2012: The year of Self-Publishing

As a young book marketing manager I often found myself attempting to explain market realities to new authors to help shape their expectations for their book release. It was never easy. Often I would cite R.R. Bowker’s annual report on U.S. print book publishing compiled from their Books In Print® database and explain, “Your book is one of 200,000 new titles that will release this year, in the U.S. alone.”

In 2002, Bowker reported there were approximately 248,000 new books published in the U.S., and only 13% of those were published through “non-traditional” channels, including self-publishing. At that time, self-publishing was referred to as “vanity publishing” and often implied the work wasn’t good enough to get a real book deal.

By 2010, Bowker reported there were more than 4 million new titles published in that year alone, with 92% of those being “non-traditional.” Granted, 2010 was something of an anomaly in terms of title output driven by reprints and print-on-demand works from the public domain, but it makes for a dramatic graphic. While the number of titles dropped in 2011 to 1.5 million, it’s still a 500% increase in overall title output from just 10 years prior,  and 1.2 million titles (77%) were non-traditional, a 3500% increase from 10 years ago.

The numbers for 2012 won’t be available until June but you can expect another significant increase in self-published titles driven by several seismic developments.

2012: The year of “Self-Publishing”

In July, Penguin Publishing, one of the world’s largest publishing companies, acquired Author Solutions, Inc., the largest self-publishing company in the world. Wall Street Journal reported, “The acquisition illustrates the newfound acceptance for self-publishers in a book world where they were once viewed largely as interlopers. It is also one more example of how low-cost digital distribution has disrupted the role of traditional publishers in determining how books are discovered by consumers.”

In November 2012, Simon & Schuster, another of the “Big 6” book publishing companies, announced the launch of their new self-publishing brand in partnership with ASI. Even literary agents have recognized the trend. New York agency Curtis Brown launched a self-publishing operation this year, and Publishers Weekly reported on July 6, 2012, "Many agents are helping clients self-publish, taking their standard 15% commission in the process. In the past year, agencies such as Dystel & Goderich Literary Management, the Knight Agency, the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, and Liza Dawson & Associates, to name just a few, have announced that they are offering self-publishing services."

Nielsen reported that the number 1, number 2, number 3, and number 4 bestselling fiction books for 2012 were originally self-published titles by E.L. James. New York Times book reviewer Michiko Kakutani, respected in the industry as one of the toughest book critics, has selected a self-published title as one of her top-ten best of 2012.

This trend has not escaped Christian publishing either. Winepress Publishing has been helping authors self-publish since 1991 and Xulon since 2000. Thomas Nelson, Guideposts, and B&H have all launched self-publishing imprints. Christian literary agency Alive Communications also launched a self-publishing operation this year. And, Christian novel, The Shack by William P. Young, was originally self-published before going on to spend nearly two years on the New York Times bestseller list, selling more than 10 million copies. 

A better business model

One of primary acquisition filters used by publishers today is to not accept “unsolicited manuscripts,” which is code for: you need to find an agent. Self-publishing has become a new on-ramp for authors, and I suspect it will become the standard point of entry for most new authors in the near future.

For most authors and publishers, the self-publishing business model is better all-around. In traditional publishing, new authors are fortunate to secure a traditional publishing deal at all. Of those authors who do get a traditional book deal, they’re lucky to get a $3000 advance against maybe a 15% royalty unless they’ve got an established platform guaranteeing the publisher some significant number of sales.  And, as most authors know, any marketing their book receives is up to them anyway. Meanwhile, the publisher makes the decisions about the book title, cover design, and product positioning.

Self-publishing allows the author to turn that financial equation around. By investing their own money up front the author gets complete editorial and creative control and substantially higher royalties from the sales of their work.

Introducing CrossBooks

LifeWay and B&H Publishing Group have also been on the front end of this trend. In 2009 we launched our assisted self-publishing imprint, CrossBooks. Today we’ve published more than 1000 titles with another 500 in development, working with more than 1200 authors. We’ve published two required seminary textbooks that we’re aware of, and there may be others.

What sets us apart from other self-publishing options is our Theological Review. Unlike other religious self-publishing companies, we will not publish everything that comes to us. We post a statement of faith on our web site and every manuscript is reviewed by a theologically trained scholar. In the end, your book is going to carry a logo on it. Our authors are assured their work is affiliated with other theologically sound works and authors.

In addition to distribution through Ingram Book Co., making CrossBooks titles available to more than 25,000 retailers, and ebook distribution through Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, Apple iBooks, CBD and others, we also provide exclusive distribution through LifeWay Digital channels, LifeWay Reader, MyStudyBible, and WORDsearch. When you publish with us, your book is available to all LifeWay digital book users, no other self-publishers can reach.

A new answer to “Publish or Perish”

If you have a book, or thesis, or dissertation in a desk drawer that you once thought about publishing but never had the time or energy to pursue it, we can help.  If you have class notes you publish every semester at Kinkos, we can help.  Why not turn that work into a revenue stream, especially for content required for your students.

We want to be your “University Press.”

We can set up a turn-key operation allowing your school to publish books with your custom school imprint and we will administrate it all for you. Through our Theological Review process we can provide “peer review” through our reviewers and add reviewers from your faculty or graduate students, providing a nice alternate income source for them.

Publishing books by your faculty for use by your students also has some significant financial benefits. Without a traditional publisher in the mix, the school and the author become the primary beneficiaries of the content you are creating and consuming. It just makes sense.

If your school is interested in a strategic partnership to offer publishing packages to faculty, or as part of graduate student tuition, we want to talk. Email me directly at paul.mikos@lifeway.com

What are your thoughts?

We’d love to hear from you. Have you self-published before? Would you ever consider it? Why or why not? We look forward to reading your comments.

MyStudyBible offers entire WORDsearch Preaching Library online for first time ever, at the lowest price ever

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: David Schrader, (615) 251-2559

David.Schrader@LifeWay.com

MyStudyBible offers entire WORDsearch Preaching Library online for first time ever, at the lowest price ever

NASHVILLE, Tenn., 5/24/2012 – MyStudyBible.com, the online Bible study service developed by LifeWay Christian Resources, and WORDsearch Bible Software have partnered to offer students and faculty a special online edition of the entire WORDsearch Preaching Library (nearly 400 volumes) for a limited time price of $199 now through June 5, 2012.

“This is the first time this content has been available for online use. That means it can now be accessed on any web enabled device, including our mobile web app for smart phones,” explains Paul Mikos, business director for MyStudyBible.com. “Bible study software is no longer chained to the desktop.”

Normally priced at $499, the WORDsearch Preaching Library contains more than 20 Bible translations, 30,000 sermon illustrations, and hundreds of commentaries and reference works including Wiersbe's Bible Exposition commentaries, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, A. T. Robertson's complete six volume Word Pictures in the New Testament, Strong's Talking Dictionary with audio pronunciations of every Hebrew and Greek word in Strong's Dictionary. The library includes works from AMG Publishers, B&H Publishing Group, Baker Publishing Group, CrossWay, David C. Cook, IVP, Zondervan, and others. This special package is also the only way to access the NIV Bible and many select volumes not sold separately on MyStudyBible.com.

“We don’t take lightly the idea of someone parting with $199, especially students, but it would cost more than $5000 to download these titles separately and more than $9000 to buy them in print—some of which would be very hard to find,” said Mikos.




Of further note, anyone who purchases the set now through June 5, 2012 will also receive a code to download the latest WORDsearch10 Bible software completely free with access to the Preaching Library off line through a computer or through the WORDsearch iPad app.

Only 2500 copies of the WORDsearch Preaching Library are available at this price through MyStudyBible.com. To take advantage of this deal, visit www.msb.to/redeem, follow the screen prompts to log in or register, and submit the following code: WVCN8RXDZV

LifeWay Christian Resources, based in Nashville, Tenn., is one of the largest providers of Christian products and services, including books, Bibles, DVDs, church literature, music, audio and video recordings, church supplies and Internet services through LifeWay.com. The non-profit company also owns and operates 165 LifeWay Christian Stores across the nation.

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Great Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2a8TRSgzZY

Makes me want to apologize to all my vendor friends, especially the free lance independents. Especially because free lance independent is the future economy for most work (including yours and mine).

Do you blog?

Are you actively writing or posting other content for a community of people who tune in regularly to see what you have to say? If so, please post a comment on this post with your blog address.

Since the beginning of the Publishing Associates blog, I've kept a list of other publishing-related blogs I read. In fact, I've recently added a couple new ones: The Endsheet by graphic designer and long time friend of Cumberland House, Bruce Gore, and The Book Design Review authored by Joseph Sullivan. Thanks to Cumberland House editor and frequent commenter, Mary Sanford, for the heads-up on BDR.

You will see on the right side of the page that I am starting a new blog roll of Cumberland House authors. I'd love to add you to the list. Post a comment here.

Control or Collaboration?

At Cumberland House we value our authors' vision and collaboration. As our business partners, we count on our authors to promote their books, so it is important to us that our authors are happy and proud of their books. That said, we are also making a financial investment in the development, design, marketing, and printing of our books and there are times when we have to do what we believe is best for the book, even if the author disagrees. That is what differentiates traditional publishing from the vanity press or self-publishing options.

Self-publishing is a great option for many authors today, especially those who need complete control over their title, design, format, schedule, etc. Many (most?) authors are very protective of their work, having spent years researching and writing and developing a vision for their book. And while most authors are experts in their subject, we are experts at book publishing. We make our living in a marketplace that changes every day. We know and play by the unwritten rules set by our customers. Our motives are sometimes more commercial than artistic or altruistic, but this is a business afterall.

When we issue a contract, we are purchasing the right to publish a work as we see fit in exchange for a percent of the revenue we generate through sales of the work. Those rights generally include the option to edit, title, design, package, and schedule the book in whatever way we believe to be in the best interest of our investment. We are not obligated to get an author's approval of the title or design or marketing plan, though we often solicit input and value the author's expert insight.

As I posted yesterday, getting a publishing contract is, perhaps, a greater accomplishment today than ever before. In addition to collaboration on the development of the book itself, we market a book well beyond what most self-published authors can do for themselves. And by "market" I don't mean advertising and publicity, I mean bringing your book to market. When you publish with us, your book will get presented, face to face, with buyers at the national chains and distributors, independent booksellers, dot-coms, book clubs, subsidiary and foreign rights agents, and others. And, we do it on a time table that maximizes the potential for success.

Congratulations! You're not just a "published author," you're a Cumberland House author.

Today I read a press release about Gordon Crovitz, former publisher of The Wall Street Journal, joining the board of directors for the self-publishing company, Blurb. Actually, I didn't read past the second paragraph. It gave me too much to think about.

Blurb was started in 2005. In 2007 they reached annual revenue of $10 million with 90,000 titles. (And that's just one self-publishing outfit. I'm scared to look up the numbers for Lulu, Author House, and Amazon's Booksurge, just to name a few others. Is it any wonder that R. R. Bowker reported over 400,000 new titles were published in 2007?) 90,000 titles in two years! I calculate that Blurb is producing a new title every 2.8 minutes. Compare that to the fifty new titles Cumberland House will release this year and the time and other resources we will invest in developing those books.

As a publisher, I have celebrated the increased sharing of ideas and lamented the glut of books and the oxygen they choke out of the market, but today I made room for another thought: maybe a book deal with a traditional publisher means more today than ever before. There is something to be said for the collaborative development of a book. As Clay Shirky, author of the book Here Comes Everybody, wrote in Publishers Weekly last month, "A book isn't just a collection of 80,000 words on paper. A blogger can build that up in a few months. A book is a collection of words that have been obsessed over by people other than the writer. That's what a publisher does, and that process helps a book become a focal point for a conversation or an argument."

Becoming a "published author" has never been easier (or cheaper), but with the rush of self-published content pouring into the community of ideas, perhaps it has never been a greater privilege to collaborate with others who have spent their career developing books and bringing them to market. Perhaps getting a professional publisher to invest in your idea is to be esteemed, valued, respected, and admired more today than ever before.

So congratulations, Cumberland House authors. We are happy to be your publishing partner.

Five Pieces of Advice to Avoid Becoming "That" Author

Today I got an email from an author with effusive praise for a job well done. I passed it along to the people really deserving the credit and got back this reply from one of my teammates: "Holy crap a positive word from an author... the thud you heard was my jaw hitting the floor :)"

Obviously, this was a tongue-in-cheek response (as noted by the :)), but it illustrates a point. It is so important for an author to protect how he or she is received and perceived inside the publishing house. At any given time, the publishing team at CHP is working on twenty books that just released last cycle, twenty books releasing now in this cycle, and twenty books about to release next cycle, each with their own demands and expectations. This is an emotional business with a high degree of personal investment. Often times, we don't hear from authors until something has gone wrong. So I offer you some advice for navigating the sometimes tricky relationships with your publishing team.

1. Find a champion and treat them like gold. Be it your publisher, editor, publicist, a sales person, customer service, whomever--find one person you "connect" with and develop a genuine relationship with them.

2. Use email, not the phone, to ask questions and share ideas. It allows you to say exactly what you mean and it allows the person you are emailing some space to get the answer rather than feeling put on the spot. It also provides an easy way to follow up and keep record of it.

3. Limit emails. Make sure that every contact is important and positive. Don't email so often that it becomes a topic of discussion in the office. The last thing you want is to provoke the thought, "Not her again."

4. Email the right person for the issue in question. Consider whether the issue is editorial, marketing, sales, financial, or new book idea, and email the appropriate contact. Think about what it is you hope to accomplish and ask yourself if you think your email will get what you are after before you push "send."

5. Give thanks and praise. Personally, I thrive on affirmation. I can't get enough of it. I've told my wife that I'd prefer she tell me, "I believe in you," more than, "I love you." But keep it real. The goodwill a kind word will buy you is priceless and will take you exponentially further than any browbeating or tongue lashing.

The Importance of the Proposal, Submission Guidelines, and R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Recently I read a post on Ted Savas' blog, A Publisher's Perspective, about Savas Beatie's success with history and military book clubs which Ted attributes to the quality of their books and the partnerships they have with their authors. One excerpt especially stood out for me:

"And let me tell you, Savas Beatie authors work hard. They are routinely courteous, very helpful to others, and absolutely love what they do. And we screen them much more thoroughly than some probably even know. (A warning to prospective authors: one fellow was rude and short recently on the phone with one of our staff when he was told to submit his manuscript using the guidelines found on line. When he did so two days later, I immediately rejected his work. If he is rude about protocol, we don't want to work with him. And I told him exactly that.)"

Unfortunately, I found myself in exactly the same position this week. To quote specifically from my rejection letter, "At Cumberland House we attempt to foster a sense of business partnership with our authors. Your lack of respect for our procedures and employees, the incomplete proposal, and the limited communication options are all indicators that that a healthy partnership with you is not a likely option so I am rejecting your book proposal and wish you all the best in your pursuit of the right publishing partner for this project."

I share this to express appreciation to Cumberland House authors who truly are great publishing partners, to encourage my Cumberland House teammates that we won't tolerate disrespect, and lastly, as a word of advice for prospective authors.

1. Write a good book proposal. Small business advisers stress the importance for entrepreneurs to create and maintain a business plan as the dynamic document that establishes the vision, defines the market, analyzes the competition, and spells out the goals. Your book proposal is your business plan.

2. Research prospective publishers' submission guidelines and follow them.

3. Treat people with respect.

"You've Got to Spend Money to Make Money"

On its face, the notion that "you've got to spend money to make money," is not a very realistic philosophy. Take my wife (please), if all it took to make money was to spend money, we'd be millionaires.

(Just kidding. My wife is AWESOME, and very financially responsible, disciplined, and patient with her husband who works in book publishing. I just couldn't resist the old Henny Youngman bit. It really makes the point.)

I had an author contact me in response to the Story Problem post to make a really good point about the philosophy of spending money to make money--a position I often advocate when other factors for success are in place. Our own Rose Keefe used that same phrase in a recent comment about spending her own money to promote her books.

In fact, that may be a good test as to whether something is a good idea for your publisher. Would you spend your own money to do it? Would you take out a loan in your own name to pay for the idea? Do you really believe you will earn it back in royalties? If so, can I interest you in an American Express Platinum card?

A Story Problem for Authors and Publishers

So what makes for a good idea (as referenced in this post)? A good idea is a smart idea, and smart ideas don’t lose money.

Let’s say, for example, an author wants their publisher to hire an independent publicist for $1500. According to Thomas Woll, author of Publishing for Profit (which I highly recommend), “the current data on profitability of smaller publishing companies indicates a range of profitability from 1% to 9.3%; the midpoint, 5% profit margin, is a reasonable benchmark for profitability.” That means, on a net profit margin of 5%, we need to generate $20 in revenue for every dollar we spend, just to break even. A $1500 expense has to generate $30,000 in revenue to not lose money. And that is incremental revenue, on top of what we would generate if we didn't spend the additional money. At an average trade discount of 50%, we will sell a $20 book to our customers for $10. Therefore, a $1500 publicity campaign must yield sales of 3000 copies in order for us simply to not lose money. If you’ve been at this any amount of time you know just how difficult it is to sell 3000 copies of anything.

If you take the time to work through this math it can really help you understand why publishers often say, “No,” to seemingly good ideas, even inexpensive ones. Imagine the math to justify a $30,000 ad in USA TODAY. It’s not difficult to understand why you don’t see a lot of ads for books on television.

Many authors don’t realize that a royalty rate of say 10% of the publisher’s net represents double the average publisher’s net profit margin. In some cases, it may make sense for the author to pay for a promotion themselves. Dollar for dollar, on a ten percent net royalty/profit margin, we have to sell half as many books for the author to break even. An author may also want to gain added exposure for himself or another business and it may make sense for him to take a loss on a promotion.

Many traditional marketing activities don’t yield the sales to justify them. As good business partners, we try to examine opportunities and be as forthright about the economics as possible. Chances are, if it is not a good idea for us, it won’t be a good idea for our authors. It is our aim to provide the best information we can to make the smartest decisions we can—together with our authors.

The Book Proposal Is Your Business Plan

One of my co-workers asked me if I have a book proposal or business plan I could change the names and post as an example. Well, not really. The essence of a great plan is that it is unique. At the same time there are some fundamental components of every business plan and every book proposal.


The Small Business Administration is a great resource for entrepreneurs. They list and define the essential parts of a business plan and I’ve listed the book proposal equivalent. The order is often different, but the elements are the same.
Executive Summary = a brief description of the book and its market—the pitch
Market Analysis = a description of the target reader, market statistics, and list of comparable titles with analysis
Company Description = an expanded description of the book and annotated outline
Organization & Management = author bio and resume, previous books and sales history
Marketing & Sales Management = marketing and selling activities the author will conduct (not what he expects the publisher to do)
Service or Product Line = possible series extensions, ancillaries, or derivatives
Funding Request/Financials = any specific terms the author will require or known buy-back quantities
Appendix = two or three sample chapters, related articles, news clippings

In my opinion, the executive summary is the most important part of any book proposal. In fact, a great title and subtitle should work as well as an executive summary. While it is generally accepted that titles in most book proposals are considered working titles and most publishers reserve the right to title or re-title a work, we’ve developed a theory that if we cannot title a book, we probably shouldn’t publish it.

Currently, I’m reading a book called Good in a Room: How to Sell Yourself and Your Ideas and Win Over Any Audience by Stephanie Palmer. (Read three sample chapters here.) In our business, the ability to communicate and “sell” ideas is critical. The author is a former Hollywood exec who mastered “the pitch.” She provides some excellent insight and some very practical exercises for developing pitches and titles. I highly recommend it.

A New Vision of the Book Business

About five years ago I became obsessed with starting a business I called Sail Mackinaw. The Straits of Mackinaw is a popular tourist area about fifteen miles from my boyhood home. I love to sail and this seemed like the perfect way to blend business and pleasure.

The idea was to offer 1-2 hour cruises on a 40' catamaran to the 2 million area visitors who come every summer to see the Mackinaw Bridge, Mackinac Island, the Grand Hotel, Round Island Lighthouse, and other sites on the Great Lakes. Every detail was thought through. I researched tourism statistics and demographics, as well as average temperatures, wind speeds, and precipitation. I studied comparable business models and interviewed the owners of Nauti-Cat in Traverse City, MI and Trilogy on Maui (both of which I highly recommend). Dock space was secured at the most popular Mackinaw Island ferry line, as was retail space to sell tickets. I had a boat picked out. Captains and crew were interviewed. The business plan included a thorough analysis of projected revenue, expenses, and cash flow. A marketing plan included a Web site, brochures, posters, cross promotion with other area businesses.

In a period of two years I developed a five-star business plan, as well as new passion for business development. For years I had been trained, and trained others, in book marketing. The approach was formulaic and sterile and often ineffective. After immersing myself in the world of small business, I saw similarities between a good business plan and a good book proposal. I started to see that every book is a business unto itself. Every author is a business partner. Every marketing plan should have one purpose--to sell books. It may sound basic, but anyone who's worked with a corporate publisher knows this is revolutionary thinking.

Sail Mackinaw was my ticket to freedom. While I never raised all the money I needed to get started, I discovered a new passion for book publishing and the last few years have been the most successful and rewarding of my career.

Ten Things Your Publisher Thinks You Already Know

1. This is a business partnership.
2. The advance has a purpose.
3. The competitive landscape.
4. Average sales and returns for any book.
5. You are your book's best publicist.
6. You can make more money selling your book than you can on royalties.
7. Advertising is not publicity, and vice versa.
8. Table space at the chains is not free.
9. Airports won't carry your book because we think travelers will like it.
10. Special markets. Special markets. Specials markets.

This seems like as good as place as any to jump in. I'll cover these ten points, and a little more, in the days ahead. I hope you will comment and share your reactions, your questions, your ideas, and suggestions.