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Seth Godin to No Longer Publish Traditionally

Posted by Jocelyn on August 24th, 2010

Seth Godin, entrepreneur, author, public speaker and media expert, has made a decision of great significance and it is geared toward the publishing industry. He has decided that Linchpin, his 12th book, will be the last book he publishes traditionally. Here is an excerpt from his blog where he explains his decision,

Authors need publishers because they need a customer. Readers have been separated from authors by many levels–stores, distributors, media outlets, printers, publishers–there were lots of layers for many generations, and the editor with a checkbook made the process palatable to the writer. For ten years, I had a publisher as a client (with some fun self-published adventuresalong the way). Twelve bestsellers later, I’ve thought hard about what it means to have a traditional publisher.

Traditional book publishers use techniques perfected a hundred years ago to help authors reach unknown readers, using a stable technology (books) and an antique and expensive distribution system.

The thing is–now I know who my readers are. Adding layers or faux scarcity doesn’t help me or you. As the medium changes, publishers are on the defensive…. I honestly can’t think of a single traditional book publisher who has led the development of a successful marketplace/marketing innovation in the last decade. The question asked by the corporate suits always seems to be, “how is this change in the marketplace going to hurt our core business?” To be succinct: I’m not sure that I serve my audience (you) by worrying about how a new approach is going to help or hurt Barnes & Noble.

My audience does things like buy five or ten copies at a time and distribute them to friends and co-workers. They (you) forward blog posts and PDFs. They join online discussion forums. None of these things are supported by the core of the current corporate publishing model.

Since February, I’ve shared my thoughts about the future of publishing in both public forums and in private brainstorming sessions with various friends in top jobs in the publishing industry. Other than one or two insightful mavericks, most of them looked at me like I was nuts for being an optimist. One CEO worked as hard as she could to restrain herself, but failed and almost threw me out of her office by the end. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t heartbroken at the fear I saw.

All a long way of saying that as the methods for spreading ideas and engaging with people keep changing, I can’t think of a good reason to be on the defensive. It’s been years since I woke up in the morning saying, “I need to write a book, I wonder what it should be about.” Instead, my mission is to figure out who the audience is, and take them where they want and need to go, in whatever format works, even if it’s not a traditionally published book.

So Seth Godin, a man famous for predicting trends, analyzing market strategy and understanding the psyche of the modern American reader/buyer/seller is taking a formative stand and bravely going in a new direction with his work.

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Writing is Selling

Posted by Jocelyn on August 23rd, 2010

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Whether you are trying to get an agent, a publisher or an article published, the key to a successful writing career is writing to sell. You want to sell your novel, memoir or article and you don’t have a lot of space or time in which to do that. You have to grab your readers from the opening page, even still, the opening paragraph. This same practice holds true when pitching yourself to media outlets. You want as much exposure as you can get, thereby guaranteeing that your media presence is significant and consistent enough to warrant attention from book buyers. When publicizing your book you need to think outside of the book review pages and see if you can generate interest in areas that either pertain to your background, the subject matter of your book, or both. When doing this you need to sell yourself and your idea to editors and producers in the shortest amount of time. You need to hook on to something relevant in the current news media cycle and explain why you would make the perfect expert to weigh in on that particular topic. Here are some tips for generating a strong approach when contacting media.

Know your facts. Start your research early and be consistent. Look for key facts that relate to the subject you are pitching. Editors and producers want to know about recent studies. If you have written a novel that deals with eating disorders, they don’t want to know about your character’s journey (yet), they want to know that 1 in 5 women struggle with an eating disorder (according to the National Institute of Mental Health).

The more the merrier. Give editors and producers plenty of material to work with. The more ideas you can generate, the easier their job is to assign a story or pursue a lead. Each idea should be topical, interesting and current. Stay on top of the news and keep those ideas coming.

Have an opinion. Be vocal about issues that relate to your story. Whether or not your opinion is the popular one, it will get people talking. Speak out and speak often. Raise questions, interact with your readers and bring these ideas into the public forum.

Find trends. Don’t panic if you see that another author has written a book with similar themes. Use this as a sign that society is gravitating towards the subject matter you have already explored. Join together and pitch trend pieces to magazines and newspapers. There is a reason that your story is playing out in different venues, there is a social outcry for it and you and your fellow authors are there to fill that need.

Think like a journalist. You want your story to sell so make sure it’s timely and appropriate. Know the outlets you are pitching. Whether they are print, radio, television or online, familiarize yourself with their content and do a little research to locate the correct editor.

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Rick Moody on Author Blogs

Posted by Jocelyn on August 20th, 2010

Rick Moody addresses an interesting topic on Big Think with a very compelling (and some may say controversial) argument. He states that the “superficial, not revised, carelessness” about writing straight on the screen without significant editing makes blogging a detriment to a literary writer’s work. He believes that the writers who are pressured in the direction of publishing online are not able to put out the quality work that comes from “patient revision.” I am paraphrasing a bit what Moody describes as the abbreviated attention spans that online content tends to generate, but his point is an interesting one.

To quote from Moody’s latest release, THE FOUR FINGERS OF DEATH, his character, Montese Crandell, is conducting an author signing at an “old-fashioned used-media outlet” because of the advice of his wife “who’d spend her remaining time on earth counseling me on just how to boost my product.” There is something very accurate of the advice given to Crandell by his wife, because when it comes to publicizing your work, it is no longer about the art and craft that went into writing the book, it is about selling a product. Moody is right in saying that the internet and all of the available stories, videos and news items have led to “abbreviated attention spans” and authors are fighting for the attention of the elusive reader (and book buyer) so that they can continue the art and craft of writing a book, and get paid well for it. This is why we, as publicists, say that you really do have to wear two hats (the artist’s hat and the business hat) when it comes to being a writer. But should author’s blog?

I have spoken with author’s who feel that by blogging they are giving away their work for free. But at the same time, without giving potential readers something to grab hold of and get interested in, they may never discover you in the first place. It is imperative that as an author, you maximize your exposure and pull readers in. Blogs have proven to be an excellent way to gain attention and interact with readers. This is not to say that you shouldn’t edit what you put out there, because just as easily as your work can turn a reader on, if done haphazardly and without thought, it can turn your reader off and therefore defeat the purpose entirely.

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Jonathan Franzen echoes this argument in the much publicized TIME Magazine article.

Reading in its quietness and sustained concentration is the opposite of busyness. ‘We are so distracted and engulfed by the technologies we’ve created, and by the constant barrage of so-called information that comes our way, that more than ever to immerse yourself in an involving book seems socially useful,’ Franzen says. ‘The place of stillness that you have to go to write, but also to read seriously, is the point where you can actually make responsible decisions, where you can actually engage productively with an otherwise scary and unmanageable world.’

So the moral of the story, and the advice we give to authors, is BLOG…but blog responsibly and edit, edit, edit.

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Dennis Lehane Returns with Favorites

Posted by Jocelyn on August 18th, 2010

It has been 12 years but Dennis Lehane is returning to his most popular characters for his new novel, Moonlight Mile, which is going to be released on November 2nd.

9780061836923_0_CoverIt’s a sequel to Gone Baby, Gone and it takes place in 1997, where the once missing Amanda McCready is now sixteen and a straight A student, who wants to leave her irresponsible mother and Dorchester neighborhood, but then she goes missing again…

Amanda McCready was four years old when she vanished from a Boston suburb in 1997. Desperate pleas for help from the child’s aunt led savvy, tough-nosed investigators Kenzie and Gennaro to take on the case. The pair risked everything to find the young girl—only to orchestrate her return to a neglectful mother and a broken home.

Now Amanda is 16—and gone again. A stellar student, brilliant but aloof, she seemed destined to escape her upbringing. Yet Amanda’s aunt is once more knocking at Patrick Kenzie’s door, fearing the worst for the little girl who has blossomed into a striking, bright young woman who hasn’t been seen in two weeks.


Haunted by the past, Kenzie and Gennaro revisit the case that troubled them the most, following a 12-year trail of secrets and lies down the darkest alleys of Boston’s gritty, blue-collar streets. Assuring themselves that this time will be different, they vow to make good on their promise to find Amanda and see that she is safe. But their determination to do the right thing holds dark implications Kenzie and Gennaro aren’t prepared for . . . consequences that could cost them not only Amanda’s life, but their own.

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Too Many Bookstores?

Posted by Jocelyn on August 17th, 2010

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Is there such a thing as too many bookstores? Apparently, for the residents of Westhampton Beach, NY, the answer is yes. Today The New York Times profiles the battle between two independent bookstores and the animosity that is running rampant in this small town. This all comes on the heels of a recent New York Magazine article about the rise of the independent bookstore. According to the NYTimes article, Books & Books opened its doors in July and have received a less than stellar welcoming (reportedly older women have marched into the store to yell at employees and they have even faced vandalism).  The problem is, Books & Books is around the corner from The Open Book and is taking away business. But isn’t the beauty of independent bookstores that no two look or feel the same? Every independent bookstore has its’ own character and charm with varying approaches to reaching out to readers. Independent bookstores provide people with a sense of community, access to book clubs, author signings, and frequent staff picks. With so many people up in arms over the rise of the big box bookstore and the Amazon epidemic not to mention the strain that e-book devices are putting on printed matter, can we really start complaining about too many independent bookstores? Do we want to dissuade independent’s from opening their doors?

{photo courtesy of Paz & Associates}