For book/ebook authors, publishers, & self-publishers

Bill Frank's Blog (29)

Good Washington Post Article on Book Marketing

I ran across this Washington Post article on Tumblr. It aptly describes book marketing in today's world. Enjoy!

Novice Authors Must Promote Themselves Since Publishers Won't

Added by Bill Frank on October 19, 2009 at 8:47am — 5 Comments

Great Quote

Books are the trademark of civilization.

Added by Bill Frank on October 14, 2009 at 4:00am — 1 Comment

Are Book Publishers Going the Way of the Railroads?

Over 72% of publishers surveyed on the impact of digitization on book publishing by the Frankfurt Book Fair and the German trade magazine Buchreport said the development of new business models, new multimedia products and effective marketing strategies are the biggest challenges facing publishers as they transition from print to digital.

Duh! The publishers are slow to react to the changing customer demands.

The publisher’s lateness to the party reminds me of the… Continue

Added by Bill Frank on October 2, 2009 at 2:30pm — 1 Comment

Being On Radio With A True Professional

I was on the Coach Ron Tunick radio show today. Ron invited me to talk about the publishing industry and book shepherding. Ron published IN THE THINKING ROOM as a trade paperback and wants to publish it as a hard cover, too.

I was supposed to be on the air at 3… Continue

Added by Bill Frank on September 10, 2009 at 8:23pm — No Comments

Book Manufacturing Video

For those interested in learning more about how books are manufactured, here is a short video on the manufacturing of Dan Brown's new novel, THE LOST SYMBOL.

Manufacturing The Lost Symbol

Added by Bill Frank on September 9, 2009 at 1:19pm — No Comments

Alternative Distribution Channels Stealthly Gain on Bookstores

In his article Minding The Store, Michael Norris claims Big Box and Specialty stores are more disruptive to book sellers now than the Internet was in the 1990s. He cites research from Simmons Market Research Bureau that 10 millino more consumers buy books in non-bookstore brick & mortar locations than use the Internet to procure their books.

Wow!… Continue

Added by Bill Frank on August 21, 2009 at 5:01pm — 2 Comments

Ingram's Automated Telephone Computer Died This Month

I regret to announce that Ingram's computerized telephone stock & sales system no longer works. The message when you call 615-213-6803 sadly says the telephone number is not on the phone system anymore. I confirmed with an Ingram customer service rep who told me the number no longer works. Sales and stock information must be obtained directly from the publisher or from an Ingram representative.

This telephone number was extremely useful over the years to check a book's sales… Continue

Added by Bill Frank on August 19, 2009 at 9:17am — No Comments

Secrets of the Amazon Best Seller List

Here's an interesting article about the Amazon best seller list and how it works. I ran across this article because it mentions Andy Kessler, an author and entrepreneur.

Secrets of the Amazon Best Seller List

Added by Bill Frank on August 16, 2009 at 5:30am — No Comments

Opportunites for Savvy Publishers

In the 20th Century, the American book market grew to be the world’s largest (with over 33% of total books sold) because of superior titles. From Fitzgerald and Hemingway to Kerouac to Tom Peters, publishers produced new titles so compelling that readers had to have them. In the decade of the 2000s, however, more and more books were published (thanks to POD and short-run, digital printing) and quality was negatively impacted. In 2008, over 400,000 new titles were introduced—many of them were… Continue

Added by Bill Frank on July 28, 2009 at 5:00am — 2 Comments

One in a Million

Here's an interesting—and disturbing—thought. If you live in China and are one in a million, it means there are 1,300 others just like you.

Added by Bill Frank on July 22, 2009 at 5:30am — No Comments

The Future of the Book?

You must see this video from France on the future of the book. It shows some pretty interesting ideas of what that future might be.

http://www.editis.com/pages_html/video_possible02.htm

I'm not sure I agree with the idea that traditional books will become simply objets d'art.

They say there's nothing new under the sun. Compare the French book video to one done by Apple Computer… Continue

Added by Bill Frank on July 20, 2009 at 5:30am — 1 Comment

The 1/9/90 Rule

Since writing a Forum on Book Marketing Network, I’ve noticed a change in the old 80/20 Rule (Pareto’s Law). Pareto’s Law, written by an Italian economist, states that 20% of a population generates 80% of (fill in the blank). For example, 20% of the US population pays 80% of the income taxes or 20% of the world population consumes 80% of the world’s resources.

It appears the new paradigm created by the rise of the Internet (and confirmed by my observations with my Forum) is 1/9/90.… Continue

Added by Bill Frank on July 19, 2009 at 8:00am — 1 Comment

Book Reader Statistics

31 percent of in-store or online purchases are impulse buys.

Source: Business Intelligence for R.R. Bowker.

Added by Bill Frank on June 26, 2009 at 5:00am — No Comments

Book Reader Statistics

41 percent of all books purchased are by buyers earning less than $35,000 per year.

Source: Business Intelligence for R.R. Bowker.

Added by Bill Frank on June 25, 2009 at 5:00am — 1 Comment

Book Reader Statistics

50 percent of Americans ages 13 and older bought a book last year.

Source: Business Intelligence for R.R. Bowker.

Added by Bill Frank on June 24, 2009 at 5:00am — 1 Comment

Book Reader Statistics

Women purchase 65 percent of books.

Source: Business Intelligence for R.R. Bowker.

Added by Bill Frank on June 23, 2009 at 5:00am — No Comments

Book Reader Statistics

58 percent of readers are women; 42 percent are men.

Source: Business Intelligence for R.R. Bowker.

Added by Bill Frank on June 22, 2009 at 5:00am — No Comments

Book Reader Statistics

The average age of today's book reader is 44, but 50 is the average age of the most frequent book buyer.

Source: Business Intelligence for R.R. Bowker.

Added by Bill Frank on June 21, 2009 at 9:31am — No Comments

One Thought Provoking Perspective on Twitter

Just because I'm uneducated about the emergence of social media such as Twitter doesn't mean everyone is.

Here's a link to Clay Shirky speaking at the TED Conference. His talk is great.

http://www.marketingshift.com/2009/6/clay-shirky-explains-how-twitter.cfm

Added by Bill Frank on June 20, 2009 at 8:30pm — No Comments

What's the Deal with Twitter?

I may be the only person in the world who doesn't see the value of Twitter for authors and publishers. It's not as though I haven't tried to understand. I've read or listened to industry experts who say that Twitter builds an author's platform or adds credibility. I get that part.

What I don't understand is cost/value trade-off. To make a mark, an author or publisher has to tweet or re-tweet multiple times per day. Sure, tweets are only 140 characters, but it's the frequency that… Continue

Added by Bill Frank on June 8, 2009 at 6:00am — 3 Comments