Pima College Writers' Workshop: An Agent Speaks
Report from the Pima College Writers’ Workshop
Tucson, AZ, May 29-31, 2009
Don’t bite me; I’m only the messenger.
An update on the publishing industry by Jeff Gerecke, of the Gina Maccoby Agency, NYC:
In summary, traditional publishing is doing worse than ever, while self-publishing is beginning to seem more like a viable option. To summarize his 75 minute talk:
1. The ‘blockbuster’ marketing philosophy pioneered by Putnam and picked up by most majors still dominates the industry. According to publishers, readers want the comfort of familiar names and genres. Whereas all publishers say they want fresh and new, what they buy is the formula, the familiar, the tight genre definition. The herd mentality rules. Viva Dan Brown.
2. As a writer, you have to write to accepted formulas. But literary authors can be branded, too, so they’re not shut out by the current state of the market. New authors usually get in by way of the minor imprints of the big houses, many of which are still run like the old-fashioned small, adventurous presses.
3. Preference is given to books that can be marketed in multiple channels, eg, movies and merchandise as well as the book.
4. Marketing has been seriously impacted as newspapers have eliminated their book review sections.
5. The last six months have been ‘apocalyptic’ for the traditional publishing industry. Random House closed two of its five divisions in December. Backlist sales have tanked.
6. He uses Amazon for market research, both to find books that will compete with a new submission and to see what readers are also buying (using ‘people who bought this book also bought...’ listings)
7. Many publishers no longer see self-publication as simple vanity; instead, many are regarding self-publishers as go-getters who will aggressively market themselves, and worth moving to the top of the slush pile.
8. Self-publishers are tending to cluster in semi-isolated universes where most of the major players are well known and sales are modest but promising, considering the size of the potential readership within the closed universe. Some of these will ‘graduate’ to the major publishers.
9. The Internet has facilitated online meetings with book circles in distant cities.
10. Fan and genre conventions (mystery writers, scifi, etc.) are marketing opportunities with high return for the money invested.
11. The Kindle and other ebook readers appear to be revolutionizing book publishing, but it is too early to be sure. Amazon may be the big winner in traditional publishing AND self-publishing.
12. A quote from Gerecke in response to a client who claimed his success was a ‘miracle’: “All publishing success stories are miracles...a series of random coincidences that are not easily duplicated.”
Tucson, AZ, May 29-31, 2009
Don’t bite me; I’m only the messenger.
An update on the publishing industry by Jeff Gerecke, of the Gina Maccoby Agency, NYC:
In summary, traditional publishing is doing worse than ever, while self-publishing is beginning to seem more like a viable option. To summarize his 75 minute talk:
1. The ‘blockbuster’ marketing philosophy pioneered by Putnam and picked up by most majors still dominates the industry. According to publishers, readers want the comfort of familiar names and genres. Whereas all publishers say they want fresh and new, what they buy is the formula, the familiar, the tight genre definition. The herd mentality rules. Viva Dan Brown.
2. As a writer, you have to write to accepted formulas. But literary authors can be branded, too, so they’re not shut out by the current state of the market. New authors usually get in by way of the minor imprints of the big houses, many of which are still run like the old-fashioned small, adventurous presses.
3. Preference is given to books that can be marketed in multiple channels, eg, movies and merchandise as well as the book.
4. Marketing has been seriously impacted as newspapers have eliminated their book review sections.
5. The last six months have been ‘apocalyptic’ for the traditional publishing industry. Random House closed two of its five divisions in December. Backlist sales have tanked.
6. He uses Amazon for market research, both to find books that will compete with a new submission and to see what readers are also buying (using ‘people who bought this book also bought...’ listings)
7. Many publishers no longer see self-publication as simple vanity; instead, many are regarding self-publishers as go-getters who will aggressively market themselves, and worth moving to the top of the slush pile.
8. Self-publishers are tending to cluster in semi-isolated universes where most of the major players are well known and sales are modest but promising, considering the size of the potential readership within the closed universe. Some of these will ‘graduate’ to the major publishers.
9. The Internet has facilitated online meetings with book circles in distant cities.
10. Fan and genre conventions (mystery writers, scifi, etc.) are marketing opportunities with high return for the money invested.
11. The Kindle and other ebook readers appear to be revolutionizing book publishing, but it is too early to be sure. Amazon may be the big winner in traditional publishing AND self-publishing.
12. A quote from Gerecke in response to a client who claimed his success was a ‘miracle’: “All publishing success stories are miracles...a series of random coincidences that are not easily duplicated.”