One Picture Says Why You Should Not Publish a (Print) Book
Take a look at this picture. These are some of the very few books that get exposure at airport book stores. Yes, it might look better at Barnes & Nobles as these stores are bigger, but that does not change the fact that it is very, very difficult for authors to get their books – and thus their ideas and messages – in front of an audience. The competition for shelf-space in stores and attention among potential readers/buyers is ridiculous.
My advice to aspiring authors of printed books is that you should find other ways of connecting with your audience. Besides my blog and social media presence, I am experimenting with a mix of e-books in different sizes (ranging from 50 to 150 pages) at low prices and PDF-files that I give away for free. The latter includes shorter excerpts as well as full books. Check this link: Free Book – Making Open Innovation Work
I plan to do the same with my next book, Social Media for Corporate Innovators and Entrepreneurs: Add Power to Your Innovation Efforts, which is due mid-August. Some of you might think that I am crazy giving away my books for free at the same time that I am trying to sell them. Well, the truth is that I hardly make any money on the books anyway so why not just try to get as much exposure as possible and then build a good business as a speaker and consultant.
It works for me even in these tough times and it could work for you as well. Just remember that it takes lots of effort and time to build a personal brand and an audience for your ideas and messages!
This is strange…you are saying the problem is too many books and your proposal is to flood the market with more ebooks so that to is flooded. But then again you make no money on books so you don't mind mucking up the market for the people that do earn their living that way? The reason the book market worked before internet was that the gatekeepers made it hard to publish. You can appreciate the democratization of the digital age but proliferation WITHOUT MONETIZATION means a glut on the market where knowledgable aggregators have to sort it out for all.
This is called evolution of a market place. I sense that you prefer the "good old days" but we just can't stop developments like this. If people can make money publishing books, that's just fine with me. I can't and I suspect many others can't either. A very small fraction of books become best-sellers or even make decent money for all involved including the author. On business books, I suggest that authors use books (print or digital) as promotion vehicles and then make money otherwise with speaking and consulting engagements as the most obvious. The same thing happened with the music industry years back. Today, most musicians make their money on live gigs and merchandise rather than on CD or digital sales.
On a general note, I would say that most markets today are saturated. The winners are those that adapt and execute the best on new opportunities.
Very, very few people who publish books in the business category earning their living that way. As Stefan says, speaking engagements and consulting are where the $$$ are now and that also where the bucks were in the days before the Internet made the approach Stefan is recommending possible.
The "gatekeepers" as you call them are still making it hard to publish and their decisions, as far as I can tell, have little to do with the quality of book proposals or the value of the proposed content. In fact, my observation in having worked with three or four traditional publishers on client books is that they know very little about business and what people in the business world might be interested in reading. As I worked on manuscripts with editors, was asked numerous questions that no business person would ever ask; they were ignorant about even very basic business terms and practices. I am so happy that people can now go around such uninformed gatekeepers and get their ideas into the marketplace.
Have you tried different price ranges? If so, what type of results?
Hi Jack, I have not had enough experience with different price ranges to give you worthwhile feedback on this. One thing I can say is that I am inclined to give away free PDF-files even though this hurts / kills my book sales. The reason is that it would take 1000´s of downloads in order to make up for a good consulting gig. Thus it is more important for me to be exposed to potential clients.
For better or worse, this implies that the reader should understand that the book he or she is reading is marketing literature rather than (more than) a vehicle to educate or present a point of view. These objectives of publication are not, of course, mutually exclusive , but most people do not read a book with this perspective in mind. To some degree, though, this has been true even for hard-copy publications. Thankfully, i don't have to think this way when I read a novel.
Steven, I agree that this is not mutually exclusive. It is important for the author to understand that he/she has two big challenges: one is to present quality insights and the other is to get this in front of the audience. Both take a significant effort, but unfortunately many chose to downplay – or perhaps they just don't want to face the truth / challenge – on the latter.
I'd say that while it's true that many books are written to help the author get speaking/consulting gigs rather than earn money on the book itself, that doesn't mean that the book isn't of value. If the author hopes to get a consulting assignment, he or she must demonstrate value in the book itself. If the book is fluff, the author won't get hired to consult or speak.
Good post Stephen. I too just published my book. In my learning–and what an education it is–about book publishing, I've learned that, and you said it…the book publishing world is evolving. What is still "King" is distribution. However now it is possible for self and independent publishers to gain access. Further, like anything else, with smart strategies and hard work anything is possible. Have a colleague who sold 2 million copies of his book–but internationally. Finally, in attending the National Speakers Association Convention few weeks ago, the speaker made a very strong case for starting your own independent publishing company (different than self-publishing). If I can find notes/links, I'll post.
Interesting posts. I find myself in the middle of all these points, being a 1/3 through writing my first effort in the business realm. I do hold to the value statement and think the blog is the place for "free" previews. Have spoken with authors in many categories and the most interesting hybrid I ran across is a fiction writer that self-publishes a short version on Amazon at a low price & if he sees some interest he finishes the full version and shops it to the independents.
Stefan – I agree that the glut is tough to break through, but I agree with Steven's comment that paying readers expect both passion and full value as opposed to the teaser for the gig to follow.
I wonder if small change is the way to go if you think you can get some kind of scale? I recently bought a 20p Kindle book on economics by Edmund Conway, which made it into the top 100 list on Amazon – I doubt I would have paid much money for it, but it ended up being a nice easy read. Of course I have no knowledge about if that 20p makes any money for the author.