Be Aware

My boss in advertising use to say. "When the creative department leaves every night - my inventory walks out the door."

Or in other words -- there's a goose laying those golden eggs, treat them right.

Ultimately, without authors there are no books and without books, agents and the publishers have nothing to sell. And yet, a great number of publishers and agents still don't treat authors like adults, don’t tell them the truth and don't level with them. A great number of authors labor under the delusion they work for publishers not with them and allow their agents to treat them like employees instead of clients.

We really all are in this together but we're not operating like it. While the WSJ and NYT publish articles that really are not news or are not of real use anyone when it comes to improving sales or careers, there is some real news that we need to seriously talk about.
 
Many publishers are cutting marketing budgets for some 09 titles and not telling their authors about it so the authors have no idea that their books will be coming out with less support or in some cases without any support.
 
Today’s duckling is tomorrow's goose and this is no way to treat your geese.
 
Publishers, how about treating authors like partners and sitting down at the table together and working this out. Most of us are past the toddler stage and have fairly good table manners. We might be upset when we hear the news but here's the deal; a publisher has hundreds if not thousands of titles a year but an author has one. No one can afford a failure, but the author least of all.
 
Even the best marketing won't guarantee sales but we know that no marketing will guarantee no sales. If no one knows the book is out there, they are not going to find it by osmosis.
 
No one walks into a book store and says to a bookseller - I'd like to buy a book that neither you or I have ever heard of.
 
This is a tough time for publishing but a really exciting time, too, because when things get tough its easier to take chances and be brave.
 
Publishers, how about offering to help your authors figure out how to do some marketing on their own. Or how about offering to split some costs before you do away with say, galleys, or the few online ads you were going to do? How about offering to take some of the advance and pay for the marketing in exchange for increasing the royalty by a percent or two?
 
There are other exciting opportunities like using downloads (in e and audio) to introduce thousands of readers to writers they otherwise would never have heard of. Many authors would be willing to give up some royalties on an old book so it can be a free giveaway that can generate and advertise the new book.
 
This is just one example of marketing that doesn't cost the publisher very much.
 
Now's a good time to be brave, to explore this and other inexpensive ways to get the word out about our books, to be creative. No one can buy a book if no one knows it’s out there and we need to keep people buying books.
 
This is the very  worst time to pull budgets and let books sink or swim on their own. The very worst time to lie to authors. Now is the time for truth and creativity in advertising.

Comments

[Alex]

well said, it's an anxiety driven time for publishing right now.

[Lorra Laven]

As the saying goes, MJ: From your lips to God's ears.

The real question is whether your words of wisdom will be heard by the publishers, who, let's face it, control the book business.

At least for now.

[Jessa Slade]

This sure would be helpful. I was talking to an author who can't even get her publisher to tell her where her ARCs have gone. All she wants to do is send ARCs to reviewers who haven't received any. You'd think she and her publisher would be working together on this, but it's being treated as a trade secret. (Admittedly, this is a smaller publisher; maybe they just don't want to tell her they haven't sent any ARCs.)

[DeAnna]

Another excellent post, MJ -- Thank you!

[Eric McNulty]

The truth can be painful but it hurts less than being deceived. It's time for authors, agents, and publishers to sit down and reinvent this business together. The way it is going now, it is going to implode and then we're all out of luck. Great post.

[DeAnna]

I just wanted to add that I've given you a Premio Dardos award on my writing blog because you are in my top 15 must-read blogs. You can check out more at http://DeAnnaCameron.blogspot.com if you're interested.
Thanks for the consistently great posts!
DeAnna

[Mike]

Loved the bit about walking into a bookshop and asking to buy a book "that neither you or I have heard of"!

I worked in marketing for thirty years and there was an old anecdote that floated to the surface whenever times were tough. One sole trader tells another that he's heard there's a recession coming and what should he do? So the other one tells him to cut his costs or he'll go out of business. So he cuts his advertising - his 'soft' costs - so no one knows about his product, so sales plummet ...... and so he goes out of business.

This is the time to be putting more money into advertising and marketing budgets, not less. After all, there's apparently a recession on, so there should be some good deals around, shouldn't there?

[Malcolm R. Campbell]

Cutting advertising and promotion seems like a good way to ensure that things get worse.

In spite of all the hype about it across the Internet, authors left to promote themselves with zero support just aren't the ones selling most of the books.

If they're going to be cast into the limbo of zero support, authors--as you're saying here--should at least be told.

Malcolm

[Mark Bloomfield]

There is a bit of a disconnect going on here. 1) Publishers have a privileged relationship with retailers and media. Authors have a privileged relationship with readers. 2) 'Marketing' in publishing (really) means getting the jacket and copy done and getting the meta-data right. 3) It is - always has been and will continue to be - the job of the AUTHOR to reach out to their readers, inspire them to buy and enlist them as advocates for their books.

No publisher can make someone buy a book. No ad has ever led to a sale.

[Paul Elwork]

No doubt that a writer must actively participate in getting the word out on his or her books, but can we really discount the advantage of brand names in the marketplace? An ad placed by a recognizable imprint of, say, Random House--complete with a corporate logo and seal of authenticity--must get more traction with customers than an ad or blog post obviously placed by some guy you've never heard of, even if he is lucky enough to have a major press logo on the spine of his book.

Incidentally, great post, M.J.!

[Jessica]

As always, MJ, you get to the heart of the matter. Jessica