Are we on the Border of Book Extinction?

Books. Are they a dying art?

If you put a lot of stock in headlines, you might think so, with one of the three American mega-booksellers filing Chapter 11.

Yep, it's true, according to an AP online article I just read by Mae Anderson. Borders is filing Chapter 11 after 40 years as a trend-setting, latte-sipping, book-pedaling national icon. One third of Borders' 600+ stores will be closing within the next few months, all of them superstores which are now losing upwards of $2 million a day.

Apparently Borders lagged behind Barnes & Noble and perhaps BAM as well in hopping on the electronic bandwagon and has struggled for the past five years as online book sales grow and hard copy sales diminish. They owe millions upon millions to publishers and it seems everybody wants their dough. Now.

With the distribution of books now eeking out to Walmart, Target, Sams and Costco, people who still want hard copies have turned to the cheaper outlets, despite the lure of big box bookstore cappachino and triple chunk brownies while you browse. And we musn't forget the incipid monster, Amazon, which has gobbled up much of the online business for both hard and e-copies.

The statistic that made me saddest in the article was that book sales fell nearly 5 % in 2010 in all outlets, except Walmart, which wasn't included in the tracking system. I certainly haven't stopped reading; if anything, I'm reading more than ever before.

And you surely couldn't prove people aren't reading as much if you hang out at beaches, airports, or dentists offices these days. All you see is a sea of book covers. What gives?

Now, I've never had any special affinity for Borders (or Books-A-Million for that matter), because B & N has always been the most congenial in working with and encouraging new authors. When my first book came out, I naively called all three to inquire about getting my book on their shelves. BAM and Borders ignored me completely - even rudely - but B&N kindly took the time to explain the ropes (which meant they said in a nice way that the chance of first books landing on major bookshelves is about as good as big Bird becoming a congressman).

But at least they responded and treated me like a human being.

Anyway, despite the fact that I've never stepped food in a Borders or BAM since then, I still hate like heck to see them go under. I hate to see any bookstore go under, especially the dozens of small family-owned bookstores run out of business by the mega-stores when they first erupted on the scene. There are still a few indies still holding on by their fingernails and when I get the browse craving, those are the ones I head to. My business may be small, but it's still better than nothing and I'd sure like to see them stay open.

So what can a Kindle-owning, girl-turned-author do? Cry a tear and hold a candle at the brick and morter funeral, I guess.

All Work and No Play Makes Debbie Eat Chocolate

I've been working feverishly on my new book manuscript, Too Blessed to Stay Stressed, and have been struggling to find down time. In that vein of thought, I'd like to share an excerpt from Grit for the Oyster: 250 Pearls of Wisdom for Aspiring Writers about the importance of taking a break.

The following is from my chapter, "Making Time for a Cyber Sabbath."

When I worked at McDonalds as a teenager, I got so overdosed with the smells and sight of fast food that when I was off duty, the last thing I wanted was a burger or fries. Somehow the writing profession doesn't work that way. The more we write, the more we want to write; the more we need to write.

It's an addiction. The computer absorbs more and more of our attention. We become cyber-junkies.

Writing evolves into not just five days a week, but gradually six, then seven. The "I'll only be a few more minutes" we tell our kids turns into two hours. They finally give up.

As demanding as Jesus' life was, He still managed to find a quiet place for rest and prayer. And none of us have work that is more important than Jesus'! Our weekly respites, like His, can provide renewed perspective, regeneration of energy, and time to invest in the lives of those most precious to us.

A Title is Born

Sooo excited to finalize the title of my newest Barbour book this week; after bantering back and forth, my wonderful editor and I agreed on a doozy: Too Blessed to Stay Stressed. It's the first of a series for frazzled women and I've been amazed about the feedback I've received in the few days since the announcement was made.

"Oooh, I need to read that book now!"

"Want to interview me for your book? I'm the expert on stress!"

"Can't wait to sink my teeth into that one!"

"Hey, I could write a few volumes about stress!"

Just affirms that today's women are trying to keep so many balls in the air, we're feeling the strain. We yearn for relief from the fray. We want to stop the madness!

I'm so happy to be able to share with my frenzied friends some of the things Papa God has been teaching me - practical pathways to everyday peace. Of course, sometimes my foot slips off the path and I end up ragged out and battle-weary at the end of a busy day. But I think that's all part of the plan. We have to experience the worst before we can appreciate the better.

And that what makes a terrific book - when we pour ourselves and our experiences into print. Our passion transfers and then transforms the reader as we go through our own metamorphosis.

So we mustn't begrudge our hard times or grueling experiences. We may just be doing book research and not know it!

May your blessings overshadow your stressings!

Book Contracts

So you've finished editing and polishing your book manuscript. Now you're ready to submit to a publisher (or an agent). What can you anticipate in terms of contracts?

A traditional book contract offered by a publisher includes, among other pertinent things, a date of completion, word count, rights (copyright, publishing and selling rights, editing, subsidiary etc.), royalties, advance, author copies, publicity, and noncompete rules (varies with publishing houses, but basically they want to have your undivided attention on their book, and not spreading yourself out too thin writing and marketing other books).

This type of publishing agreement offers royalties, or a percentage of payment on each book sold, e.g. a 10% royalty would net the author $1.00 on each $10.00 book sold. A hike in royalty may be offered after a certain amount of copies are sold, for example: "up to and including 15,000 copies sold=12% of net sales; over 15,000 copies sold=15% of net sales."

An advance is like an advance on your allowance as a kid. It's not free money; it's advancing your earned royalties ahead of time so you can eat during the 1-2 years average time from signing the contract until your book comes out. Average advances for first time books are $3,000 - $10,000. The sum offered is based on the amount of book sales the publisher anticipates within the first crucial 4 months after the book's release. If the advance is not earned out, the author is often required to repay the advance payment, which is why many authors choose to accept low advances.

To give you an example of how this works, my newest release, Mom Needs Chocolate, has sold almost 7,000 copies since its release four months ago and I have yet to earn out my advance. It will be a red letter day for me when I cross that invisible "success" line and begin receiving royalties.

The other type of book contract is "work for hire." This is the type of contract you will be offered for manuscripts used as part of a compilation (like a devotional by different authors), and sometimes for a complete book of your own work that is included in a collective series (books of a series written by different authors). A lump sum is paid up front and no royalties or advances are offered.

The benefits of work for hire books are that you, as an author, don't have to sweat blood over book sales - you've already received your payment and are not dependent on royalties. Also, you have your name on a quality book out there that will help build your reputation and promote your future books.

The downside is that you have no say whatsoever in work for hire book covers, content, style, or marketing, and the copyright doesn't belong to you. Plus the stigma within the industry is that work for hire books, like self-published books, are not as prestigious as traditional press contracts.

I've found that accepting work for hire book contracts occasionally is beneficial, as long as I don't use up my creativity and energies solely on books ultimately belonging to someone else.

A Writer's Journey Continued

An interesting thing happened this week. Well, let me back up and fill in a little background.

After the release of Mom Needs Chocolate a few weeks ago, I tried to dream up new and innovative ways to promote my book. It came to my attention that the Amazon ranking of each book (found in the "Product Details" section on your Amazon page) is of interest to book buyers and industry people in the know. The more books sold, the lower the ranking becomes.

Hmmm. How to boost my rather anemic ranking of 57,000? (#1 would obviously be the best, so higher numbers are not desirable; "good" is considered less than 10k).

I came up with the idea of an Amazon Blitz, where all sales would be concentrated into one 24-hour period. Would that - could that - really make a difference?

I chose April 18 as my target date because (a) it was after tax day (whew!) and (b) it would allow plenty of time for books to arrive in time for Mother's Day. I e-mailed the 2,000 good folks on my contact list about the Amazon Blitz and breathed more than a few heart-felt prayers.

I was advised (by my savvy co-author Suzanne Fisher) to check the rankings frequently (it takes around 2 hours for new sales to show up) and print out proof if it dropped below 5k. Lo and behold, by mid-afternoon Mom Needs Chocolate's ranking had dropped to 2,500 and by evening it hit 1,700.

Whoa, doggies!

My publisher went wild. I went wild. My dog went wild (well, he already was).

Of course, longevity of low ranking is important to industry eyeballs, and it's yet to be seen if a one-time cannon blast will turn many heads, but it was awfully fun. Plus it proves what can be accomplished with a little stone, a slingshot, and a lot of faithful readers.

A HUGE YAY GOD!!!

SO exciting!!! Five boxes of Mom Needs Chocolate were just delivered to my door. This one's different from my other books, you know. It's my baby. It's the story of my life. The good, the bad and the miraculous. Feels kind of like having your skirt accidentally tucked into your panties at the grocery store (my sister really did that) - exposure of the secret parts. The parts you thought no one would ever see. Until God told you to write them down to share and laugh about and encourage someone else.

So rejoice with me! And pray that the guy next door who leaves greasy pizza boxes on my driveway doesn't recognize himself in the chapter on loathing my neighbor!

The Ones that Get Away

I recently received a call from a publishing house editor asking if I'd be interested in being the witty half of a co-writing team. The project was a book about a serious subject couched in humor to appeal to the general population. Hmmmm. Sounded interesting.

The ironic twist was that this was the very same editor who had nixed a book proposal I'd submitted three years ago. At the time, I was devastated, feeling as if he had effectively tossed my career in the can. For this new project, I had been recommended to him by another editor who had worked with me on several projects since that time. He apparently had no memory of our previous encounter.

We set up a conference call with the two of us and my prospective partner. I dialed the number full of anticipation, expecting magic to happen. It didn't. Tinkerbell didn't show up. The call had about as much excitement as one of those flat lines you see on TV when it's time to write off the hero.

After losing the same fish with two worms, I concluded that the writing life is kind of like the scenario in Luke 5. Simon, a professional fisherman, had been fishing all night without a single bite. When he's thrown in the towel and is ready to hit the beach, Jesus tells him to "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch."

Simon knows those fish - which weren't there a minute ago - don't bite during the day and certainly not out in the deep water. But he tries again anyway. And his empty cooler overflows.

We might not be using the right bait with our proposals, or it's too dark, or sunny, or deep in that editor's office. But if God tells us to try again (and He often does), despite circumstances that don't make natural sense, we can be assured that our cooler will one day supernaturally overflow.

Standing in a bookstore yesterday, clutching an armful of Grit for the Oyster books, I waited on the manager to finish checking out a line of customers. My goal was to convince her to stock Grit for the Oyster on her shelves, that it was a unique, incredibly encouraging book that would inspire aspiring and not-so-new writers to follow their calling with renewed vigor. I was prepared to unload both cannons on that hapless manager, to bombard her with my spiel until she held up her hands in surrender and ordered a stockpile.

But I never had to fire a shot.

As is my habit (and if it's not yours, it should become one), I began chatting with a bored customer standing in line at the cash register and it turned out that she was an aspiring writer. As was the man behind her who eagerly joined in the conversation. The dazed manager watched, mesmerized, as I informed those very interested customers (who wanted to purchase Grit right then and there) that I would be happy to sign copies for them because I was sure the store would be carrying my books, why, perhaps this very day.

Sold!

The point is that golden promotional opportunities are often right beneath our noses. If we're paying attention and capitalize on them before the moment passes. And best of all, we can save the big ammo for another day!

Debora M. Coty
www.DeboraCoty.com
Author or co-author of 9 books and over 80 articles