http://www.toccon.com/toc2013/public/schedule/detail/26726 Larger publishers and distributors are often unwilling to take a chance on what they consider “niche.” Yet consumers want specialization and more advanced content rather than lowest common denominator material. What’s a creative professional to do? Using the example of knit publishing and its evolving presence in the e-book market, as well as best practices for designers and creatives relating to publishing, we’ll explore ways to increase creators’ revenue and buck the established publishing system. Presented by Shannon Okey of Cooperative Press. TOC NYC 2013.
- 1. Knitting a Long Tail in NichePublishing Shannon Okey,
Cooperative Press
2. Why "niche"?For our purposes, niche publishing = publishing
on anytopic that isnt readily seen as commercially viable,
eitherbecause the topic is too narrow/specialized or becausethe
publishers havent caught up to YOU yet!Sadly, the latter is usually
the case. 3. Doing the [publisher] mathThe last major-publisher
project I turned down:$15,000 advance offered- $2250 to agent
(15%)- $7000 from our pocket to pay photographer chosen by
publisher- $4000 to pay technical editor and sample knitters- $500
minimum for shipping & various expenses= $1250, divided by 2
authors, for a year of work. (and unlikely to earn more via
royalties!) 4. The fiction sideA good friend of mine got a 3-book
deal (fiction) for $110,000 atauction.Less 40% tax/SEP =
$66,000Less 15% agent commission, $56,100That $56,100 is divided
over three years, in nine separate payments(signing,
delivery/acceptance, and publish date).She earns $18,700 per year
(in the Bay Area!) before she even goes toany writing conferences
or promotional events. Needless to say, she still works 80 hours a
week at her day job. 5. Release the numbers!Writing as a profession
doesnt pay much as a generalrule. Even the lucrative romance novel
market... seehttp://brendahiatt.com/show-me-the-moneyfor one of the
only publisher-by-publisher breakdownsavailable for a specific
genre widely available to thepublic. 6. The long tailThe one on the
left, not the one on the right. 7. Essential infoChris Anderson,
author of The Long Tail: Why The Future of Businessis Selling Less
of More:"The average Barnes & Noble carries 130,000 titles. Yet
more than halfof Amazons book sales come from outside its top
130,000 titles." Rules of the Long Tail according to Anderson:One:
make everything availableTwo: cut the price in half, then lower it
even moreThree: help them [consumers] find it 8.
However...Andersons rule one: make everything available.Before you
can do that, you need to have something to MAKE available! 9.
Identifying YOUR nicheResearch/read available books and media on
your topicthat are already on the market.For my book The Knitgrrl
Guide to Professional KnitwearDesign, there were no other books on
the business ofcreating and selling patterns for hand
knitting.(Chances are good you probably arent as specialized.
Doyour research!) 10. You take the good, you takethe bad...Where
are there deficiencies in the existing market?ARE there any books
on your topic already?Whose books are ok, but not the greatest?What
can you add to the conversation? 11. Content development YOU DONT
HAVE TO START FROM SCRATCH!Dig through your files: old
presentations, blog posts, one-off articles or pieces, even long
emails are all content-fodder for a book.(For the purposes of our
conversation, well assume youre creating abook/ebook, though it
could also be an online class, app or any otherkind of published
content thats for sale) 12. Format War II Remember who won the
Great Music Format War? (MP3).Were still in the middle of a digital
format war for booksand ebooks, and there isnt a clear winner
yet.ePub (Apple iBookstore, etc).azw/.mobi (Amazon Kindle)and many
many moreCount on making your book available in both majorformats,
plus PDF. 13. ebook softwareAdobe InDesign tagging/export to
ePubCalibre (http://calibre-ebook.com)Sigil
(http://code.google.com/p/sigil)Apple authoring softwareplain old
HTML markupand many, many more (changing every day)If time is
tight? Pay a specialist!(http://ebookarchitects.com is one, and a
good source ofinfo, too, though they were recently acquired
byFirebrand) 14. Dont forget PDF!PDF remains the most
readily-accessible format for mostconsumers, and doesnt rely on
owning a particulardevice.PDF also offers the greatest possible
control for layoutoptions, which is critical when producing
somethinggraphically-intensive.(ebooks arent quite there yet in
terms of layout control) 15. To DRM or not to DRM?No. 16. Really,
what about DRM?If the point of the long tail is to make more items
availableand sell them automatically (thus creating a
consistentstream of revenue), do you really want to be doing
techsupport when the DRM goes wonky?Save yourself the
trouble!However, if you INSIST: e-junkie.com has an option tostamp
purchaser information into the header of purchasedfiles. Its less
obnoxious than traditional DRM. 17. Sales optionsAutomated download
systems (e-junkie, Payloadz, etc)Amazon Kindle Store (70% royalty
if priced at $9.99 or less)Apple iBookstore (similar to Kindle,
harder to get in)B&N Nook salesSmashwords.com (probably the
most popular ebook sales site)Dont neglect...Your own website (can
embed cart from e-junkie or the like)Specialty sites: for knitting,
its Ravelry.com (2 million users!)What specialty sites exist in
YOUR niche? 18. Developing a processContent development is a
process.Sales development is a process.Andersons rule two: cut
price in half, then lower it againLesson to learn: You may have to
adjust prices based on sales outletExample: if you price over
$9.99, you lower your Kindle sales royaltyfrom 70% to 30%). 19. Why
less CAN be moreAmanda Hocking has sold well over 1.5 million
books(and earned $2.5 million PLUS) selling her ebooks onKindle.She
sells her books from 99 cents to $2.99 (first one inthe series is
cheaper, a loss leader, and sequels =
more)http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jan/12/amanda-hocking-self-publishing
20. Andersons rule three?Help consumers find your work.This means
consistency inbranding (look, feel: TEMPLATE for ease of
production)availability (multiple formats, where available)It also
means staying in touch!Mailchimp or other mailing list software(why
not embed a live link in the ebook?) Use groups feature to find out
whatbooks/products of yours people have already & mail them
when new/related itemscome out!) 21. Stay flexibleTrack what
platform/site/etc does best for you andconcentrate your efforts,
orMake sure every book you create is available on everyplatform(The
spirit of the long tail would advise the latter. If opportunity
cost is not too high, go for it!) I netted $200 on old patterns in
one week by listing them on a new pattern sales site! 22. Actively
promote1. Link to your sales page or other info in your
emailfooter/website sidebar/Twitter about, wherever you can.2.
Leading potential readers to your work is easy if you letthem know
its there!3. Encourage fans to share with people they think
wouldlike it (offer a free or cheap teaser, first chapter, etc).
23. Be the specialistMake sure relevant online communities know
about yourwork through active participation, not spamming. One
ofour bestselling books was top-selling for two reasons:1. It made
Library Journals year-end Best Of listsbut more importantly...2.
The author moderates a community group ONTHAT TOPIC and made sure
everyone knew it wascoming out. 24. The long haul of the long
tailThe nature of the long tail is such that sales may
notimmediately take off.Give it time, and be patient.In the words
of an infamous infomercial:SET IT AND FORGET IT. 25. Go on to new
contentThe more books/content vehicles you have available,
theeasier it will be to earn money in the long run.After youve set
up one or more books, dont obsess overtheir sales numbers...move on
and create more.Use sales numbers and feedback to dictate new
content ifyou have too much to choose from: engage yourcommunity,
ask questions, solicit participation.http://chrisguillebeau.com
books good examples ofsoliciting material from community +
repackaging. 26. You are awesome.You have awesome things to share
with us.Make that happen!Dont settle for a 10% share of your own
hard work whenyou have technology on your side. 27. Thank you! Find
me online & let me know how it goes!Shannon Okey, publisher,
Cooperative [email protected]@knitgrrl (personal)
@CoopPress (business) cooperativepress.com
