 | 17 May 06 |
The thing I dislike most about publishing is the business that surrounds it. I mean really, how many other manufacturers allow a purchaser to destroy an item BEFORE returning it? Even worse, the manufacturer withholds money from the creator of said item until that destroyed merchandise appears in their warehouse. This whole strip and ship thing in the publishing industry blows my mind. So does publishing’s accounting process. Do these guys ever get audited? If so, by whom? If a royalty statement lists your sales at 30,000, less the reserve of course, how do you know for sure that that was the actual number sold? For all I know the actually sales could have been 30, 292, and some creative accountant decided to round down.
To me, business is business, which means both parties should have a clear picture of any and all transactions. This is not so in publishing most of the time. I’ve seen quite a few royalty statements from different authors from various houses, and those statements register some of the most convoluted accounting I have ever seen. Why is that? With all the technology available today, especially in bar coding, you would think it would be easy to track and account for books sold.
And since we’re talking about sales . . . I’m starting to learn that if you don’t keep your name in front of the publishing house’s sales group, the chances that your sales will increase from year to year is nothing short of a crap shoot. I’ve been on sales calls with these guys when they’ve approached all the major buyers. In short, it ain’t pretty. First of all, you may have a 2 P.M. appointment with four buyers, but so do four other sellers. You’re corralled into a waiting room, where most sellers don’t speak to one another. They’re either on cell phones or on laptops. When you’re finally called into the ‘buyer’s room,’ there may be three to five exhausted looking people sitting around a conference table. You’ve got ten minutes to pitch to them….every damn title you’re responsible for. So unless that bookseller knows your name and what you’re about, you will simply be a cover flat spread out over the table along with thirty others. The prettiest covers win. I’ll tell you, as frustrating as this process is, I have to tip my hat to these booksellers. It’s a tough way to make a living these days.
With all the challenges facing writers today, it’s critical to understand the keys to survival in this business . . .
–Write the best story possible.
–Get creative with promotions, and if you’re not comfortable with that end of the business, find someone who is.
–Ask questions if you don’t understand something and keep asking until you find someone who can give you a clear explanation. (And be prepared for that ‘clear’ explanation to make no business sense whatsoever.)
–Network with other published authors to find out what other houses are doing in the way of promotions, sales, and returns.
–Get as high as you can in the food chain. Meet the distributors, buyers, the damn president of the company if possible.
–Be appreciative, kind, helpful, and truthful in all of your dealings.
For the majority of us, it’s not enough to simply write a good book. We’ve got to put feet to the street and make things happen. If you’re shy, get over it. I used to be the biggest wallflower on the planet until I figured out the world would pass me by if I didn’t jump on its merry-go-round. And if I can do it, a-n-y-o-n-e can!
You know, in hindsight, maybe this industry is really onto something…I think the next time I order a Big Mac, I’ll just keep the meat patty, return the bun, and demand my money back. Whadda ya think?
© 2006 – 2009, Deborah LeBlanc. All rights reserved.
Deborah LeBlanc is an award-winning author and business owner from Lafayette, Louisiana. She's also a licensed death scene investigator and an active member of two national paranormal investigation teams.
She is the president of the Horror Writers Association, president of the Writers' Guild of Acadiana, president of Mystery Writers of America's Southwest Chapter, and an active member of Sisters in Crime, Novelists Inc, and International Thriller Writers Inc. In 2004, she created the LeBlanc Literacy Challenge, an annual national campaign designed to encourage more people to read, and founded Literacy Inc. a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting illiteracy in America’s teens. She also takes her passion for literacy and a powerful ability to motivate to high schools around the country.
Subscribe to Posts 
It’s that “get creative with promotions” part that’s hard. I’ve gotten about as creative as I get writing the damn book. Don’t ask me to get creative promoting it too.
I used to do public relations for a winery and everyone always loved my descriptions of the wine and what to have with it and whether it was beach wine or pool wine or drawing room wine. But, once again, that was writing. That I can do.
The other stuff always makes me think of those “crafty” things I was never any good at.
Mo
by Maureen May 17th, 2006 at 6:51 amYeah, this whole thing is intimidating. I’m working on some outside projects now that, if they work, might be a tiny help with promotion (I don’t want to get my hopes up), and it’s alot of work, and it’s scary to spend that kind of time and energy on something. But I figure if I keep raising the bar, keep my name in front of at least some of the people at the publisher, it’ll help later.
I keep telling my family (who thought I was going to instantly become Janet Evanovich overnight… you know, before the book was even finished and turned in)… anyway, I have had to keep educating them about the process (where they may shelve the book, how some books are in stacks in front of the store or on the endcaps, returns, etc.). One of the things I have focused on is that once the sale to the editor is done, it’s only the beginning of selling. You have to keep selling yourself — to your publisher, to the sales force, to the bookseller, and then, ultimately, to the reader. But if we as authors skip the middle — if we sell once (the book) and then sit back and wait to sell to the reader (via the bookstore), we’re lost the attention of key people all through the middle of the process.
Squeaky wheels get attention. I’m trying to make sure those squeaks are very positive and pleasant and entertaining to the publisher / sales people, but still… squeaky wheels.
by toni mcgee causey May 17th, 2006 at 7:14 amI’ve seen quite a few royalty statements from different authors from various houses, and those statements register some of the most convoluted accounting I have ever seen.
It seems there’s even one company in New York which makes its money solely from checking royalty statements–if the publisher owes the author money, that company takes a percentage.
On days like these, I wonder why I write. Then I have a new idea, and decide that I’d be happy to be a starving writer (fortunately, this only lasts a few moments, LOL).
by May May 17th, 2006 at 7:35 amWhat an incredible insight in to bookbuyers, I never considered it to be such a crap shoot. But now it makes me wonder and understand in the same breathe some of the ugly neon covers I’ve been seeing over the past year or two. I will look at a cover and feel bad for the author because she (or he) got ripped off by the art department. I still have never bought Metrogirl because of the blinding cover (and now that I like that author I will have to search because it’s off the rack.)
It makes a billboard on I-5 look more inviting when an author considers what they are up against.
Your illustration now makes me understand the role of big publication reviewers more clearly, even smaller reviewers.
by Cele May 17th, 2006 at 7:44 amDeb, being the shy, retiring type, I could really use some advice on how to work with my publisher ane the reps. You’re right–by the time the books are on the shelves (one book, spine out in the wrong section) you’re in big trouble.
I need to toughen up. I don’t “want to bother anybody”. I don’t want to pester my overworked editor with questions. Talking to the publicist doesn’t seem to get me anywhere, because they pretty much just write a press release and mail stuff out. (At least on my level.)
If you wouldn’t mind, I’d love specifics about how you get the attention of the reps, and the publisher. Who do you approach first? How?
It would be a big service to all of us if you could share what you know.
This is the thing about this biz; the more you know, the more you know you’re missing the boat!
by J. Carson Black May 17th, 2006 at 8:15 amOh, Deb is SOOO right about this business. Consider please, that I have sold more books than another author’s entire print run, and yet she hit the USA Today list and I did not.
Go figure…..
by Natalie May 17th, 2006 at 10:00 amThis is scary stuff, but I’m glad to know it. When I sell, I’m going to come back and read this post again. I’d print it out now, but everyone’s comments teach me something too.
by Edie Ramer May 17th, 2006 at 11:45 amDeb, you had some great pointers in your post! It’s particularly important to ask questions and understand the business.
by Jen May 17th, 2006 at 11:47 amGreat post Deb! I think the key is to ask questions. But as Jake said, it’s sometimes hard because you don’t want to be a problem author. I thank God for my agent who answers my questions or gets the answers for me, but sometimes I don’t even know what questions to ask!
But we CAN control the story. That’s the only thing we can control.
by Allison Brennan May 17th, 2006 at 2:31 pmI ask a lot of questions all of the time. I’m sure my editors, thier assistants and my agent and her asssitant cringe everytime they see an email from me with a ? in the subject line. I usualy get a prompt answer but there have been a few times when I have to send a second ? email.
by Karin May 17th, 2006 at 3:50 pmIn fact, I have a conference call meeting scheduled for Monday with my S&S publicist. I have a laundry list of questions. I’ve been very fortunate that my editors at both houses have been very forthcoming with information. I have a ton to learn, and part of my conversation Monday will be about the sales teams, and what plans S&S has for my book.
Sorry it’s taken me a while to respond, ladies. I was on a flight (yeah, Nat, I actually flew!! lol) from Reno to Baltimore until 1 this morning. UGH!…
Maureen, I know how you feel. You would think we’ve done enough coming up with a creative story, now they want us to be creative with promotions? Puulease! Unfortunately, though, that’s where it is today in publishing. So many publicists and editors are overworked that anytime WE can come up with some new idea and are willing to do most of the work to make that idea happen, the powers that be at the publishing house are suddenly all ears.
You’re right, Toni. The squeaky wheels do get attention. The challenge is to make that squeak pleasant to the ear and not irritating, like those wicked, broken carts we sometimes latch onto at the supermarket. lol
You’ve got that right, May! With all the challenges involved in this business, you’ve really got to love it to stick with it. It’s a wonder there aren’t TONS of those auditing type companies out there!
Oh, Cele, you bring up another excellent point…those horrid covers! You would think it’s bad enough that we have to jump through flaming hoops to make a living in this businesss, but nooooo. They want us to jump through those hoops wearing clown suits!
Jake, the first mental exercise I’d recommend practicing is…”I’m NOT bothering anyone.” In truth, you’re actually helping them. You’re right, editors are overworked, so are publicist. They have too many authors to work with and not enough time. The way I got past that hurdle was pretty easy. Being a business person myself, I know that the most important thing in any business is profits. So I started looking at, “What can I do to help the house sell more books, thus increase profits?” Your editor won’t know the answer to this as they’re often not in the direct loop to sales. They only see the finaly numbers of what’s sold. Your publicist probably has more direct access to what preorder numbers are doing but not that much more than your editor. The person that DOES have those numbers, however, is the VP of sales. This is where the challenge comes in…how do I get to that VP? I used the ’round-house’ method to make that happen. I asked my publicist for the name of the division manager of sales and their email address. With that info, I emailed her an introduction, and a very brief idea of some marketing ideas I had in mind. She responded immediately, her interest piqued. As the idea grew through our email exchanges, she’d often refer to the VP of sales (her boss), and that she would ‘pass’ that idea along to him. During these exchanges, I kept my ‘ear to the ground,” which means as soon as her excitement about the new ideas ‘peaked,’ I suggested that we get together for a face to face to discuss then. She agreed, and everything snowballed from there. I got to meet the VP of sales, and since I knew how to speak his ‘language’, i.e. profit/loss, we instantly hit it off. From there, I was able to set up meetings with buyers, distributors, etc. It’s been a win-win ever since.
Nat, the point you bring up about your sales exceeding another author’s, yet they make the ‘best sellers’ list makes me grit my teeth! GRRRR!
Edie, it is scary stuff, but that’s only because it’s a ‘different’ game, one that most people aren’t familiar with playing. Once you understand the rules and players, the fear lessens, and you’re more apt to get in a good ‘hand’ or two.
Thanks, Jen. And for me the questions never stop.
Allison, if you have an agent who has the answers you’re lucky! Most don’t really know the real, inside scoop of what goes on in the sales dept. of a publishing house.
Good luck with your conference call, Karin! I hope they’ve got wonderful things planned for you.
by Deb May 18th, 2006 at 6:36 amWell I’m printing this sucker up right now! Still waiting for the next book deal, and the other book’s been out for a good long time, so I will plan my assault once the dust clears.
Thanks, Deb! The meek may inherit the earth, but that’s the only way they’ll ever get it.
by J. Carson Black May 18th, 2006 at 7:09 amGreat stuff, Deb! Thank you.
by Karin May 19th, 2006 at 6:13 amThanks, Karin.
by Deb May 19th, 2006 at 2:50 pmDid you catch that? Deb FLEW!! On a plane…. LOL.
by Natalie May 20th, 2006 at 9:53 amOne thing that I know Buster likes to do is rest. When he is tired, he finds a place acmeetingon the floor that he likes and he lies down. Sometimes he chews on his bone or his toy, and other times he likes to take a nap. http://www.51jiaxiao.com
by netmeeting July 28th, 2006 at 7:18 am