Time magazine's (Feb 9, 2009) Lev Grossman reports on John Updike's death and celebrates his career. He notes that Updike wrote almost a book a year for his life, "not just novels but short stories, memoirs, poetry, critical musings on art, architecture and literature."
I can't help but think that Updike might not have been able to be so prolific (and perhaps so accomplished) if he had not has time to develop his art, if his publisher hadn't given him the kind of marketing budget he deserved. I also wonder how many more Updikes there might be out there--now and during Updike's lifetime--if they, too, had publishers who really--I mean REALLY--supported them.
It's true that many literary stars are well supported today. But in Updike's time, midlist and emerging authors enjoyed the same support. Scroll down in this blog a bit to see what publishers have been spending their money on instead.
I couldn't find the direct link to "Updike at Rest" but another one by Grossman is online at http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1874276,00.html.
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.
Showing posts with label time magazine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label time magazine. Show all posts
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Friday, April 11, 2008
A Little Nudge on Branding for the Recession
It seems the term "branding" is moving from marketing jargon into the nation's general vocabulary. An article in Time (April 14th issue, 2008) looks at the Pope's "long fascination with America and how it is shaping his vision for the world." It refers to "the democratic, pluralistic values that constitute (on our good days) the American brand."
An article on Pope Benedict seems a rather odd place to be seeing this marketing term, don't you think? The thing is, minds everywhere are turning to branding as we move into recession (whether it is an actual economic guru-sanctioned recession or one that many of us are feeling in the gut and pocketbook is really immaterial).
Speaking of branding and recessions, I might mention that in bad times it is often a product's or business's successful branding that helps carry them across the dangerous economic times to even greater loyalty when better days return. YOU, the author, are what you brand. Your book is only a sub-brand for you may write many books in many different genres -- if not now, then eventually. So, now is not the time to let down your branding efforts. Luckily, we have the Internet now so we can continue to brand ourselves very inexpensively.
This is your nudge to go for it! Don't just read The Frugal Book Promoter. Read lots of book. Add John Kremer's 1001 Ways to Market Your Book to your library. Add one of Peter Bowerman's Well-Fed Writer books to your purchase. The Frugal Editor is also about marketing for editing -- especially the editing of your query letter, is an author's first marketing offense, their introduction to gatekeepers who can make or break their writing careers. and when you're buying these books, do it frugally. Buy second hand or group your purchases on Amazon to avoid shipping costs and taxes. (-:
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author THIS IS THE PLACE; HARKENING: A COLLECTION OF STORIES REMEMBERED; TRACINGS, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T; and THE FRUGAL EDITOR: PUT YOUR BEST BOOK FORWARD TO AVOID HUMILIATION AND ENSURE SUCCESS.
Her other blogs include TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com and AuthorsCoalition.blogspot.com, a blog that helps writers and publishers turn a ho-hum book fair booth into a sizzler.
An article on Pope Benedict seems a rather odd place to be seeing this marketing term, don't you think? The thing is, minds everywhere are turning to branding as we move into recession (whether it is an actual economic guru-sanctioned recession or one that many of us are feeling in the gut and pocketbook is really immaterial).
Speaking of branding and recessions, I might mention that in bad times it is often a product's or business's successful branding that helps carry them across the dangerous economic times to even greater loyalty when better days return. YOU, the author, are what you brand. Your book is only a sub-brand for you may write many books in many different genres -- if not now, then eventually. So, now is not the time to let down your branding efforts. Luckily, we have the Internet now so we can continue to brand ourselves very inexpensively.
This is your nudge to go for it! Don't just read The Frugal Book Promoter. Read lots of book. Add John Kremer's 1001 Ways to Market Your Book to your library. Add one of Peter Bowerman's Well-Fed Writer books to your purchase. The Frugal Editor is also about marketing for editing -- especially the editing of your query letter, is an author's first marketing offense, their introduction to gatekeepers who can make or break their writing careers. and when you're buying these books, do it frugally. Buy second hand or group your purchases on Amazon to avoid shipping costs and taxes. (-:
-----
Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author THIS IS THE PLACE; HARKENING: A COLLECTION OF STORIES REMEMBERED; TRACINGS, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T; and THE FRUGAL EDITOR: PUT YOUR BEST BOOK FORWARD TO AVOID HUMILIATION AND ENSURE SUCCESS.
Her other blogs include TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com and AuthorsCoalition.blogspot.com, a blog that helps writers and publishers turn a ho-hum book fair booth into a sizzler.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Text Message Novel Anyone?
(This short news update is from my newsletter, Sharing with Writers. Subscribe by sending an e-mail to me with with "subscribe" in the subject line. HoJoNews@aol.com)
What is a cell-phone novel?
Born of the wonderful art of texting, the Japanese are following their minimalist heritage (think haiku) to write cell-phone novels. I kid you not. Time Magazine reports they have "existed since 2000 when users of Japanese cell-phone websites started to upload their writing . . . " One of the first hits was Deep Love which was turned into a TV Show. Time also cites If You and Love Sky. Of course a form llike this requires carefully chosen words, concise-to-the-point words. Forget Latinate words with six syllables. Even if you can't conceive of writing a cell- phone novel, we all might learn something from the concise language required by the genre.
A couple of years ago a very with-it, tekky writing friend of mine, Joyce Faulkner, wanted to do something with texting mini-lessons for writers. It was beyond the ken of some of her partners. Read that "it was beyond my understanding!" I should have trusted someone with greater knowledge than I had. Heck, I might have been on the leading edge of a new wave in writing and communication with a bankroll to show for it. (-:
BTW, these novels "accounted for half of Japan's Top 10 novels in 2007."
Will text novels be the next thing we borrow from Asia. Seems graphic novels have done well, why not text. Mini-text to be absolutely accurate.
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author THIS IS THE PLACE; HARKENING: A COLLECTION OF STORIES REMEMBERED; TRACINGS, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T; and THE FRUGAL EDITOR: PUT YOUR BEST BOOK FORWARD TO AVOID HUMILIATION AND ENSURE SUCCESS.
Her other blogs include TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com and AuthorsCoalition.blogspot.com, a blog that helps writers and publishers turn a ho-hum book fair booth into a sizzler.
What is a cell-phone novel?
Born of the wonderful art of texting, the Japanese are following their minimalist heritage (think haiku) to write cell-phone novels. I kid you not. Time Magazine reports they have "existed since 2000 when users of Japanese cell-phone websites started to upload their writing . . . " One of the first hits was Deep Love which was turned into a TV Show. Time also cites If You and Love Sky. Of course a form llike this requires carefully chosen words, concise-to-the-point words. Forget Latinate words with six syllables. Even if you can't conceive of writing a cell- phone novel, we all might learn something from the concise language required by the genre.
A couple of years ago a very with-it, tekky writing friend of mine, Joyce Faulkner, wanted to do something with texting mini-lessons for writers. It was beyond the ken of some of her partners. Read that "it was beyond my understanding!" I should have trusted someone with greater knowledge than I had. Heck, I might have been on the leading edge of a new wave in writing and communication with a bankroll to show for it. (-:
BTW, these novels "accounted for half of Japan's Top 10 novels in 2007."
Will text novels be the next thing we borrow from Asia. Seems graphic novels have done well, why not text. Mini-text to be absolutely accurate.
------
Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author THIS IS THE PLACE; HARKENING: A COLLECTION OF STORIES REMEMBERED; TRACINGS, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T; and THE FRUGAL EDITOR: PUT YOUR BEST BOOK FORWARD TO AVOID HUMILIATION AND ENSURE SUCCESS.
Her other blogs include TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com and AuthorsCoalition.blogspot.com, a blog that helps writers and publishers turn a ho-hum book fair booth into a sizzler.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Nora Roberts on Branding Her Books
Nora Roberts, the author of more than 150 romance novels, was asked why she writes romantic suspense novels under a pen name. Here is her answer:
"It's marketing."
She says because she writes quickly that makes it difficult for her publisher to publish all of her work. Plus the works she labels penned by J. D. Robb are "edgier" she says. "Putting it under a pseudonym helps brand it for the reader."
Writers will find information on the concept of branding in They'll find information on the concept of editing aThe Frugal Book Promoter.s part of marketing (and therefore branding) in The Frugal Editor. They'll learn even more about how to sell their work in my Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal: Everything You Need To Know To Sell Your Book in 20 Minutes or Less".
If you should be considering using a pen name here's what you should know:
1. It is very hard to keep a pen name secret. Everyone knows who Kristie Leigh Maguire is, as an example, and if people didn't know before that Robb was Nora Roberts' pen name, most of them will now.
2. It is very hard to promote in person--especially if you choose an opposite sex pen name. In fact, promotion of all kinds can become touchy if you are intent upon keeping your real identity a secret.
3. Using a pen name isn't necessarily an effective barriar against law suits.
Read more about Roberts in Time Magazine's "10 Questions" feature, page 6 of the Dec. 10, 2007, issue.
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author THIS IS THE PLACE; HARKENING: A COLLECTION OF STORIES REMEMBERED; TRACINGS, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T; and THE FRUGAL EDITOR: PUT YOUR BEST BOOK FORWARD TO AVOID HUMILIATION AND ENSURE SUCCESS.
Her other blogs include TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com and AuthorsCoalition.blogspot.com, a blog that helps writers and publishers turn a ho-hum book fair booth into a sizzler.
"It's marketing."
She says because she writes quickly that makes it difficult for her publisher to publish all of her work. Plus the works she labels penned by J. D. Robb are "edgier" she says. "Putting it under a pseudonym helps brand it for the reader."
Writers will find information on the concept of branding in They'll find information on the concept of editing aThe Frugal Book Promoter.s part of marketing (and therefore branding) in The Frugal Editor. They'll learn even more about how to sell their work in my Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal: Everything You Need To Know To Sell Your Book in 20 Minutes or Less".
If you should be considering using a pen name here's what you should know:
1. It is very hard to keep a pen name secret. Everyone knows who Kristie Leigh Maguire is, as an example, and if people didn't know before that Robb was Nora Roberts' pen name, most of them will now.
2. It is very hard to promote in person--especially if you choose an opposite sex pen name. In fact, promotion of all kinds can become touchy if you are intent upon keeping your real identity a secret.
3. Using a pen name isn't necessarily an effective barriar against law suits.
Read more about Roberts in Time Magazine's "10 Questions" feature, page 6 of the Dec. 10, 2007, issue.
----
Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author THIS IS THE PLACE; HARKENING: A COLLECTION OF STORIES REMEMBERED; TRACINGS, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T; and THE FRUGAL EDITOR: PUT YOUR BEST BOOK FORWARD TO AVOID HUMILIATION AND ENSURE SUCCESS.
Her other blogs include TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com and AuthorsCoalition.blogspot.com, a blog that helps writers and publishers turn a ho-hum book fair booth into a sizzler.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Einstein, Gladwell, the Niche Market and What They've Got to Do with Books
Let me introduce you to Chris Anderson, if you don't already know him. Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink and Tipping Point calls him the man of "Big Ideas." Gladwell says he does not the big idea guy in the same sense of Einstein, though our lovable physicist (in my opinion and maybe Gladwell's too) had a knack for Big Marketing. Everyone knew Einstein's images--both his face and his formula. Trouble is, according to Gladwell, most people found his Big Idea well, not easy to follow.
Gladwell's Big Idea definition applies to ideas that are "transparent." That's where Chris Anderson comes in. I mentioned the term Long Tail "in "Sharing with Writers" recently. Long Tail refers to the concept that we tend to read the same books, magazines or whatever because only so many can be published. Gladwell says, "there is not enough space to give us exactly what we want. So we all agree on something we kind of want."
So here's what Chris's Long Tail theory does for you, the reader. And you, the author. Computers mean you readers can find whatever you want. Bookstores (online or brick and mortar) can stock millions of books in the bowels of a big machine and you can find exactly the little crevice book you are looking for. That means that authors can write these books with you in mind.
So, publishers don't sell 100,000 copies of one book anymore. They may do so, but that's getting to be a rarer occurrence all the time! Instead bookstores (Amazon, say) may sell 100,000 copies of 100,000 books. Authors, that means yours will be (not may be but will be) among them and that means you are not constrained to writing a book that you feel will market well; you get to write what moves you. And readers can find you with technology. And they'll recognize what moves you moves them, too.
Oh, and here's another result of Long Tail that has already started to come true. Writers--more and more -- aren't at the mercy of gatekeepers. You can be in charge of your own destiny, your own creativity. And what if your book or article (think Amazon shorts) does get read by 100,000 just because you followed your heart? It can still happen.
If you want proof, look at Amazon again. Authors, look at your own book's page. Readers, go browse a bit using keywords. You'll find ideas, books you want to read that you didn't see reviewed in the New York Times.
Sure there are some drawbacks to the Long Tails theory. Nothing's perfect. That's progress and it is the new big idea, the reality. Might as well face it and use it to your benefit.
Oh, and about that Chris Anderson. He is a physicist, just like Einstein, who did research at Los Alamos National Laboratories in New Mexico. He first described Long Tail in his magazine Wired. His book is The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More.
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author THIS IS THE PLACE; HARKENING: A COLLECTION OF STORIES REMEMBERED; TRACINGS, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T; and THE FRUGAL EDITOR: PUT YOUR BEST BOOK FORWARD TO AVOID HUMILIATION AND ENSURE SUCCESS.
Gladwell's Big Idea definition applies to ideas that are "transparent." That's where Chris Anderson comes in. I mentioned the term Long Tail "in "Sharing with Writers" recently. Long Tail refers to the concept that we tend to read the same books, magazines or whatever because only so many can be published. Gladwell says, "there is not enough space to give us exactly what we want. So we all agree on something we kind of want."
So here's what Chris's Long Tail theory does for you, the reader. And you, the author. Computers mean you readers can find whatever you want. Bookstores (online or brick and mortar) can stock millions of books in the bowels of a big machine and you can find exactly the little crevice book you are looking for. That means that authors can write these books with you in mind.
So, publishers don't sell 100,000 copies of one book anymore. They may do so, but that's getting to be a rarer occurrence all the time! Instead bookstores (Amazon, say) may sell 100,000 copies of 100,000 books. Authors, that means yours will be (not may be but will be) among them and that means you are not constrained to writing a book that you feel will market well; you get to write what moves you. And readers can find you with technology. And they'll recognize what moves you moves them, too.
Oh, and here's another result of Long Tail that has already started to come true. Writers--more and more -- aren't at the mercy of gatekeepers. You can be in charge of your own destiny, your own creativity. And what if your book or article (think Amazon shorts) does get read by 100,000 just because you followed your heart? It can still happen.
If you want proof, look at Amazon again. Authors, look at your own book's page. Readers, go browse a bit using keywords. You'll find ideas, books you want to read that you didn't see reviewed in the New York Times.
Sure there are some drawbacks to the Long Tails theory. Nothing's perfect. That's progress and it is the new big idea, the reality. Might as well face it and use it to your benefit.
Oh, and about that Chris Anderson. He is a physicist, just like Einstein, who did research at Los Alamos National Laboratories in New Mexico. He first described Long Tail in his magazine Wired. His book is The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More.
--------
Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author THIS IS THE PLACE; HARKENING: A COLLECTION OF STORIES REMEMBERED; TRACINGS, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T; and THE FRUGAL EDITOR: PUT YOUR BEST BOOK FORWARD TO AVOID HUMILIATION AND ENSURE SUCCESS.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Publishing Stupidity Running Amuck
Big publishers are discovering that fun promotion works. I cite two recent experiences that prove it. My friend, June Casagrande, pitched having bumper stickers that say Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies made to her publisher (Penguin), and guess what! They did it.
Then, Time magazine ran an article (October 16, 2006) on how St. Martin's has taken to (my words) doing something more than running ads in the New York Times! The inspiration? Their author K'wan who wrote hip hop or street-lit like Gangsta.
So, "instead of signings at Barnes & Noble, St. Martins' is planning giveaway and readings in barber shops and beauty salons" . . . .ads on urban radio and an official Hood Rat mix tape CD.
Sorry, but if big publishers had spent less time ignoring (or dissing) independent authors and small presses, they'd have gotten the idea long ago. Two years ago the Authors' Coalition published a CD for our booth at the LA Times Festival of Books and, I guess you could say we got it because we're promotion-smart, too. We plan to do it again, so there!
Last year at the same fair, Joyce Faulkner , author of The Complete Writer tested magnet signs for her rental SUV. We may offer those soon on the Authors' Coalition site even though results were hard to measure. We did get some action from the press as we were carrying our bookshelves and signs in from the loading dock. They knew they'd seen something a little unusual and possibly even smart. So the street-smart author Time cites, Rentless Aaron, wasn't the first to plaster his car with signs. Maybe something just got into the air and spread.
Time says, "In an industry the considers ales of 20,000 a success, gritty steet-lit authors are routinely doubling that number." Where St. Martin's may have it over some of us is their budget and perhaps the genre itself.
OK, but it still seems big publishers have been monumentally slow learners in the face of the example of entrepreneurial authors I've seen at work. So, does anyone expect anyone to give us any credit? I, for one, don't. Time certainly didn't.
They mentioned Amazon which quashed the need for brick, mortar and shelves.
And they mentioned Vickie Stringer who just got tired of being at the mercy of others and self-published. As if that is news! She also founded her own publishing company and her own literary agency. Way to go, Miss Independent but many authors I know have been doing that since I got into the publishing business about seven years ago.
So, am I suggesting there's only one way to do things? Nope. I'm just saying that if we all got busy learning from one another, supporting one another, we just might all do better, big publishers included.
CHJ
Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author THIS IS THE PLACE; HARKENING: A COLLECTION OF STORIES REMEMBERED; TRACINGS, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T; and THE FRUGAL EDITOR: PUT YOUR BEST BOOK FORWARD TO AVOID HUMILIATION AND ENSURE SUCCESS.
Then, Time magazine ran an article (October 16, 2006) on how St. Martin's has taken to (my words) doing something more than running ads in the New York Times! The inspiration? Their author K'wan who wrote hip hop or street-lit like Gangsta.
So, "instead of signings at Barnes & Noble, St. Martins' is planning giveaway and readings in barber shops and beauty salons" . . . .ads on urban radio and an official Hood Rat mix tape CD.
Sorry, but if big publishers had spent less time ignoring (or dissing) independent authors and small presses, they'd have gotten the idea long ago. Two years ago the Authors' Coalition published a CD for our booth at the LA Times Festival of Books and, I guess you could say we got it because we're promotion-smart, too. We plan to do it again, so there!
Last year at the same fair, Joyce Faulkner , author of The Complete Writer tested magnet signs for her rental SUV. We may offer those soon on the Authors' Coalition site even though results were hard to measure. We did get some action from the press as we were carrying our bookshelves and signs in from the loading dock. They knew they'd seen something a little unusual and possibly even smart. So the street-smart author Time cites, Rentless Aaron, wasn't the first to plaster his car with signs. Maybe something just got into the air and spread.
Time says, "In an industry the considers ales of 20,000 a success, gritty steet-lit authors are routinely doubling that number." Where St. Martin's may have it over some of us is their budget and perhaps the genre itself.
OK, but it still seems big publishers have been monumentally slow learners in the face of the example of entrepreneurial authors I've seen at work. So, does anyone expect anyone to give us any credit? I, for one, don't. Time certainly didn't.
They mentioned Amazon which quashed the need for brick, mortar and shelves.
And they mentioned Vickie Stringer who just got tired of being at the mercy of others and self-published. As if that is news! She also founded her own publishing company and her own literary agency. Way to go, Miss Independent but many authors I know have been doing that since I got into the publishing business about seven years ago.
So, am I suggesting there's only one way to do things? Nope. I'm just saying that if we all got busy learning from one another, supporting one another, we just might all do better, big publishers included.
CHJ
Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author THIS IS THE PLACE; HARKENING: A COLLECTION OF STORIES REMEMBERED; TRACINGS, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T; and THE FRUGAL EDITOR: PUT YOUR BEST BOOK FORWARD TO AVOID HUMILIATION AND ENSURE SUCCESS.
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