Belletrinsic

I don’t know about you, but I’m incredibly excited for the Apple press conference today that will unveil the new Apple tablet, unicorn, iSlate, etc. Whatever it will actually be called, I really want one.

But more than that, I want to hear what Steve Jobs is planning for the publishing industry as a whole. As Apple did with revolutionizing the music industry with the release of iTunes, some are predicting they will do the same for publishing using a variation of the iTunes format for books.

You can read more about the predictions in this Wired article. Plus they have a link to the press conference where you can watch it live at 10 a.m. Pacific time.

This may seem like something only publishing insiders would care about, but every author should be aware of how their content is being published. If this is as exciting as I think it will be, it will dramatically affect how we think of books in the future.

Yes, there will still be physical books. That will never change. But the possibilities for getting your book out before a new and fresh audience are enormous.

I don’t know about you, but I will be waiting in restless anticipation to know what the future holds.

I found this post by Editorial Anonymous about a “Mormon Mafia” in publishing rather hilarious, for reasons I’ll explain in a moment. First, click here to read the post.

Now that you’ve stopped puzzling over why I found it so funny, I’ll share this secret tidbit of information about myself: I am a BYU graduate from Utah who writes young adult fiction! I only need to find me a husband and pop out a few kids before my multi-million dollar contract will arrive in the mail.

All joking aside, the letter writer has stumbled upon an interesting phenomenon at the moment, and I was curious when the talk would really start. Well, here it is, and now I think it’s time to explain:

Mormons have been given an ultrasupersecret mission to take over the world by writing young adult fiction with a scifi/fantasy bent. You may want to lock up your children.

Aw, shoot. I shouldn’t have said that. But honestly, anyone who thinks it’s some big conspiracy or divine mandate is reading too many paranormal romances and should lay off them for a few months.

What I see as the common thread with all of the popular and successful Mormon writers has to do more with cultural influence. Let me explain.

Members of the Mormon or LDS church (full name The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), have always been proponents of the arts, including music and dance from the church’s inception in 1830. The first, and probably most prominent, artistic endeavor was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, formed in 1847.

Literary endeavors came later, near the turn of the twentieth century, with the admonition to write faith-promoting stories. For many years, those were the kind of books LDS authors wrote. I still remember all of the LDS books that were written when I was younger. I’d honestly say it was about this time (the late 70s to early 80s), that LDS fiction really began to develop and grow, as well as LDS authors turning to mainstream fiction with Orson Scott Card at the forefront.

In addition to Stephenie Meyer and Ally Condie, other popular LDS young adult fantasy authors include James Dashner, Shannon Hale, Aprilynne Pike, Brandon Mull, Brandon Sanderson, Jessica Day George, Mette Ivie Harrison, and Julie Berry.

An interesting article from The Boston Globe (click here to read) posits that the influx of Mormon writers in young adult fiction is due to the more wholesome nature of children’s and young adult stories. Members of the church are, on the whole, very conservative when it comes to sex, drugs, and violence. In adult literature, the progressing trend is to include one or all of those elements in great doses. It gets harder and harder to find well-written books with wonderful stories that don’t include graphic sex or violence. I readily admit that as one reason I prefer young adult books.

As for the fantasy aspect, author Shannon Hale says it best in the Boston Globe article: Mormonism and its tenets can seem pretty fantastic by others, so we’ve never really had issues with thinking imaginatively or outside commonly accepted ideas. Plus the fact that fantasy generally has clear concepts of good versus evil, right and wrong directly corresponds with church teachings on the same.

BYU, or Brigham Young University, is a church-sponsored university where members from around the world attend. It has an incredible atmosphere of diversity and learning. It has excellent programs in the arts, especially English, theater and film, music, and dance. I participated at one time or another in each of these (with the exception of theater). Each program is well supported and encouraged at BYU.

Finally, I see the influx of Mormon writers as a growing trend for Mormon artists in all areas. If you don’t believe me, I’ll offer a smattering of actors/singers/musicians/directors who are taking to the world stage (and I’m not even talking about the Osmonds).

Music:

David Archuleta

Brandon Flowers (The Killers)

SheDaisy

Brendon Urie (Panic! At the Disco)

Film:

Amy Adams (raised LDS)

Katherine Heigl (raised LDS)

Aaron Eckhart (BYU grad)

Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse, raised LDS)

John Heder (Napoleon Dynamite)

Jared Hess (wrote/directed Napoleon Dynamite)

Paul Walker (raised LDS)

Dance:

Julianne Hough (Dancing with the Stars)

In conclusion, there isn’t anything in the water or in the church doctrines that says we should write children’s or young adult literature. It’s a combination of cultural and other influences. Plus, there is a strong and supportive community of LDS writers, especially in Utah. I’ve met most of the writers I’ve listed above (no, I haven’t met Stephenie Meyer, but if I do, I’ll tell her hi) at various literary and cultural events. They are a down-to-earth group that encourages other would-be writers and accepts them into the fold whether they be famous or not. I’ve learned a lot about writing from them, especially what it means to give back and support others.

This is why I work in publishing:

The author of Pocketdoodles for Girls* was so excited when I handed her an advance copy of the book, she started screaming, and then began crying. Seeing her so excited made me so happy for her and so excited that we’d produced such an adorable and wonderful book. I absolutely adore this book, and I’m not just saying that because I was the editor. I plan on buying a copy for myself to doodle in, and then giving it (and the boy book) out to every kid I know as gifts.

*The book doesn’t come out until March, but you can pre-order several copies now on Amazon. There is also a sibling book called Pocketdoodles for Boys that is awesome. So whether you know boys or girls, giving them these books will guarantee you the title of Coolest Person Ever.

With all of the talk of Best Books of the Year, Best Books of the Decade, Best Books of the Century, I thought it would be interesting to reflect on publishing as it was ten years ago. I’ll refrain from analyzing for the moment and instead let you see how much things have changed in a decade and (arguably) a century.

Below are various topics that have had a large impact on publishing over the last decade. Visit the links to see just how much some of these areas have changed since 1999.

Harry Potter

Twilight

Oprah Book Club

e-books

electronic rights/royalties

e-book readers

drm

iPhone

POD

Scribd

Amazon

Google Book Settlement

IndieBound [Number of ABA members: 5,200 (1991) -> 3,300 (1998) -> 1,200 (2009)]

newspaper book sections

Twitter

book trailers

How have changes in the publishing industry affected you and your work?

(I’ll chime in with my thoughts next week.)

Yes, publishers are pushing more of the publicity efforts on authors. There are several reasons for this:

1) Shrinking publicity and advertising budgets (plus they generally focus on the “sure wins,” so midlist and new authors have a harder time getting any of the advertising pie).

2) In the past, publishers had several steps removing them from their readers.

Publisher -> Sales reps -> Buyers for bookstores -> Booksellers/Librarians -> Reader (and somewhere floating in there are professional book reviewers)

That’s still the basic format for publishing, but it is swiftly changing. People are buying their books from Amazon, often based on recommendations from friends or ratings ordinary people post on the site. That cuts out the three middle steps. Amazon stocks just about everything in print, so there’s no need for sales reps to decide which books to push on bookstore buyers, no need for bookstore buyers to select which books the store purchases, and no need for booksellers to hand sell or reviewers to review because readers are choosing their purchases based on recommendations from friends and strangers online.

4) Getting a great review in The New York Times does not guarantee a large increase in sales—not anymore. Press attention does not have the persuasive buying influence it once did. Media attention is nice, of course, and should be sought, but it isn’t a golden ticket. What does help is getting great buzz in online communities, great reviews on Amazon and similar sites, and high sales rankings on Amazon. The reason for this is because it creates buzz and word of mouth.

The biggest example of this in recent years is Twilight. I realize everyone and their poodle has been talking about Twilight lately, but that is precisely it—people are talking about it. When the first book came out, it was relatively unknown. When the second book appeared on the market, I started hearing a more about it. I was attending the same university that Meyer graduated from, so we heard word of the books a little earlier than many. By the time the third book pubbed, teenage girls and middle-aged moms were shouting its praises. Now, I’m not sure if there’s anyone on the planet who hasn’t heard of these books. (This may be a slight exaggeration, but still.) What got this momentum going was word of mouth. Girls telling friends, their moms, their hairdressers, their teachers about these books. Now it’s an international phenomenon.

It’s hard getting published. Take it from me, someone who works both sides of the fence as an editor during the day and a writer at night. I’ve been actively trying to get published for more than a year now, and I’ve yet to get an agent or a contract. I’ll even tell you a secret: I’ve pitched ideas to my own house, and I’ve been rejected there too. Being an editor doesn’t guarantee publication.

Why do we do it? Day after day, we toil so hard to write, placing pieces of ourselves in the stories, bleeding across the page. It’s not easy—not if you’re doing it right. And yet we keep on, praying someone—anyone—will like our manuscript enough to give it a chance.

Is it worth it?

Working in publishing, I think a lot of us are asking this question as the future of publishing appears a little bleak. The answer I hear from editors, agents, writers, and readers is a resounding YES! Most people don’t get rich working in publishing, and yet so many of us work in this industry because we love it. We need books as much as we need air. Stories, words upon paper, give us strength to live. The magic that happens between the covers of a book surprises, delights, and fulfills. It gives our lives meaning.

Still, it can be discouraging. Months and years struggling to make these stories come alive only to be told no. It’s not good enough—not yet. And so we try again. Revise. Rewrite. Write another story.

I imagine non-book people think us crazy. Why give your life over to a labor of love that often doesn’t bring large financial rewards? They don’t understand. It’s part of us. We can no more deny who we are than deny our need to create books.

To answer the question “is it worth it,” I have one thing to say: the moment you see a finished book for the first time—glossy cover, thick pages, glorious images—it’s like seeing your child for the first time. All of the years going back and forth between editor, agent, writer, and illustrator. The discussions, disagreements, and frustration all had one goal—to create a book. It is beautiful and it is yours.

What is a book worth?

That’s a question often discussed at work when trying to decide how much a reader is willing to pay for a book. Sometimes we go back and forth, thinking and rethinking the perfect pricepoint for a title. Not too much that people won’t be willing to purchase the book, but enough that the publisher and author can get a good return on the product.

More than price, though, is the idea of value. For people to willingly spend their money on an item, it must have value for them, either perceived or real. So what do you value in a book?

I value quality content and writing, especially in fiction. I value quality photography in visual books. I value quality recipes (and an adequate number of them) in cookbooks.

So let’s look at books where (in my opinion) value exceeds price, and on the opposite spectrum, where price exceeds value.

The Notebook Girls by Julia Baskin, Lindsey Newman, Sophie Pollitt-Cohen, and Courtney Toombs. 2006, Warner Books.

I purchased this book tonight, though it had caught my eye before this. The reason for my hesitation in purchasing was the price tag: $22.95 is a bit steep for a paperback young adult book, though it is admittedly hefty at 352 pages. The main reason I broke down and bought the book tonight was content. As the shared journal of four teenage girls, I have yet to find another book (either fiction or, like this one, nonfiction) that has anything close to this content. So, in the end, there was enough value in the book for me to purchase it despite my earlier reluctance to spend that much on a book.

Flight of the Phoenix by R.L. LaFevers. 2009, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

This book attracted my attention immediately. I’ve read and enjoyed other books by this author, and the topic feels fun and interesting. The problem? I cannot bring myself to pay $16 for a 144 page book. The price is increased slightly because it is hardcover. And though there are illustrations, they are black and white, which doesn’t cost nearly as much to produce as if it were color. For me, this book is overpriced, and I will not purchase it. Instead, I will likely request it from my library so I can read it without spending anything.* Then, if I really enjoy the book, I might consider buying it.

My last example is a book at the extreme end of the spectrum. The Wine Opus, scheduled for release in 2010, will sell for $1 million. That’s right. A book is selling for more money than I’ll probably ever see in my life. But—and this is a big but—included with the book’s purchase is a case of wine from each of the 100 vintners listed in the book. As of August, 25 of the 100 books have been preordered. For the buyers of this book, the value meets or exceeds the incredible price tag. So although no one I know would consider such a purchase, there are people who find this worth the cost. (For more details on the book, see this article.)

So what does this mean for publishers, for writers? That is the big debate at the moment. With the price wars the big box retailers are currently fighting, the price of popular new hardcover titles have been reduced to $8.99, which is significantly below the cost of producing the book. The retailers are taking a hit on this one, but who knows how this will affect book pricing in the future. (For a more detailed analysis of the battle, see this article in Time.) That and the increasing prominence of e-books are causing everyone in publishing to evaluate how much a book is worth.

Realistically, writers have no control over the price of their book, but it is important for them to consider the implications of a book priced too high or too low. The bottom line on this affects everyone who will benefit financially from the book’s success.

*Admittedly, Amazon has changed much of the way we think about cost and value with its deep discounting. In the example of Flight of the Phoenix, the book is priced at $10.88. I would willingly pay that much, and a few dollars more, for this book.

With all the recent debate over book covers, it’s important for writers to understand how covers are created.

(See http://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/2009/07/23/aint-that-a-shame/ for more information on one debate on covers.)

Now, each publisher is different, but there are common elements that stay the same. Those common elements include cover image(s), title and subtitle, byline, and font, and cover blurbs. Whether your book is fiction or nonfiction, for children or adults, these elements make up the cover.

Some things publishers also have to consider involve the audience: age, sex, and culture, among other things. The cover should be aesthetically pleasing and attention grabbing while accurately portraying the contents of the book.

Most publishers have an art department or team of designers that they use to create the book cover and interiors. They take each of these elements and incorporate the suggestions of the editor to create several options for the cover.

These options are then reviewed by the editorial team, and revisions are requested. Finally, when all of the elements combine to make a great cover, it goes to sales and marketing for review. They offer suggestions as well, followed by more tweaks, or even a major revision of the cover.

Publishers have come under fire recently for their choice of covers. The thing is, designers, editors, and sales and marketing teams aren’t perfect, but they do have a lot of combined experience. That experience helps them to make educated decisions about what will sell in the market. They may not get it right every time, but their rate of success is much better than if the writers created their own covers. (For example, look at covers that self-published writers create. They generally don’t look nearly as professional as what an established publisher will create.)

Now, let’s dissect several of my favorite covers to see why they work so well.

The Willoughbys

The first time I saw this book in a store, I knew I would buy it. There’s something simple but elegant about the cover. It’s primarily black and white, but a small cutout reveals the red case of the book beneath. The title and illustrations are hand-drawn, giving it a unique look. It is classic and classy at the same time.

The most interesting thing to me is that this is a middle-grade novel, geared toward 8–12 year olds. This is something that might appeal more to an adult’s eye. But since adults are generally the ones who purchase books for children, offering a more sophisticated look appeals.

As for the contents of the book, it is a play on a traditional Mary Poppins–theme, but with spunk. That fits with the style of the cover—traditional with a twist.

The Enchantress of Florence

The most appealing feature of this cover is the textile feel of it. It’s a thicker paper that has a touch similar to wallpaper. It is luxurious, as are the colors and design of the cover. Gold foil rests on top of a beautiful yellow in an intricate scroll design.

If you look closer at the orange background, you’ll see a silhouette of a woman in a seductive position. That is especially telling since the text is sensuous and evocative. Again, color, font, and image combine to make something special.

Stardust

This isn’t the first edition of the book cover, but it is my favorite. There is no image, per se, but more of a design. This cover runs contrary to the others that we’ve discussed—the content is not easily devised from the cover. But still, it works well because it is a beautiful design.

The linear fonts complement the swirling look of the illustration, as do teh colors. It is simple but elegant at the same time. And this is one case where a cover blurb takes up more space than the title or byline, and yet it doesn’t overshadow either.

I could go on about dozens of covers, picking out what I like about covers and why they speak to me. But I’m interested to hear what you have to say about book covers. What appeals to you? Do you buy books because of the cover? I’d love to know which covers have jumped out at you.

I’m not sure which areas of publishing I thought most people would be most interested in, but I shouldn’t have been surprised that the majority of respondents wanted to know how to find an agent.

That’s a big topic among unpublished writers, and it was brought home yesterday when I attended a local writing event. A group of noteworthy and excellent authors (including James Dashner, Brandon Mull, Shannon Hale, Sara Zarr) spent their time discussing the things unpubbed writers wanted to know. The biggest question? How do I get an agent.

Now that I’ve gauged interest in various topics, I’m still going to post on all of them because they are things writers need to know. But I will spend some extra time focusing on those areas (agents, editors, writing, and marketing) that you said you wanted to learn more about.

If you have a specific question or topic that you’re really interested in, send me an email (michelle dot witte at gmail dot com) and I’ll make sure to answer.

I’ve posted a new survey on which areas of publishing you want to learn more about. Feel free to leave specific things in the comments of this post, and I’ll answer them for you. And if I don’t know the answer, I know plenty of people who do, so look forward to some guest posts on the subject.

And if you’re wondering about my experience, I currently work as a nonfiction editor for an independent publisher and have spent the past five years working in publishing and newspaper industry.

So go vote and leave your ideas in the comments.