I don’t think we state this as clearly as we should in our submissions pages, but we particularly like books that represent an author’s cause/life’s work/mission. These books tend to be content-rich and written with great care. They also tend to come with authors that have a very healthy attitude about marketing; they will be working in this area for years/decades to come, so they will be marketing the book for years (with our help and support). We appreciate this. Some notable examples include:
Blog
All Hail the Goddess Chattera
February 3rd, 2010
We are a non-denominational publishing house, but if we were to have a house deity, it would have to be goddess Chattera, who controls the mysterious forces of word of mouth.
Few books are successful without at least some element of word of mouth. Definitions differ, but to my thinking word of mouth is everyone that hears about the book and is inspired to purchase it without any intervention on our, or our authors’, part.
So books sold due to publicity, the author’s twitter followers, speaking, placement, corporate buys, advertising, and a million other things we do are not word of mouth sales. Word of mouth sales comes when someone – someone we don’t know and didn’t ask – recommends a book to a friend, whether directly, or via their blog, or twitter feed or any other means.
Surveys (which are of questionable accuracy, but let’s allow it) say that over half of books purchased are due to word of mouth, and these surveys are only asking about face to face recommendations. With everyone’s word of mouth amplified via social media, it seems to me that goddess Chattera is only becoming more powerful.
So in publishing we all pray to this goddess, whose ways are irritatingly mysterious. Sometimes our prayers are answered, but more often not. So is there anything, besides prayer, we can do?
I’ve thought about this a lot, and I’ve come up with three things. If you know a fourth, I’d love to hear about it.
The first is to remember that word of mouth is narrowcasting. I don’t talk to some friends about books I love dearly because I know they won’t like them. A good book appeals strongly to a niche; the right people love the book and most people could care less. In editing and marketing the book, clarity about the niche the book is aimed at is critical. Writing/editing/marketing better for the niche (as opposed to trying to make the book more broadly appealing) supports word of mouth.
The second is in the construction of a marketing plan that has two purposes – to sell books and drive word of mouth. Sometimes the second is forgotten. (Actually sometimes the first is and marketing plans are designed to get media or make the author happy. But our authors are happiest when they are selling books. Aren’t you?) Selling books into the target market is more likely to drive word of mouth than selling outside it (easier too). This might sound obvious but many – authors included – want to position themselves and their books to the broadest possible market. In my opinion this is usually a mistake (remember, success in the niche can be broadened – failure goes nowhere.)
The third is, simply, quality. I get very few authors (exact number: zero) who say “please take a year to edit this book so that it’s as strong as it can possibly be when it comes out.” Authors, understandably, want to get their books out right away. But getting it right – especially right for the target market – is so essential. This is why I love to publish books that represent an author’s passion and life’s work. There are marketing benefits but there are also quality issues – these authors want to get the books right.
So that’s all I got on appeasing the great goddess Chattera. Oh, and a little prayer doesn’t hurt.
Next I want to discuss PR, and why we spend too much time thinking about it.
BenBella has a New Editor-in-Chief!
January 25th, 2010
I’m so delighted to announce that Debbie Harmsen is joining BenBella as the new Editor-in-Chief, General Non-Fiction. A publishing veteran, Debbie has worked for magazines, newspapers, and books, most recently editing travel guidebooks at Random House. While at Random House she won an award for her first edition of Fodor’s The Complete Guide to National Parks of the West. She has a masters in journalism from Northwestern University.
Debbie has taught college classes, including magazine editing, news reporting and writing, and creative writing. She loves all things Jane Austen, can never get enough of Paris, and thinks Chicago-style pizza is, hands-down, the best. A native Midwestern turned seasoned New Yorker, Debbie is happy to be back in Texas, home of her alma mater, Baylor University.
Why We Are Thriving
October 8th, 2009
As a boutique publisher sitting here in Dallas, far from center of the publishing world, it can get a little isolating sometimes. I find myself turning to the numerous publishing and writing blogs for a sense of community, but I’m thinking about cutting back on that. The overall tone is so negative these days that it can be a bit depressing. Even my blog has shared the gloom with a video from Bob Miller on how terrible everything is (and he’s supposed to be one of the one’s fixing it!) and a link to a presentation by the Publisher of a house I really admire, Berrett-Koehler, on (you guessed it) how terrible everything is.
All this negativity might be weirdly comforting if we were also struggling (in a misery loves company sort of way). But we aren’t struggling; we are actually having a fantastic year (is it bizarre that I feel a little bad saying this?)
So why are we doing so well when so many very good, very smart publishing houses are struggling? I don’t claim to have any answers to the enormous problems publishers are facing, and I’m well aware that a lot our success is due to good luck and even a black swan or two (http://www.benbellabooks.com/blog/?cat=6).
But we are doing a few things that might be worth noting:
1) We have gotten very very careful. About what we acquire. About how we spend our time. About how we spend our money.
2) At the same time, we are still experimenting. We have just launched a website that I think will very important to our business. The Beta version is up at www.smartpopbooks.com.
3) We don’t make huge bets. We like to see a path – and not a difficult path – to making money with every book and we like to see the potential for a homerun on every book.
4) We are looking more and more for authors who have the desire and ability to partner with us – and even take the lead – in marketing their books and we try to reward their efforts and match their efforts.
5) We try to take care of our authors and our agents. Both are critical to our success.
6) We are very focused on making money. Publishing often seems to have a lot of priorities that have nothing to do with making money (and I’m not talking about good priorities, like publishing great literature, I’m talking about mindless rules and bureaucracy).
7) We are very flexible, even working within a publishing system that doesn’t like flexibility.
Thanks to everyone who has contributed to our success this year!
10 Awful Truths About Publishing
September 4th, 2009
Steven Piersanti, President, of one the best independent publishers, Berrett-Koehler, cheers us up with these awful truths, including:
3. Average book sales are shockingly small, and falling fast.
5. A book has less than a 1% chance of being stocked in an average bookstore.
7. Most books today are selling only to the authors’ and publishers’ communities.
8. Most book marketing today is done by authors, not by publishers.
The saddest part – this was written in 2007 – when the industry was much stronger than it is now.
Behind the gloom are some important insights, particularly #7. The list is here:
http://www.bkpextranet.com/AuthorMaterials/10AwfulTruths.htm
Alain de Botton – A wonderful writer sharing some genuine wisdom on society and success
August 14th, 2009
Thanks to TED.COM for this. TED is a fantastic resource – don’t go there unless you have hours to spend watching brilliant people sharing amazing insights!
Fire your publicist!
August 12th, 2009
I’m delighted to announce the acquisition of social media strategist Nettie Hartsock’s new book, Fire Your Publicist!, which teaches authors how changes in media make it easier than ever for authors to promote their own books to both new media and old. Nettie, who hastens to add that she is a publicist herself (and that she, like us, loves good publicists) is being dramatic to make a point – it really is possible for authors to take charge of their book’s fate in this rapidly changing media environment.
