Chicken Scratchings

Posts Tagged ‘Library’

15 stacks of books higher than this

by Bill Ruesch

Latest figures based on ISBN’s reveal that the US published nearly 190,000 books last year.  If you assume an average thickness of 1″ per book, and stacked them one on top of the other you’d have fifteen stacks of books each stack taller than the Empire State Building in New York. Last year–15 stacks of books taller than the Empire State Building. This wasn’t over a ten or twenty year stretch, but just last year. Try to visualize these fifteen stacks standing beside the Empire State Building and then imagine what would happen to the streets of New York City if two, five, or ten year’s worth of published books were stacked among the buildings.

All of this is from US publishing alone!  Another 130,000 books were published in the UK. If you added these books to the stacks it would create another ten more Empire State sized stacks. It boggles the mind.

The Questions to Ask

• Does my book stand a chance?
  • The odds are, please excuse the pun, stacked against you.  Every hour of every day over 21 books are published in the US. The competition is unbelievably tough, but as difficult as it is, if you don’t enter the fray you are guaranteed to fail. Remember as difficult as it is to win a lottery, lotteries are won every day. Like Han Solo said in the movie Star Wars, “Never tell me the odds kid.” That is the attitude you must adopt.
• What is the best path for me to pursue in getting my book sold and read?
  
  • First dispel the notion that all you have to do is write well and you’ll become rich and famous. That’s a fairy tale. There is no happily ever after for 99% or more of all authors. Even Mark Twain in his heyday knew the value of marketing. It has been recorded that he had 10,000 people selling his books for him. If Mark Twain had to arrange for his own book sales, it isn’t too far of a stretch to think that you would have to too. Even traditionally published authors have to participate in selling.  The Red Hen Association has downloaded an interview with a contemporary published author, Casey Sherman. Mr. Sherman has some very enlightening things to say about book selling today. Check it out at Casey Sherman interview.
  • Consider the genre of your book. Small independent publishers produce four times as many nonfiction titles as fiction. There is a reason for this disparity. A nonfiction book usually has an identifiable market.  A book of fiction has a more difficult time locating its audience; however, a novel has the potential for much greater sales in the long run. According to  http://BookStatistics.com popular fiction comprises 55% of book sales, followed by 10% religious nonfiction, and 9% cooking and crafts.
• How many books do I have to sell to make money?
  • Large publishers say they have to sell 10,000 books to break even, but for self-publishers without huge overheads break even can come much sooner. It is difficult to name a figure for profitability because costs of printing, editing, art, illustration, and cover design can, and do differ for each book. Simple math is all it takes to determine earnings. Add all the sales and then subtract all of the costs. Be sure to keep records of all costs including transportation to and from events, mail and shipping expenses, professional services like accountants and attorneys, meals if you are out of town, etc. Not only will you want to report expenses to the IRS to decrease your taxes, but you can’t get an accurate break even number without it. Self-publishing is a business. It’s best if you treat it as a business and not a hobby.
• How have other authors done it ?
  • In today’s world it is easier and more difficult at the same time to be heard among the babble. The Internet makes it possible to reach out to the entire world. You can setup and start a blog for free in minutes. Just think, you can launch a soap box and speak to the whole world right now. The problem is that 175,000 other blogs are started each day according to Cnet. Nonetheless, a blog has become a necessity. A stagnant blog, will not serve you. Just because you build a blog site doesn’t mean that you will attract visitors. You have to market the site, in order to market yourself and your book.
  • Arrange speaking engagements where you can sell and sign copies of books.
  • Go to where the potential readership goes. If your book is about race car drivers, see if you can get the book into NASCAR events. Maybe your book is about fairies, go to FaerieCon or other fairy festivals. Got a cookbook? Go to places where cooking is the topic. Be creative and think in terms of places people might be who would relate to your book even if it is a stretch. I have a friend who writes books about Dutch oven cooking. He has an arrangement with a Dutch oven manufacturer to put a sales piece about his books in the box of every oven they sell.
  • Be fearless. Call on buyers for stores and ask them to stock your book.
  • Get your book on library shelves. Contact the American Library Association for places and times of librarian conferences.

  Will these tips really work? They aren’t guaranteed, but they will help. The biggest tip is make your own fame. If you find a way to become a household name, you will sell books. There’s your guarantee.

breathe in the ancient wisdom

I stirred up a lot of conversation with my blog post titled, “How Can You Call an eBook a Real Book?” Most of the chatter was on LinkedIn through the writing and publishing groups I belong to. I was very surprised to read comments from  self-confessed, dyed-in-the-wool printed book advocates who are becoming wobbly on the issue. Don’t throw in the towel yet.

eBooks have already seized our minds and our imaginations. The possibilities are incredible, all except one. Yesterday I tried to pull up a document on my computer. A dialogue box popped up that said the file had become corrupted. It suggested some ways to fix the file–none of them worked–so, I’m left with reconstructing the document. If I can.

What was here one moment is, whoosh, gone the next. I’m sure if I call my service tech at the Bomb Squad he could find it by going through the mysterious back doors. These are the places us mere mortals dare not tread. To go in there, even for a peek, could set up a chain reaction that might destroy the entire planet. It is not worth the risk. I have to weigh my options carefully, do I bring in the Bomb Squad and spend money I don’t have, or try to reconstruct the document, or let it go, like a loose kite floating endlessly and aimlessly through cyberspace?

Do you understand where I am going with this? Permanence is the question. Books whether written on stone tablets, sheepskin, papyrus, cotton paper, or wood pulp stock have passed the test of time. Doggone it–they last. They may not stay in tip-top condition, but they have longevity.

How long will your computer hold files intact until they start getting iffy, weeks, months, or years?  I expect to see eBooks purchased by the average buyer as having a comparable short shelf life. If the computer gremlins don’t get them, technology changes will. I have a book of poetry by Ralph Waldo Emerson in my library which must be at least 125 years old. The paper is brittle, and the binding is weak, but I can pick it up and read it anytime I want. No dialogue box will appear in my hand saying sorry the file is corrupt. Many of my other books are older than 40 years, even the cheap paperbacks. In a world where the average computer is ancient in five years, the possibility of a file hanging around for even 20 years is ludicrous.

The bottom line is electronic books are risky. You will have to replace them regularly if you want to keep them viable, or just get used to losing much of your collection each and every year. Now you see it–now you don’t. Paper to the people!