up to two years from the time of accepting a book deal to publishing that book. This relative snail’s place might change at least for authors of certain genres. Soon, readers might be able to buy books by the same author similar to the way they can watch all seasons of Orange is the New Black on Netflix – in unbridled downloading biblio-gluttony.
The take-away: If you’re writing in genre fiction and have a series in the works, gear up to write more quickly and publish, say, 3 books within a year. Read more by Eric Levenson of The Wire.
The Old-Fashioned Way
Larkspur celebrated its 40th anniversary. This traditional press publishes work especially of Kentucky poets such as Wendell Berry. The hand-cranked press, the use of glue, and other measures harken back to publishing of another era – one marked with care, craftsmanship, and objects of beauty. Matt Frasisca of The Washington Times has more on how Larkspur’s publisher Gray Zeitz keeps going.
And Then There’s Goliath (or that other giant name)
Jeff Bercovici of Forbes breaks down how Amazon Publishing’s numbers stack up, for better and worse (depending upon your perspective), against traditional publishers.
Book Trailers Can Work.
I advise Tracking Wonder’s Path to Publish clients to think more about book discoverability than distribution. You buy one book on Amazon, and Amazon sends you a list of recommendations on 12 more. Discovery. You read reviews of another book on Goodreads. Discovery. Someone mentions a book on Facebook. Discovery. Over lunch, a friend rhapsodizes about the business book she can’t put down. Discovery.
Book trailers help book discoverability, too. Gabrielle Pena i Balleste, founder of Bookmovies.tv, headquartered in Spain, explains in Publishing Perspectives’ premiere issue of their digital magazine.
Our SEO and book trailer smart guy Dom John creates killer videos that tell a story in and of themselves on-budget, by the way.
SEO and Discoverability
SEO and discoverability are not things most authors want to think about. But regardless of what publishing route you take, you want to be a savvy partner and collaborator in your book’s sales. Here’s an eye-opening article about SEO’s role in helping your book’s sales – something else our SEO wiz Dom keeps tabs on.
What questions do you have about publishing? Let us know in the comments below.
Thanks for running with me,
