Jane Friedman's Blog: Jane Friedman, page 227

I'm Speaking at SXSW on Self-Publishing

[image error]




For the first time, I'll be on a panel at SXSW. The panel is called "The
Self-Publishing Novelist: Report From the Trenches." Author John Sundman proposed
the panel (remember
the Q&A?), and I owe him my thanks for including me.



I'll have more to say—content-wise—about this panel in the coming weeks, but for now,
mark your calendar, and if you plan to attend SXSW,
I hope you'll attend my panel on March 12 at 11 a.m.



To see the full list of events where I'm
speaking this year, click here.


[image error]

You Don't Have to Blog, Tweet, or Be on Facebook

[image error]






I'm often giving many reasons for writers to start a blog, be on Twitter, or use Facebook.



But the truth is, you don't have to do any of these things to get published or to
sell books.




(Sidenote: You'll often hear stories of bestselling authors who don't use social media,
but that's not what I mean. Those stories are deceptive. Let's not compare aspiring
writers today to established, bestselling authors.)



To repeat:


You don't have to do these things. If you hate doing these things, stop. Stop now!



Do you feel better? Is the pressure off? Good.



Now envision what you would like to do.



Would you love sharing photos with the world, little pieces of artistic expression? See
author Jennifer Lee.




Would you love doing a mother-interview series? That's something I've done on my
personal blog.



Would you love creating your own line of greeting cards? See this author, Andrew
Shaffer.



Would you love creating inspirational newsletters? See Christina
Katz.



Would you love posing Big Deep Questions to people, because you believe there should
be no small questions? (See Al
Katkowsky!)



Would you love weekly conversations where you learn something critical to your craft
every week? (See #scriptchat founder, Jeanne
Bowerman.)





When you do interesting stuff—when you have something to say, a message to spread,
or a story to tell—then social media makes more sense. Because then, it becomes a
tool to share what you're doing and develop relationships with others who have similar
interests. Social media is like instant access to the most customized party, conference,
or classroom in the world—where everyone in the room shares your Ultimate Life Concern,
including those above you in stature, those below you, and those on the same rung.



If you see social media as that thing you have to do because now you have a book to
sell or promote, the game is over before it's started. You'll probably hate it, and
you won't last for the long haul.



See social media as a way to connect with people who matter to you.





[image error]

The Misleading "Research" By McSweeney's

[image error]




Let's be clear: I don't think print will die.



But that's no reason to concoct "research" about publishing that says "almost all
of the news is good, and most of it is very good."



That's what McSweeney's has done with their series on "The State of Publishing" or "Some
Good News From the World of Books."




Here are a few of their misleading statements, and why they are misleading.



1. Library membership and circulation is at an all-time high.


But do you know what people are doing with those library memberships? Multimedia is
the biggest growing segment of what libraries loan. Video
borrowing from public libraries actually grew faster than video rentals from commercial
providers from 1985 to 2004. Many libraries now report that AV
borrowing is in the 40 percent range.




The McSweeney's article seems to research only those libraries that prove their argument.
Did they call up the University of California Library System, which saw a 54% decline
in circulation between 1991 to 2001, of 8,377,000 print books to 3,832,000?



2. "Book sales are up."


They don't give figures for 2009-2010, only 2008. That aside, stagnating would
be a more accurate description of sales in terms of revenue. The figures McSweeney's
cites are also highly problematic—further detail below.



At the publishing company I just left, the biggest mantra I heard was: "Raise prices."
Why? Because we couldn't expect decent growth otherwise. So this also contributes
to the illusion of health.



3. Bookscan sales are up.


Bookscan unit sales may reflect a minor increase, but also more retail outlets have
been added to Bookscan, and the explosion of titles (self-published and POD titles)
are also misleading indicators of health. More accurate research would compare title
releases, unit sales, and revenue of the Big Six.



4. Title counts are healthy (and up).


It's telling that McSweeney's report only mentions title output through 2008, even
though 2009 numbers are available.



In 2009, traditional title output dropped by 3%, and in the fiction category by 15%.
See this article from Publishers Weekly that talks about growth
in nontraditional/unclassified segments that overshadow the growth of every other
segment.




Other figures that McSweeney's sites are too old to even argue with. (2005? Really,
why bother citing such old information considering the age we live in?)



McSweeney's report accidentally exemplifies the overall problems of capturing accurate
data on U.S. book sales.




In the January 18, 2011, Publishers Lunch,
Michael Cader reported that AAP and BISG hired Bowker as the data collection provider
for new industry stats. Why is this news? Because the stats are known to be a mess.




A year ago, Cader commented about Bowker's information on annual publication stats:
"So for now, these annual numbers are going to keep getting bigger and bigger and,
absent further changes in the statistics, they are going to keep meaning less and
less about the world trade publishers operate in."



And he also commented (even earlier than that!):

Discerning readers already know that on a standing
basis, we very consciously do not report periodic numbers from the AAP, Census Bureau,
and IDPF since they are so incomplete (and sometimes inconsistent) as to be more confusing
than illuminating. Nielsen Bookscan is great for what it covers, but is also incomplete
(and doesn't capture certain things, like ebook sales, at all).

If you have a Publishers Marketplace subscription, then take
a look at this archived Lunch note from Cader that really sums it all up.




All that said, McSweeney's is right about one thing:



"The ratio of printed books to e-books changes drastically
with each venue."


If you look at bestsellers from Big Six companies, the industry now sees
some titles with 50% unit sales from electronic editions. If you look at sales from
companies like McSweeney's, or literary presses, the percentage is far lower, less
than 5% in many cases. Why? Either their audience demographics don't match the e-reading
demographics, or these publishers don't have the financial means or desire to offer
e-editions.



Keep in mind: McSweeney's print subscriptions/offerings are as much about physical
packaging as the content (their special newspapers, their unique box sets, their literary
offerings that have even been delivered in the guise of junk mail).



But their devotion and loyalty to the physical book form should not call for—or require—"research"
that informs us the rest of us that it's business as usual.



--



If you'd like to see some of the statistics I uncovered recently, go see this post
from December 2010 at Writer Unboxed: How
Bad Is It Really in the Publishing Industry?






[image error]

Listen to Full Audio of AWP Social Media Panel

[image error]




As you can probably tell—due to lack of Best Tweets—I am still catching up from being
away at the Association
of Writers & Writing Programs conference.




BUT—I have some wonderful things to share with you related to the event. (My own insights
will come later in the week.)

1.
Full audio of the social media panel I moderated


Thanks to Caleb J. Ross, you can listen in on ALL 75 minutes of the social media panel
with rock stars Dan Blank, Bethanne
Patrick, Christina Katz, Tanya
Egan Gibson—and Caleb. Click
here to go listen!




2.
Read a recap of my transmedia panel from Fiction Writers Review.


This is from the perspective of interns at the University of Michigan. Click
here to read. (The picture above shows me moderating the panel, taken by the Fiction
Writers Review.)



3. Panelist Christina Katz has 2 valuable follow-up posts that you must read. The
first one is How
to Get Beyond "Using Social Media" and Become a Social Artist Instead, and also
valuable: How
to Use Social Media (includes a critical slide I showed during the panel).



4. Another one of my panelists, Dan Blank, has just opened up an online class for
authors on building platform. If this is something you've been meaning to tackle
seriously in the coming year, I highly recommend Dan as your teacher. Check
out the course.

[image error]

Best Tweets on Break

[image error]




Due to AWP, I'm taking a break on Best Tweets until next week.



Want to know about the best stuff I read each week? Click
here to subscribe to my shared items.























Looking for more?




Follow me on Twitter (@JaneFriedman)







List of most frequent
contributors in Best Tweets for Writers (always under development)



Follow Writer's Digest editors on Twitter: @writersdigest @brianklems @robertleebrewer @jessicastrawser @chucksambuchino @psexton1 @kellymesserly




Become a fan at the Writer's Digest Facebook
page (11K fans)

[image error]

Who's Listening to You? (AWP Thoughts)

[image error]




While delivering a session at the Writer's Digest Conference (read
this very kind & generous recap from George Davis!), I mentioned a few ways
that writers can waste their time:



By not submitting your best work to commercial publishers or agents



By publishing your work digitally when your audience wants print (or vice versa)



By self-publishing when no one is listening

Since that weekend, I've been digging deeper into these ideas, and am developing an
article for Writer's Digest on when and how revise your publication strategy.



And now, being at AWP, many other ideas are bubbling to the surface. Here are a few
thoughts sticking in my mind that I'll address soon (in one venue or another!):



Traditionally, a significant obstacle for literary publishing has been the cost
of print publication. Digital tech now changes that dramatically and offers advantages—for
emerging writers to get their start, and for established writers to experiment with
things they haven't done before.




Yet even for the literary world, everyone is still trying to figure out where
the revenue with digital is.




I do wonder if we might be entering an era when we can't expect to find revenue with
certain types of work/publications—or at certain stages of authors' careers.

In
a recent interview, Francis Ford Coppola said, "You have to remember that it's
only a few hundred years, if that much, that artists are working with money. Artists
never got money. Artists had a patron … as we enter into a new age, maybe art will
be free. … Who says artists have to make money?"

Technology now allows for affordable & amazing multimedia collaborations,
and it takes us back to roots of oral storytelling, and literature's relationship
with oral storytelling.



Many people in publishing are getting very excited about this kind of innovation.
And I've been offering exhortations here on this blog (and at events): Experiment. Think
beyond the book. Stop seeing the book as the end-all, be-all. It's one facet of
a career, not the goal.



But I've also realized I have to be more measured in my advice. Maybe it's not OK
to jump right in. Maybe it's best to know (at least) what you want to say—as
Christina Katz would advise!—and to ask: Who is listening here? Or how will I
connect with the people who will listen?



It's OK to experiment. But be honest with yourself about what you envision happening
once you've finished the experiment. Where do you want, expect, or hope to be? Just
because you used a new tool, or thought outside the box, doesn't mean the readers
will come.





(Pictured above: Nath Jones & me at AWP!)



[image error]

What I'm Looking Forward to at AWP

[image error]




Today I'm headed to the Association
of Writers & Writing Programs conference. I've been going to AWP since 2004,
and it is one of the largest events I attend—more than 8,000 writers, professors,
and professionals.




When I worked full-time at Writer's Digest, I had to stick around the Bookfair hall
at the Writer's Digest table exhibit. Not so this year!



2011 is the first year that I proposed panels, and I was fortune enough to have both
accepted. (See below).



So, I'm planning to spend most of my days attending others' panels. As a new media
professional and writing professor, I have divided interests, but my choices below
reflect a little of both roles (plus a personal interest in becoming more community
oriented in all the work I'm doing).




--



Thursday, 9 a.m.


Tearing Down the Town/Gown Divide: Taking Writing Off Campus and into the Community. (Tim
W. Brown, M.L. Liebler, April Naoko Heck, Gary Glazner, John Domini) 


How to traverse the town/gown divide by taking literary and organizational expertise
into the community. Strategies for faculty and students alike to gain exposure for
their writing, grow their audiences, and obtain real-world experience.



Thursday, 10:30 a.m.


Beyond Print: Digital Directions in Literary Publishing. (H. Emerson Blake,
Michael Archer, Jeffrey Thomson, Ram Devineni, Steven Lagerfeld)

Digital media is often presented as a challenge for literary magazines and journals—an
obstacle to be overcome. But digital media also presents dynamic opportunities for
the world of good writing.



Thursday, noon


Filling the Void: Growing & Sustaining Literary Communities. (Jill Pollack,
Christopher Castellani, Alix Wilber, Kyle Semmel)


What is the beating heart of a city's literary community? Writing centers across the
country are doing more than filling a void: they are building vital links and opportunities
to serve writers at all stages of their careers.



Thursday, 1:30


Marketing Your Literary Community: How to Make Sure Your Organization is Heard. (Kyle
Semmel, Art Taylor, Jill Pollack, Chip Cheek, Gregg Wilhelm)


So you've started a literary center or festival in your community. Now what do you
do? How do you market it? Which strategies work? Which don't? How do you get the best
return on investment on a limited advertising budget?



Thursday, 3:00


The Art and Authenticity of Social Media: Using Online Tools to Grow a Community. (Jane
Friedman, Tanya Egan Gibson, Dan Blank, Bethanne Patrick, Christina Katz, Caleb J.
Ross)


Social media is easy to disparage as meaningless socializing, undignified shilling,
or time better spent writing. Yet sharing information online and having conversations
with readers is critical to spreading the word about what you (or your organization)
does. Online community building can help develop a long-term readership, plus open
up new opportunities.




Thursday, 4:30


Why Don't They List Agents on Match.com? Demystifying the Author/Agent Relationship. (Britta
Coleman, Matt Bondurant, Alex Glass, Marcy Posner, Jenny Bent, Ann Cummins)


Finding the perfect agent takes more than a pithy profile or even a well-written query.




Friday, 9 a.m.

The Good Review: Criticism in the Age of Book Blogs and Amazon.com. (Jeremiah
Chamberlin, Charles Baxter, Stacey D'Erasmo, Gemma Sieff, Keith Taylor)


This panel examines how criticism is changing in a literary landscape increasingly
dominated by new media. In this era, who is a critic? What is a good review? Whom
does it serve? And what is the impact of criticism on literature and culture?



Friday, 10:30

How to start a literary center and thrive through the decades. (Jocelyn Hale,
Andromeda Romano-Lax, Gregg Wilhelm, Eve Bridburg, Sue Joerger)

Have you realized that your region needs a literary center and wondered how you might
get one going? What are your first steps and what will follow as your vision takes
hold and your organization grows? Learn about the lifecycle of nonprofits from leaders
of literary centers at all stages of development from Idea and Start-up.



Friday, noon

Love at First Query: Agents and Authors Share Strategies for Falling in Literary Love. (Catherine
Cortese, Bret Anthony Johnston, Paige Wheeler, Matthew Gavin Frank, Gordon Warnock,
Michelle Brower)


Searching for the right agent or author is complicated. Some forge tight bonds from
their first collaboration, while others break up only to reconnect with new, more
appropriate counterparts. Is there a formula for a perfect relationship between an
artist and his or her representation, or is it all luck of the draw?




Friday, 1:30

Thinking Beyond the Book: The Future of Authorship and Publishing in a Transmedia
World. (Jane Friedman, Kevin Smokler, Al Katkowsky, Christina Katz, Andy Hunter/Electric
Lit)


According to publishing futurists, we are now experiencing the late age of print.
Publishers are beginning to see the print book as the last stage of author development,
rather than the first step. A new model is emerging for stories and content distribution,
with publishers and authors experimenting with mobile apps, podcasts, and multimedia
approaches.





Friday, 3:00

Ask Not What the Internet Can Do for You: Shifting Our Perspective on Internet Publishing
as an Alternative to Major Market Publishing. (Ralph Pennel, Justin Maxwell, Ravi
Shankar, Anmarie Trimble, Lizzie Stark, Max Magee)


This panel will discuss electronic publications as central to the needs of 21st-century
writers and readers, and not as entities serving as secondary iterations of preexisting
publications.



Friday, 4:30

F220. Building the Literary Robot: The Lit Journal as New Media. (James Engelhardt,
Scott Lindenbaum, Jurgen Fauth, Zach Dodson, Zachary Schomburg, Travis Kurowski)


Lit has gone viral, adapted to fit Twitter feeds, iPhone apps, and social networks,
and fashioned into flash animation for posting on YouTube. How do literary journals
step into these new, far-reaching modes of publishing? What role will e-literature
have in contemporary publishing and the teaching of creative writing? What will this
mean to the traditional short story, poem, and essay?



--



For any others who are attending AWP, leave your suggestions/tips in the comments!

[image error]

5 Key Takeaways for Authors From Digital Book World

[image error]




Last week, on the heels of the Writer's Digest Conference, more than 1,000 publishing
professionals gathered for Digital Book
World to discuss the challenges of transitioning a very traditional business into
the digital age.



While I didn't attend the show this year (had to teach!), I've read a considerable
number of live blogs and write-ups. Here are a few takeaways that I found especially
important for writers & authors.

1. For major publishers, e-books will be 50%
of unit sales (but not necessarily revenue) no later than 2015. What's
driving growth? The decreasing price of e-readers, the popularity of tablets, the
launch of Google Books, and—in general—the
increasing number of ways to read and acquire e-books across a variety of platforms.

2. Publishers are being challenged
to show their value. "Publishers are going to have to prove they're better
at marketing and publicity than the authors themselves," said Simon Lipskar, an agent
with Writers House.




Furthermore, with initiatives like Kindle
Singles—where organizations like the New York Times or TED are partnering with
Amazon to release timely e-originals that in the past would've been done as quick
print books—there will be even greater competition for traditional publishers.

3. Agents have to think of themselves
as not just dealmakers, but as orchestrators of talent and careers. Given
how many potential ways content can be produced and distributed now, a good agent
doesn't just sell a print book, then move on. They're thinking about which medium
is most appropriate for a first release, and the timing and pricing of other mediums.
They're exploring all multimedia options and opportunities, and making things happen
outside the traditional models.

Also, an interesting highlight from Teleread's
report: Steve Ross of Abrams Artists said that with fewer titles being published,
and so many publishing professionals out of work, he decided to set up a consulting
service for self-published authors, and within 10 days had more clients than he could
handle.

4. Bricks-and-mortar bookstores will continue to decline—which puts further pressure,
as noted above, on commercial publishers to show their value to an author beyond distribution. Mike
Shatzkin boldly predicted: "We're looking for a reduction in shelf space of 50% in
the next five years, 90% in the next ten years."

I didn't see or hear anyone else being as aggressive in their
predictions as Shatzkin, but there was agreement
there would be some decline.




One caveat: the e-book industry growth is primarily driven by Big Six publishers,
rather than independent publishers. National Book Network president Rich Freese, whose
company distributes 200 independent publishers, said: "Ebooks aren't even 5% of our
sales, and they won't be 50% in two years."




However, the biggest fiction authors are already at 50% digital; other bestselling
authors are at 20%.

5. The YA market is not (yet) driven
by e-books. Bowker's Kelly Gallagher offered results from the latest BISG/Bowker
poll, which showed that only 5-6% of the YA market is reading e-books.

Best sources to read more in-depth:




Carolyn
Kellogg at the LA Times


Gayle Feldman
at FutureBook


Teleread




And, of course, you'll find continuing coverage of all these issues at Digital
Book World's excellent site, rich with content.



For those of you who attended Digital Book World, or were closely following
Twitter and other reports: What were your key takeaways? Would love for you to share
in the comments!



[image error]

Writing Above Your Head

[image error]




In the latest Glimmer Train Bulletin, Clayton
Luz has a wonderful piece about
"writing above your head," advice that he first heard from Richard Ford. Here's a
snippet of what Clayton says:

Sometimes we have to let things we experience age
a while in our souls before they ripen into a knowing. I'm with Henry James, who wrote
"Experience is never limited, and it is never complete; it is an immense sensibility,
a kind of huge spider-web of the finest silken threads suspended in the chamber of
consciousness, and catching every air-borne particle in its tissue."




In other words, I had to live a sum of life before Ford's meaning reached my consciousness.



I understand now. My short story "When the Wind Blows the Water Grey" represents my
first published fiction. And it got that way because I finally wrote above my head,
I believe. What does that mean? …

Click here to read
the full piece by Luz.




Or: head to the full bulletin from Glimmer
Train.

[image error]

Best Tweets for Writers (week ending 1/28/11)

[image error]




I watch Twitter, so you don't have to. Visit each Sunday for the week's best Tweets.
If I missed a great Tweet, leave it in the Comments. Want to know about the best stuff
I read each week? Click
here to subscribe to my shared items.




Quick plug: check out these live, online classes from Writer's Digest:



Publish
Your Children's or Teen Fiction in Today's Market by literary agent Mary Kole
(includes critique of your first 500 words)



Sell
Freelance Articles by Writer's Digest editors Chuck Sambuchino and Zachary Petit
(includes critique of your query)





















Best of the Best

Tips from Alan Rinzler on how to untangle
a plot


@inkyelbows



Lee Goldberg guest-posts to Joe Konrath's blog
about his Kindle success


@victoriastrauss



E-publishing isn't a sprint. It's a marathon


@jakonrath

Getting Published + Agents/Editors

If you won't have a blog, don't bother
sending us your manuscript by @mxpublishing


@TheFutureBook



Pitching: find your novel's wow factor


@iapetus999

Craft + Technique

Opening no nos


@jamesscottbell



3 Layers of 'Layering' in Fiction


@victoriamixon



13 ways to begin your novel


@gripemaster




The Problem With Memoirs


@AdviceToWriters



Tightening Your (Manuscript's) Belt: a Checklist for
Eliminating Unnecessary Prose


@elizabethscraig

Publishing News + Trends

Multimedia, Kids' Apps and the Rise of
a New Form


@PublishersWkly



HarperCollins acquires first title from community
writing site inkpop.com


@eBookNewser



In a nutshell, @MarionManeker explains the impact of
Kindle Singles and similar mid-length pe-publishing


@twliterary

Marketing + Promotion

5 Steps to Starting Your Own Podcasting
Show


@BubbleCow



How to Plan Your Virtual Book Tour - terrific advice
and sample pitch letter from @sandrabeckwith


@bookmarketer

Social Media

How To Use Facebook Advertising To Market
Your Book


@thecreativepenn

Websites + Blogs

Is Your Book Hiding Inside Your Blog?:
5 Steps to Finding It


@CatsEyeWriter



"When you focus on a smaller group of potential readers,
you can grow your audience much faster."


@JustineMusk

@Dan Blank



So You Want to Start a Book Blog: Pre-Blogging Advice


@elizabethscraig

Self-Publishing + E-Publishing

A handy beginner's guide to e-book formats,
apps and devices


@namenick



Self-Publishing Adventure: When You Don't Quite Sell
One Million Ebooks


@jafurtado

Resources + Tools

Introducing the search engine for writers--finding
resources that Google won't

@elizabethscraig



Janet Reid, Literary Agent: A book that should be on
your reference shelf


@thewritermama



Five iPhone apps for writing


@eBookNewser




For horror writers--a submission resource


@HorrorTree



Need ideas to jump start your project? The Thirty-six
(plus one) Dramatic Situations


@elizabethscraig

The Writing Life

Know When Your Writing Critique Group Doesn't
Fit


@hopeclark



Bestselling novelist Nicholas Sparks remembers his
time as an aspiring author


@GalleyCat

Looking for more?




Want to know about the best stuff I read each week?


Click here to subscribe
to my shared items.




Follow me on Twitter (@JaneFriedman)







List of Tweeps most
often included in weekly Best Tweets for Writers (always under development)



Follow Writer's Digest editors on Twitter: @writersdigest @brianklems @robertleebrewer @jessicastrawser @chucksambuchino @psexton1 @kellymesserly




Become a fan at the Writer's Digest Facebook
page (nearly 10K fans)

[image error]