Received: from nobody by stodi.digitalkingdom.org with local (Exim 4.89) (envelope-from ) id 1e7Qbt-00075G-0T for lojban-newreal@lojban.org; Wed, 25 Oct 2017 11:41:01 -0700 Received: from mail-1-80.rch003.net ([151.248.1.80]:54525) by stodi.digitalkingdom.org with esmtps (TLSv1.2:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:256) (Exim 4.89) (envelope-from ) id 1e7Qaq-00070t-Lu for Lojban@lojban.org; Wed, 25 Oct 2017 11:40:00 -0700 DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha1; c=relaxed/relaxed; s=k1; d=sc02.rmdlvry001.com; h=From:To:Reply-To:Subject:Message-ID:List-Unsubscribe:MIME-Version:Content-Type:Date; bh=XHNgojSxQ8B8r86fd0qdEvm2lzQ=; b=WDqelblwP1o6XaFq8YykBgZAKITjmldK7vNmgclT/p+ky8GnJmlAVMfgl29i8bA+kb+K5ZqyOMAn OIdf9KL8F6yJPYOocpc5GkyWnk9fcXZMOR/RVNbVKowB3BGedV3yf3IzwkA0B1gYpHTiVSK63FN4 UdDBZuIO4YduclDUZ80= From: "Martin Foner" To: "Lojban@lojban.org" Reply-To: Subject: NEWSLETTER 22 / 16...NO, Amazon Has NOT Cornered the Future of Publishing X-BPS1: 6324082 Feedback-ID: 6324082:2010236:RM X-BPS2: 4165 Message-ID: <61b82ad5-1a11-4c4c-b544-43ec7f350fb5@a.sc02.rmdlvry001.com> List-Unsubscribe: , X-Mailer: RM Mailer (v5.4.762.0) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="=-FKKfjpyVSza65tNM/cw8Kw==" Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2017 13:39:56 -0500 X-Spam-Score: -1.9 (-) X-Spam_score: -1.9 X-Spam_score_int: -18 X-Spam_bar: - This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --=-FKKfjpyVSza65tNM/cw8Kw== Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Having trouble viewing this mail? Click here to view it in your browse= r. http://link.rm0002.net/v/SXn5pPNWV0E_0nA-I-1zsQ2 Make sure that you always get our messages: Add mfoner@nplconsult.com = to your contacts. Click here to unsubscribe or update your email address. http://link.rm0002.net/subscription/?t=3DSXn5pPNWV0E_0nA-I-1zsQ2 Martin Foner's Publishing Newsletter Because You're Serious About Success... or You're Not Volume 22, Number 16 NEWS BULLETIN... IT'S ALL OVER... AMAZON HAS "CORNERED THE FUTURE OF BOOK PUBLISHING" Hello, Everyone... I will list the main articles and a brief blurb on each first... then = get right into them after the "shorts". In this way you can scan what = is inside and then decide to actually read all the way through. AMAZON HAS 'CORNERED THE FUTURE OF BOOK PUBLISHING" It is true... NO actually, one person whose credentials are a bit slim= ... took some data and wants you to believe that, once again, Amazon i= s about to put you out of business. This is the sad refrain of prognos= ticators going back to E-Readers, then distribution, then eBooks, and = now, the entire universe of publishing. But what is odd is she has completely missed the real reason Amazon mi= ght be trying to corner the publishing market. Read on... AUTHORS NEED PUBLISHERS LESS AND LESS AND UNLESS PUBLISHERS CHANGE THE= IR ENTIRE MODE OF DOING BUSINESS, THEY WILL BE PUT OUT OF BUSINESS I had to put this article next to the Amazon one. Yet one more person = who believes that there is simply not enough room for publishing and s= elf-publishing to inhabit the same planet. While his points make great= theory, I'll just make one example of how, in practice... not so much= . *=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2= =A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2= =A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 = *=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2= =A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2= =A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 = * Quick Notes: Planning October is here... three quarters of the year is gone. Have you achiev= ed your goals for 2017? Are you on target? Do you even HAVE written go= als for NEXT year? Need I remind you that publishers who have a written Strategic Plan, c= omplex or very simple, are FIVE TIMES more likely to survive through y= ear five... and TEN TIMES more likely to successfully retire from your= publishing efforts? At the beginning of this year I had a prospective client who told me i= t was too expensive and time consuming to do a simple Strategic Plan. = (It wasn't... about $2,500 and an investment of a few hours of her tim= e.) Now, eight months later, I get the call... she is in deep trouble and = can I help? It would have been so much less expensive and time consumi= ng and grief inducing if we had just invested the small amount of time= and money when it should have been done. Take the time NOW to Plan for 2018 and beyond. Contact me at mailto:mf= oner@nplconsult.com . Don't wait until there is a crisis... Second Tip - Repeat I am repeating this tip because it is so critical. If you fail to meet= regularly... not once, but regularly... with your tax person during O= ctober, November, and December, you could be using the wrong tax perso= n to protect you from the government. If you are a calendar year taxpayer, you should be meeting with your a= ccountant pretty regularly now, once a month in October, November, and= December. If you don't know why, then email me and I will explain. Bu= t if you fail to do these consults, the results WILL be disastrous. Response to a Reader Last year I spoke about Trigger Words and Macroaggressions and Snowfla= kes taking over our Universities choking off, violently, when necessar= y, free speech and the First Amendment. It has been a year of all kind= s of 'issues' so I thought I would repeat a response I received... whi= ch to me is scary considering the content of the article... and here i= t is exactly as I got it: "You're an idiot, free speech and bigotry is not being banned." Ok, first of all... these Snowflakes start out by repeating a Trump ru= le... insult your opponent so as to make him or her look small. Second= , I cited any number of Free Speech violations and Racist 'violations'= , and offered everyone to Google for dozens and hundreds more. And thi= rd, did you notice the writer has a hard time matching singulars and p= lurals? Maybe he should have spent that extra classroom time listening= and not out looking for someone to punch out because they were attemp= ting to exercise their First Amendment rights... like me. *=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2= =A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2= =A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 *=C2=A0=C2=A0= =C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0= =C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0= =C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 * AMAZON HAS 'CORNERED THE FUTURE OF BOOK PUBLISHING" http://qz.com/780897/amazon-has-cornered-the-future-of-book-publishing= / The article linked above is interesting from the title to the end. First of all, the title is just as I have headlined the article. But, = when you read down to the first line, the author completely backs off = her sensational headline to suggest Amazon is quietly cornering a powe= rful new trend in books. So where did that insane headline come from? Then, she takes ISBN registration figures for the last five years and = last two years, from Bowker who might or might not have accurate recor= ds... (just use their Publishers Directory to find out they have no cl= ue about keeping things up to date)... to make her case that self-publ= ishing has grown by 375%. And then, at the very end of the article, she backs off once again tha= t multiple ISBNs may represent a book, eBook, and audiobook. Thus, if = this is accurate, then her 375% figure now is reduced to 125%. So, to suggest that in a five year period self-published titles would = double, is no big deal. Since the advent of Ebooks, this has been the = case... it isn't even news any more. Unless of course, you put up a he= adline that, once again, warns the world that the sky is falling in fo= r publishers and Amazon is the 100% entire reason for it. Reading in the middle of the article also gives you the impression tha= t Amazon is in complete control of the industry. Maybe this young lady= , who has very little real experience in publishing except for writing= a YA book, is a shill for Amazon? Who knows? But her work is sketchy = at best... and inflammatory and inaccurate at worst. I put this article together with the next one about how authors need p= ublishers less and less... and it seems to paint a picture of how any = author can make money on his/her own without even considering a publis= her. While that may be the case for Stephen King or other 'names', for the = most part, all of these self published authors are selling their books= in the hundreds a year. Better than not getting published by a real p= ublisher, but if you consider selling 300 books a year as a success...= then you don't; belong in 'publishing' anyway. And one last comment about Amazon... years ago when they first came ou= t with Kindles... publishers bemoaned their fate that Amazon would be = taking over publishing. I got besieged with questions about what to do= ... make books to Amazon's specs, continue their companies, quit, or d= o whatever Amazon wanted? My response was to stay the course they were= on... stick to their Strategic Plans... that within six months or a y= ear things would be radically different. Well, within six months there were 29, yes 29, different e-Readers on = the market, which quickly evolved into dozens of "pads" and tablets fo= r reading eBooks. Nothing is static for long and Amazon did not put pu= blishers out of business. But, there is a very quiet movement going on you SHOULD know about. Am= azon has a physical book publishing arm. It isn't getting any strong t= raction since bookstores are refusing pretty much wholesale to carry t= heir books since that is consorting with the devil. What most don't know is that Amazon is working hard to acquire other p= ublishers, both physical and eBook, to get themselves some 'cred'. If = they acquire some mid sized and name publishers, and don't let too man= y people know, then they will have access to bookstores and distributi= on and wholesale venues they don't have now. And let us not forget that Amazon has a plan, and is executing it, to = create more of those (to be banned from Bezos' mind) brick and mortar = stores so fatal to business twenty years ago. The overall plan, depend= ing on whom you listen to, is for 14 or 42 stores in the near future..= . not including 'stores' within other companies' stores. So if Amazon doesn't think it has cornered the publishing world yet... The sky is not falling in. Really... Let's continue... *=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2= =A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2= =A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 *=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0= =C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0= =C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 * AUTHORS NEED PUBLISHERS LESS AND LESS AND UNLESS PUBLISHERS CHANGE THE= IR ENTIRE MODE OF DOING BUSINESS, THEY WILL BE PUT OUT OF BUSINESS http://www.bookbusinessmag.com/post/authors-need-publishers-less-ever/= #utm_source=3Dbook-business-insight&utm_medium=3Dnewsletter&utm_campai= gn=3D2016-08-01&utm_content=3Dauthors+need+publishers+less+than+ever-1= http://www.bookbusinessmag.com/post/authors-need-publishers-less-ever= /#utm_source=3Dbook-business-insight&utm_medium=3Dnewsletter&utm_campa= ign=3D2016-08-01&utm_content=3Dauthors+need+publishers+less+than+ever-= 1 Now, here is a writer who has some history publishing... yet his openi= ng remark is contradictory. He claims to be a "literary micro-publishe= r operating much in the mold of how full-service traditional publishin= g has for years". Really? Paying 50 and 70% royalties claiming his ove= rhead allows this? Unless he is selling millions of books, which he is= n't if he calls himself a micro publisher, his business formula cannot= support these royalties. And even then, there is simply no way that ANY volume can support anyt= hing over a 50% royalty. Then he understandably claims large publishers cannot do this. Of cour= se they can't, unless they want to go out of business... and neither c= an he unless he is happy doing 100 hours of work a week and being a ti= ny, almost non-profit, publisher. He then goes on to support his claim by suggesting that traditional pu= blishers are missing bookstore distribution. Uhhhhh... what we are mis= sing is bookstores! Need I recite the list, Borders, Zondervan. Crown,= Walden in number, Dalton, store cuts both in number and size to Barne= s & Noble, and other smaller chains of up to 50 stores... And this lack of bookstores is NOT because there are more self publish= ers... most of these chains were gone prior to 2010... the system for = selling and distributing books was broken. Period. No one in their rig= ht mind in the industry disputes that. Other factors, yes, plenty, but= the main reason bookstores, and distributors, now that we're mentioni= ng them, have gone belly up over the last 20 years... the system was a= nd still is broken. Need I remind you that 'trade' distribution is based on a 1910 sales p= rogram first introduced by Mr. Kellogg of the cereal company? And hasn= 't been tinkered with very much in over 100 years. The author here again makes an issue of 25% eBook royalty rates as una= cceptable. Good for him. Maybe his overhead is an office in his parent= 's basement... to coin a political phrase... or an office in his house= with a partner/spouse being the other unpaid employee. This isn't a p= ublishing business... it is a hobby with legs. Then he goes on to acknowledge that larger publishers can't support a = 40% Ebook royalty because of margins. Make up your mind. While this person is knowledgeable, his "platform" isn't viable. But t= hat aside, the big name authors or those with a following... and by th= e way, how did they become big name or get a following... uhhhh maybe = because some big bad publisher helped them to get that way??? Ok, othe= r than these, the average author who writes a novel and Kindles it is = likely to sell about 100-300 copies a year before giving up. So, while authors need publishers less and less... if your plan is to = be a successful author, you might just want to get with a traditional = publisher to make it happen. We, as publishers, are NOT obsolete. Frankly I don't see it coming for= a very long time. Mostly because being published is still a sign that= the book is of better than average quality (yes, plenty of questions = about that) and could be worth reading. Let me give two recent anecdotes I have been involved in with self-pub= lishers to make my point. As a publishing consultant I get all kinds of emails and contacts with= in the industry from self-publishers all the way to larger companies l= ooking to confirm or adjust their strategies and figure out an exit st= rategy. I got an email recently: This person had two books on Kindle and POD with Amazon. Sales were in= the 200-400 books a year combined physical and Ebook. He was looking = to develop more sales, and a series of books and a following. I was un= happy to have to inform him that he wouldn't likely be able to do that= directly since Amazon doesn't share customer information. So whatever= he was going to do would have to come from book inserts and social me= dia and his own website... twice as hard as having the customer inform= ation and ability to contact for the next book in the series, gift ite= ms, and other promotions and information to keep the faithful, faithfu= l. He also wanted to do more promotions and advertising and marketing,= but on the current sales, he was already overinvested. The resolution= to that issue is too lengthy for here... but suffice to say that this= self-publisher could have used a regular publisher's investment to ma= ke his program work. Another self-publisher was actually selling 400-500 physical books a y= ear... and wondering if and when he should consider some short run pri= nting and sending out his own orders. He had some of the same concerns= about being able to collect customer information and felt at the merc= y of Amazon for everything. (Which he was, by his own choice, unfortun= ately.) He worried that he was at breakeven at best and would have to = sell into at least two thousand books before he could be profitable. W= e worked through the numbers... an exercise that Amazon certainly wasn= 't about to do for him, and determined that after about 500 books, he = was far better off to do an hour's worth of work a week to gather crit= ical marketing data about his customers as well as filling a few order= s a week... and his publishing efforts would be paying off far better.= We will see how it turns out as we work through it, but I can already= see the beginnings of growth and more personal satisfaction in his pu= blishing work. So, yes, you can still be a self-publisher, but you have to be the PUB= LISHER part. Kindle and Create Space is NOT a sufficient or even a liv= able strategy for success longer term. And what if other players step into the situation, as they will, to as= sist self-publishers? A great deal to think about, but my advice would be never hitch your h= orse to one wagon unless that wagon is hauling gold. * =C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2= =A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 *=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0= =C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0= =C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 * How many times do I have to speak about Strategic Plans? Yet, when I l= isten to publishers week in and week out... it would be safe to say th= at too many DO NOT have a written plan of any kind... even notes or an= outline. Businesses, including publishers, who create a written Plan = and then execute it, have an almost TEN TIMES retirement success rate = of those who don't. So, decide... Succeed or Fail? I CAN help you accomplish this goal. The sooner the better... contact = me today. http://www.nplconsult.com/ *=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2= =A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2= =A0=C2=A0 *=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0= =C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0= =C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 * PUBLISHERS CURRENTLY FOR SALE I will be keeping an up to date listing of my companies for sale on th= e website. In fact, I am going to add three more clients during Novemb= er. I will announce the new site early in November. Right now, I have = listings from $10,000 to $1,450,000. Yes, mostly tiny to middling. If = you're in the market, send me an email of what you are looking for if = you don't see it on the site. Most of my sales take place outside the = public eye. IF YOU WANT AN UPDATED LIST OF COMPANIES AND LINES AVAILABLE... SIMPLY= EMAIL ME (IF BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF NOVEMBER) FOR THE CURRENT LISTIN= GS. AFTER NOVEMBER 10TH... ALL SHOULD BE UP ON THE SITE. And for those of you thinking about selling... contact me mailto:mfone= r@nplconsult.com so we can discuss it confidentially. Don't wait... th= e world doesn't wait and neither do buyers. There is a fair amount of = buying activity despite the "unusual" political activity. We need sell= ers to match to buyers... and buyers to match the seller. Let me know ASAP. *=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2= =A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2= =A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 *=C2=A0=C2=A0= =C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0= =C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0= =C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 * WHAT PUBLISHERS ARE LOOKING TO PURCHASE... AT LEAST WHAT OUR CLIENTS A= RE LOOKING TO PURCHASE Currently, here's what my clients are looking to acquire... * Eco agriculture, organics, farming, and related subjects... books, m= agazines, whatever you might own in this field. * Western Fiction - exactly what it says, contemporary or classic, any= size * Pure EBook Companies, 100-1,000 titles+ considered - buyer is prepar= ed to invest from a few hundred thousand to upwards of $3-$4 million, = if the product line and revenues reflect this type of selling price * Interesting Craft, Hobby, and Personal Interest DIY and Non Fiction = - client expanding into more personal crafts, hobbies, instructionals,= DIY work, and related non-fiction, informational... is ok acquiring a= s few as a title or two or an entire company * Directories and Annuals - anything information that comes out semi, = or annually, or biennially, in hard copy directory format, or online o= nly... with or without paid advertising... small to large * Relationship Related Non Fiction and Informational - topics dealing = with relationships, human interest, people, and their issues *=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2= =A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2= =A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 *=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0= =C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0= =C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 * In the Next Issue... * * * AND NOW A FINAL WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR (ME) If you believe your publishing business, or any commercial business yo= u own, isn't up to what it should be creating or earning... then you s= hould contact me at mailto:mfoner@nplconsult.com . I can help you grow= your company to your goals and then help you exit profitably. If you want to acquire another publisher, or line, or even a few title= s, then you should contact me. If you want to sell your company, or lines, or a few titles, contact m= e. If you want to succeed as a self-publisher... contact me. If you finally get the idea you need a Strategic Plan, then for certai= n and right now, you should contact me at mailto:mfoner@nplconsult.com= . Copyright Martin Foner, 2017. =C2=A0=C2=A0 mailto:mfoner@nplconsult.co= m There should be an unsubscribe button somewhere at the footer of this = email, but if there is not, simply email me directly at mailto:mfoner@= nplconsult.com , and I will have you removed from future emailings. While it is considered opt out instead of opt in, if you don't unsubsc= ribe, we will consider you as approving us to continue to send you new= sletters and related publishing information. If you do not approve, yo= u need to unsubscribe, not mark this spam or do other untoward things.= .. just unsubscribe is enough. NPL Publishing Consultants, a division of Professional Publishers Grou= p Corporation, Post Office Box 1010, Ventura CA 93002.=C2=A0 http://ww= w.nplconsult.com/ This email is being sent to Lojban@lojban.org. Use this link to be deleted or to update your email address http://link.rm0002.net/subscription/?t=3DSXn5pPNWV0E_0nA-I-1zsQ2 This message was sent by NPL PUBLISHING CONSULTANTS, a Division of Pro= fessional Publishers Group Corporation | POST OFFICE BOX 1010 | VENT= URA, CA 93002 --=-FKKfjpyVSza65tNM/cw8Kw== Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
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Martin Foner’s Publishing Newslette= r

Because You’re Serious = About Success… or You’re Not

Volume 22, Number 16

 

NEWS BULLETIN… IT&rsqu= o;S ALL OVER…

 AMAZON HAS “CORNE= RED THE FUTURE OF BOOK PUBLISHING”

 

Hello, Everyone&he= llip;

I will list the main artic= les and a brief blurb on each first… then get right into them a= fter the “shorts”. In this way you can scan what is inside= and then decide to actually read all the way through.

AMAZON HAS ‘CORNERED THE FUTURE OF = BOOK PUBLISHING”

It is true… NO actu= ally, one person whose credentials are a bit slim… took some da= ta and wants you to believe that, once again, Amazon is about to put y= ou out of business. This is the sad refrain of prognosticators going b= ack to E-Readers, then distribution, then eBooks, and now, the entire = universe of publishing.

But what is odd is she has= completely missed the real reason Amazon might be trying to corner th= e publishing market. Read on…

AUTHORS NEED PUBLISHERS LESS AND LESS AND= UNLESS PUBLISHERS CHANGE THEIR ENTIRE MODE OF DOING BUSINESS, THEY WI= LL BE PUT OUT OF BUSINESS

I had to put this article = next to the Amazon one. Yet one more person who believes that there is= simply not enough room for publishing and self-publishing to inhabit = the same planet. While his points make great theory, I’ll just m= ake one example of how, in practice… not so much.

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Quick Notes:

Planning

October is here… th= ree quarters of the year is gone. Have you achieved your goals for 201= 7? Are you on target? Do you even HAVE written goals for NEXT year?

Need I remind you that pub= lishers who have a written Strategic Plan, complex or very simple, are= FIVE TIMES more likely to survive through year five&= hellip; and TEN TIMES more likely to successfully ret= ire from your publishing efforts?

At the beginning of this y= ear I had a prospective client who told me it was too expensive and ti= me consuming to do a simple Strategic Plan. (It wasn’t… a= bout $2,500 and an investment of a few hours of her time.)

Now, eight months later, I= get the call… she is in deep trouble and can I help? It would = have been so much less expensive and time consuming and grief inducing= if we had just invested the small amount of time and money when it sh= ould have been done.

Take the time NOW to Plan = for 2018 and beyond. Contact me at mfoner@nplconsult.com. Don’t wait until ther= e is a crisis…

 

Second Tip –= Repeat

I am repeating thi= s tip because it is so critical. If you fail to meet regularly…= not once, but regularly… with your tax person during October, = November, and December, you could be using the wrong tax person to pro= tect you from the government.

If you are a calendar year= taxpayer, you should be meeting with your accountant pretty regularly= now, once a month in October, November, and December. If you don&rsqu= o;t know why, then email me and I will explain. But if you fail to do = these consults, the results WILL be disastrous.

 

Response to a Read= er

Last year I spoke about Tr= igger Words and Macroaggressions and Snowflakes taking over our Univer= sities choking off, violently, when necessary, free speech and the Fir= st Amendment. It has been a year of all kinds of ‘issues’ = so I thought I would repeat a response I received… which to me = is scary considering the content of the article… and here it is= exactly as I got it:

“You're an i= diot, free speech and bigotry is not being banned.” =

Ok, first of all… t= hese Snowflakes start out by repeating a Trump rule… insult you= r opponent so as to make him or her look small. Second, I cited any nu= mber of Free Speech violations and Racist ‘violations’, an= d offered everyone to Google for dozens and hundreds more. And third, = did you notice the writer has a hard time matching singulars and plura= ls? Maybe he should have spent that extra classroom time listening and= not out looking for someone to punch out because they were attempting= to exercise their First Amendment rights… like me.

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AMAZON HAS ‘CORNERED TH= E FUTURE OF BOOK PUBLISHING”

http://qz.com/780897/amazon-has-c= ornered-the-future-of-book-publishing/

The article linked above i= s interesting from the title to the end.

First of all, the title is= just as I have headlined the article. But, when you read down to the = first line, the author completely backs off her sensational headline t= o suggest Amazon is quietly cornering a powerful new trend in books. S= o where did that insane headline come from?

Then, she takes ISBN regis= tration figures for the last five years and last two years, from Bowke= r who might or might not have accurate records… (just use their= Publishers Directory to find out they have no clue about keeping thin= gs up to date)… to make her case that self-publishing has grown= by 375%.

And then, at the very end = of the article, she backs off once again that multiple ISBNs may repre= sent a book, eBook, and audiobook. Thus, if this is accurate, then her= 375% figure now is reduced to 125%.

So, to suggest that in a f= ive year period self-published titles would double, is no big deal. Si= nce the advent of Ebooks, this has been the case… it isn’= t even news any more. Unless of course, you put up a headline that, on= ce again, warns the world that the sky is falling in for publishers an= d Amazon is the 100% entire reason for it.

Reading in the middle of t= he article also gives you the impression that Amazon is in complete co= ntrol of the industry. Maybe this young lady, who has very little real= experience in publishing except for writing a YA book, is a shill for= Amazon? Who knows? But her work is sketchy at best… and inflam= matory and inaccurate at worst.

I put this article togethe= r with the next one about how authors need publishers less and less&he= llip; and it seems to paint a picture of how any author can make money= on his/her own without even considering a publisher.

While that may be the case= for Stephen King or other ‘names’, for the most part, all= of these self published authors are selling their books in the hundre= ds a year. Better than not getting published by a real publisher, but = if you consider selling 300 books a year as a success… then you= don’t; belong in ‘publishing’ anyway.

And one last comment about= Amazon… years ago when they first came out with Kindles&hellip= ; publishers bemoaned their fate that Amazon would be taking over publ= ishing. I got besieged with questions about what to do… make bo= oks to Amazon’s specs, continue their companies, quit, or do wha= tever Amazon wanted? My response was to stay the course they were on&h= ellip; stick to their Strategic Plans… that within six months o= r a year things would be radically different.

Well, within six months th= ere were 29, yes 29, different e-Readers on the market, which quickly = evolved into dozens of “pads” and tablets for reading eBoo= ks. Nothing is static for long and Amazon did not put publishers out o= f business.

But, there is a very quiet= movement going on you SHOULD know about. Amazon has a physical book p= ublishing arm. It isn’t getting any strong traction since bookst= ores are refusing pretty much wholesale to carry their books since tha= t is consorting with the devil.

What most don’t know= is that Amazon is working hard to acquire other publishers, both phys= ical and eBook, to get themselves some ‘cred’. If they acq= uire some mid sized and name publishers, and don’t let too many = people know, then they will have access to bookstores and distribution= and wholesale venues they don’t have now.

And let us not forget that= Amazon has a plan, and is executing it, to create more of those (to b= e banned from Bezos’ mind) brick and mortar stores so fatal to b= usiness twenty years ago. The overall plan, depending on whom you list= en to, is for 14 or 42 stores in the near future… not including= ‘stores’ within other companies’ stores.

So if Amazon doesn’t= think it has cornered the publishing world yet…

The sky is not falling in.= Really…

Let’s continue&helli= p;

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AUTHORS NEED PUBLISHERS LESS = AND LESS AND UNLESS PUBLISHERS CHANGE THEIR ENTIRE MODE OF DOING BUSIN= ESS, THEY WILL BE PUT OUT OF BUSINESS

http://www.bookbusinessmag.com/po= st/authors-need-publishers-less-ever/#utm_source=3Dbook-business-insig= ht&utm_medium=3Dnewsletter&utm_campaign=3D2016-08-01&utm_c= ontent=3Dauthors+need+publishers+less+than+ever-1

Now, here is a writer who has some history publishing&= hellip; yet his opening remark is contradictory. He claims to b= e a “literary micro-publisher operating much in the mold of how = full-service traditional publishing has for years”. Really? Payi= ng 50 and 70% royalties claiming his overhead allows this? Unless he i= s selling millions of books, which he isn’t if he calls himself = a micro publisher, his business formula cannot support these royalties= .

And even then, there is si= mply no way that ANY volume can support anything over a 50% royalty.

Then he understandably cla= ims large publishers cannot do this. Of course they can’t, unles= s they want to go out of business… and neither can he unless he= is happy doing 100 hours of work a week and being a tiny, almost non-= profit, publisher.

He then goes on to support= his claim by suggesting that traditional publishers are missing books= tore distribution. Uhhhhh… what we are missing is bookstores! N= eed I recite the list, Borders, Zondervan. Crown, Walden in number, Da= lton, store cuts both in number and size to Barnes & Noble, and ot= her smaller chains of up to 50 stores…

And this lack of bookstore= s is NOT because there are more self publishers… most of these = chains were gone prior to 2010… the system for selling and dist= ributing books was broken. Period. No one in their right mind in the i= ndustry disputes that. Other factors, yes, plenty, but the main reason= bookstores, and distributors, now that we’re mentioning them, h= ave gone belly up over the last 20 years… the system was and st= ill is broken.

Need I remind you that &ls= quo;trade’ distribution is based on a 1910 sales program first i= ntroduced by Mr. Kellogg of the cereal company? And hasn’t been = tinkered with very much in over 100 years.

The author here again make= s an issue of 25% eBook royalty rates as unacceptable. Good for him. M= aybe his overhead is an office in his parent’s basement… = to coin a political phrase… or an office in his house with a pa= rtner/spouse being the other unpaid employee. This isn’t a publi= shing business… it is a hobby with legs.

Then he goes on to acknowl= edge that larger publishers can’t support a 40% Ebook royalty be= cause of margins. Make up your mind.

While this person is knowl= edgeable, his “platform” isn’t viable. But that asid= e, the big name authors or those with a following… and by the w= ay, how did they become big name or get a following… uhhhh mayb= e because some big bad publisher helped them to get that way??? Ok, ot= her than these, the average author who writes a novel and Kindles it i= s likely to sell about 100-300 copies a year before giving up.<= /p>

So, while authors need pub= lishers less and less… if your plan is to be a successful autho= r, you might just want to get with a traditional publisher to make it = happen.

We, as publishers, are NOT= obsolete. Frankly I don’t see it coming for a very long time. M= ostly because being published is still a sign that the book is of bett= er than average quality (yes, plenty of questions about that) and coul= d be worth reading.

Let me give two recent ane= cdotes I have been involved in with self-publishers to make my point.<= /span>

As a publishing consultant= I get all kinds of emails and contacts within the industry from self-= publishers all the way to larger companies looking to confirm or adjus= t their strategies and figure out an exit strategy. I got an email rec= ently:

This person had two books = on Kindle and POD with Amazon. Sales were in the 200-400 books a year = combined physical and Ebook. He was looking to develop more sales, and= a series of books and a following. I was unhappy to have to inform hi= m that he wouldn’t likely be able to do that directly since Amaz= on doesn’t share customer information. So whatever he was going = to do would have to come from book inserts and social media and his ow= n website… twice as hard as having the customer information and= ability to contact for the next book in the series, gift items, and o= ther promotions and information to keep the faithful, faithful. He als= o wanted to do more promotions and advertising and marketing, but on t= he current sales, he was already overinvested. The resolution to that = issue is too lengthy for here… but suffice to say that this sel= f-publisher could have used a regular publisher’s investment to = make his program=20 work.

Another self-publisher was= actually selling 400-500 physical books a year… and wondering = if and when he should consider some short run printing and sending out= his own orders. He had some of the same concerns about being able to = collect customer information and felt at the mercy of Amazon for every= thing. (Which he was, by his own choice, unfortunately.) He worried th= at he was at breakeven at best and would have to sell into at least tw= o thousand books before he could be profitable. We worked through the = numbers… an exercise that Amazon certainly wasn’t about t= o do for him, and determined that after about 500 books, he was far be= tter off to do an hour’s worth of work a week to gather critical= marketing data about his customers as well as filling a few orders a = week… and his publishing efforts would be paying off far better= . We will see how it turns out as we work through it, but I can alread= y see the beginnings=20 of growth and more personal satisfaction in his publishing work.

So, yes, you can still be = a self-publisher, but you have to be the PUBLISHER part. Kindle and Cr= eate Space is NOT a sufficient or even a livable strategy for success = longer term.

And what if other players = step into the situation, as they will, to assist self-publishers?

A great deal to think abou= t, but my advice would be never hitch your horse to one wagon unless t= hat wagon is hauling gold.

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How many times= do I have to speak about Strategic Plans? Yet, when I listen to publi= shers week in and week out… it would be safe to say that too ma= ny DO NOT have a written plan of any kind… even notes or an out= line. Businesses, including publishers, who create a written Plan and = then execute it, have an almost TEN TIMES retirement success rate of t= hose who don’t. So, decide… Succeed or Fail?<= /strong>

I CAN help you= accomplish this goal. The sooner the better… contact me today.=

mfoner@nplconsult.com<= /a>    www.nplconsult= .com 

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PUBLISHERS CURRENTLY FOR SALE=

I will be keeping an up to= date listing of my companies for sale on the website. In fact, I am g= oing to add three more clients during November. I will announce the ne= w site early in November. Right now, I have listings from $10,000 to $= 1,450,000. Yes, mostly tiny to middling. If you’re in the market= , send me an email of what you are looking for if you don’t see = it on the site. Most of my sales take place outside the public eye.

IF YOU WANT AN UPD= ATED LIST OF COMPANIES AND LINES AVAILABLE… SIMPLY EMAIL ME (IF= BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF NOVEMBER) FOR THE CURRENT LISTINGS. AFTER NOV= EMBER 10TH… ALL SHOULD BE UP ON THE SITE.

And for those of you think= ing about selling… contact me mfoner@nplconsult.com<= /span> so we can discuss it confi= dentially. Don’t wait… the world doesn’t wait and n= either do buyers. There is a fair amount of buying activity despite th= e “unusual” political activity. We need sellers to match t= o buyers… and buyers to match the seller.

Let me know ASAP.

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WHAT PUBLISHERS ARE LOOKING T= O PURCHASE… AT LEAST WHAT OUR CLIENTS ARE LOOKING TO PURCHASE

Currently, here’s wh= at my clients are looking to acquire…

  • Eco agriculture, organics, farming, and related subjec= ts… books, magazines, whatever you might own in this field.

 

  • Western Fiction – exactly what it says, contempo= rary or classic, any size

 

  • Pure EBook Companies, 100-1,000 titles+ considered &nd= ash; buyer is prepared to invest from a few hundred thousand to upward= s of $3-$4 million, if the product line and revenues reflect this type= of selling price

 

  • Interesting Craft, Hobby, and Personal Interest DIY an= d Non Fiction – client expanding into more personal crafts, hobb= ies, instructionals, DIY work, and related non-fiction, informational&= hellip; is ok acquiring as few as a title or two or an entire company<= /li>

 

  • Directories and Annuals – anything information t= hat comes out semi, or annually, or biennially, in hard copy directory= format, or online only… with or without paid advertising&helli= p; small to large

 

  • Relationship Related Non Fiction and Informational &nd= ash; topics dealing with relationships, human interest, people, and th= eir issues

 

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In the Next Issue…

  • How to make best use of the “trade&rdquo= ;. And there are many parts to it that you CAN utilize profitably.
  • Does anyone care about the Tax Cut Proposal in= Congress now?
  • Publish to the customer’s wants, not to = your ‘history’. How?

 

AND NOW A FINAL WORD FROM OUR= SPONSOR (ME)

If you believe your publis= hing business, or any commercial business you own, isn’t up to w= hat it should be creating or earning… then you should contact m= e at mfoner@nplconsult.com. I can help you grow your company to your goals and then h= elp you exit profitably.

If you want to acquire ano= ther publisher, or line, or even a few titles, then you should contact= me.

If you want to sell your c= ompany, or lines, or a few titles, contact me.

If you want to succeed as = a self-publisher… contact me.

If you finally get the ide= a you need a Strategic Plan, then for certain and right now, you shoul= d contact me at mfoner@nplconsult.com.

 

© Martin Foner, 2017.=   mfoner@nplconsult.com

There should be an unsubsc= ribe button somewhere at the footer of this email, but if there is not= , simply email me directly at mfoner@nplconsult.com<= /a>, and I will have you removed from= future emailings.

While it is considered opt= out instead of opt in, if you don’t unsubscribe, we will consid= er you as approving us to continue to send you newsletters and related= publishing information. If you do not approve, you need to un= subscribe, not mark this spam or do other untoward things… just= unsubscribe is enough.

NPL Publishing Consultants= , a division of Professional Publishers Group Corporation, Post Office= Box 1010, Ventura CA 93002.  ww= w.nplconsult.com

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