Update - What’s Austin up to?

I know I’ve been mired in industry happenings lately, and the broad view of how they affect all of us, but I was just reminded that I started this blog as a journal of my personal journey. So I think it’s time to let you know more of my progress.

I’ll start with an up close example of how the chaos at Borders has affected me. I was scheduled to do a signing Friday night at the Borders superstore in Waldorf, MD. We always send posters and brochures for the stores to hand out days before I arrive to raise awareness of the event. We also call to verify the date and that they received said posters and brochures. Well, when I got there Friday nobody knew anything about a signing.

The girl on duty went into the back and returned in about a minute with the envelope with the posters and brochures. They were embarrassed and would have been happy to do the signing, but the manager hadn’t ordered any books and I wasn’t about to set up with the ten or so copies of my books in the store. I met the new General Manager (moved from Annapolis Borders 3 weeks ago) who apologized profusely. I have to conclude that losing layers of management and shuffling managers around stores will cause more events to slip through the cracks unless I am even more vigilant.

Meanwhile we’ve made a lot of progress in preparation for the June release of Russian Roulette, the next Hannibal Jones mystery. We have lovely new bookmarks, and have ordered both a mailing list of mystery readers and the post cards I’ll be sending. Coasters and a print ad are in the design phase. I’ve received blurbs for the book from some great friends: JoAnn Ross, NY Times bestselling author of the High Risk Series; Robert Randisi, Founder of the Private Eye Writers of America; Libby Fischer Hellmann, author of the Ellie Foreman mystery/suspense series; and Jon Jordan, publisher of Crimespree Magazine. I also mailed out 25 review copies of the new book to various newspapers, magazines and respected reviewers. 25 more when to some of the top rated Amazon.com reviewers.

We’ve scheduled a giant private release party in June, and a second public release party in a Borders store in Maryland. More details to follow. I’ve ordered a dandy new book trailer that I’ll be showcasing soon. And I’ve scheduled my appearance at Bouchercon in October where my wife and I will shamelessly flack the new book.

And you shouldn’t think I’ve abandoned the writing side of writing. My collaborator, Meloney Crawford Chadwick, and I have written some dandy material for the urban fantasy work in progress. It’s a slower process with two writers pruning, trimming and polishing each other’s contributions but at this point we have more than 17,000 words that we’re really proud of (that’s about 65 manuscript pages, or about 20% of a novel.) Our scenes dovetail nicely - better than I would have expected. An outside would be hard put to see where her work ends or mine begins and that’s as I think it should be. We continue to grow the project organically and I am quite happy with what we have so far.

So there’s my progress report. Next week, back to kibitzing about the publishing world.

Why This Mister's a Sister

You know I’m a believer in writer’s organization. I pay my dues to Mystery Writers of America , Private Eye Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, American Independent Writers, the Virginia Writers Club and even the Maryland Writers Association in the next state over. But why would an otherwise masculine guy like me be a member of Sisters in Crime?

Well, originally I joined because I wanted to support the cause - to combat discrimination against women in the mystery field and raise awareness of their contribution to the field. Soon after I joined I realized that I knew more female mystery writers than male, so maybe they didn’t need my help. But then I began to feel the advantages of membership.

This group is more proactive than any of the other national organizations from the point of view of training. While the MWA is focused on enhancing the reputation of mystery writing, and the ITW are all about marketing, Sisters in Crime focuses on nurturing new writers and helping them to improve their craft. They are also big on networking and maintaining close ties to publishers and agents, which helps members get into the business.

But perhaps the biggest advantage to me is the electronic newsletter, In SinC. The editors do a very good job of scanning the industry and letting me know which articles in Publishers Weekly or other pubs I need to read. They link me to the most useful and informative articles and interviews with agents and publishers who have the inside view of the publishing industry.

The best part of the newsletter to me is the encouraging news. While we’re all hearing about how the publishing industry is going into the toilet they print the details of new deals members have landed. When I read that Clea Simon has sold the first book in a new paranormal mystery series to Severn House in a nice two-book deal, that Lorraine Bartlett sold the next three books in her series, and that Carolyn Hart's next three books sold to Harper in a significant deal (significant deal = somewhere between $250K and 500K) I know that editors are still buying, and I find that fact very encouraging.

With a Little Help from my Friends

I did not go to the South Carolina Book Festival expecting to get rich. In fact, I fully expected to lose a good deal of money on the trip. But the life of an author can be a solitary existence and every so often you have to do something about that.

So the Festival began, for me, with a seven hour drive south, accompanied by my lovely wife Denise. Most days we are both occupied with our individual professional pursuits. This provided an excuse for seven consecutive hours with nothing to do but talk to each other, followed by three nights in a hotel room that was purposely more expensive than it needed to be.

I spent Saturday and Sunday in a booth with Echelon Press publisher Karen Syed and a most amusing group of fellow Echelon authors. Perky little Jackie Sylvan writes young adult fantasy with an edge. Sam Morton is an ex-cop whose thrillers feel like true crime. Diana Black and Mary Cunningham write for children, but also have a book called WOOF for Women Only Over Fifty. Then there was Regan Black, a charmer whose work is best described as sci-fi, but better read for its own merits. Her daughter Jordan will soon be published in her own right. Marlis Day writes cozier mysteries than mine, and fantasy author Marc Vun Kannon makes a business of selling all Echelon books, not just his own.

So what did this crew have in common aside from a publisher? Well, only two things that mattered.

First, everyone at the Echelon booth was outgoing, open and eager to sign their books. I was surrounded by people who, like me, wanted to speak to every person who walked past and tell them all about our writing. I got a chance to hear each author’s individual approach to explaining why someone facing them should want to own their latest book. It was encouraging to be part of a group instead of standing alone in a bookstore.

The other commonality was the consistent upbeat attitude shared by everyone. We were there for business, but there was constant laughter generated by bad jokes, smart remarks and witty responses. There is no better way to keep your mind sharp than to dive into a random conversation with a booth full of writers.

So yes, this is one of the unsung differences between self-publishing and placing a manuscript with a small press. The kind of camaraderie that comes from being part of a team can make writing a somewhat less lonely pastime.

And if you think I might be alone in this thinking, just check out some of the outlandish photos Karen and Regan posted on their blogs.

Oh, BTW - as it turns out, I came out a little ahead on the trip thanks to lots of books signed.

The new who reviews

These days, the writing life is taking a back seat to the marketing life, because a lot of the most important promotional things have to be done before anyone sees your book. For example, I compiled a list of 25 places I’d like Russian Roulette to be reviewed and almost all of them said they wanted the books 4 months before publication. That’s why I spent my few spare moments last week sending out review copies.

The Washington Post Book World was at the top of my list. Sadly, the Post stopped publishing the separate book section. But when I called the paper to find out where to send their review copy I found that they still want books sent to “Book World.” It turns out that the section will live on as an online product.

I’m cool with that. Most people I know read the paper on line anyway. And maybe they will do what most internet reviews do and add a link to the book on Amazon.com so people can order one right away. That’s why my original list included a few internet-only reviewers. I also have five or six personal friends who review for a variety of publications. Naturally, they got advance copies.

That got me to 30 review sites, and I had 50 review copies. The more I thought about the whole internet review issue the more I thought I was missing a bet. Everybody I know who doesn’t buy their books in a bookstore goes to Amazon.com. So I went there. I looked at the profiles of the top reviewers, selecting the ones who focused on mystery novels. I sent them e-mails, and sent books to those who said they’d like to read Russian Roulette.

Who knows? Those reviewers may turn out to be more influential than the newspapers and magazines I mailed to. And at least I know they will take a look at the book.

Sign of the Publishing Times

For the last four months there has been a lot of talk about how badly the publishing industry is doing. Mostly we hear about how publishers are losing money, how hard it is for agents to place manuscripts, and how authors are being abandoned by those who were their champions. What we don’t hear about is what’s going on at the crucial interface where the rubber meets the road. Or more properly, where the books meet the readers. I don’t know a lot of New York publishers. The bookstores are where my friends and best supporters are.

I frequently arrange events weeks in advance and they rarely cancel. So I was shocked when I got the call from my publicist this week about an event scheduled for March 15. I had agreed to give a talk to a school group in the Waldenbooks at Manassas Mall. This was the kind of event that ties a store and a writer to a community. But the call I got was to cancel the event because the store won’t be there a month from now.

Saturday I held a book signing at another Waldenbooks, this one in Landmark Mall, Alexandria, VA. Another store that has become a community bookstore in place of privately owned stores that have almost all folded. The manager greeted me as always, but this time to give me the sad news that this would be my last event there. He said his store was on “the list.”

Apparently the Borders chain is losing money and trying to staunch its wounds. At least in my area they have decided that every store that did not turn a profit last year will close when its lease is up.

Selfishly this means books returned to the warehouse, and fewer chances to get face-to-face with readers. More personally it means two friends I won’t see again, with no way to know how many others will vanish before the economy rights itself.

If you have a good bookstore in your area make sure you visit this week. Pick up a couple books and spend some time with the folks who work there. Who knows if you’ll see them again?

The Book's not Finished When You Finish Writing

I talk to a lot of self published and Print-On-Demand authors about what they can do to make their books a success. There are a lot of options, from cover selection to interior design to writing a series character versus a stand alone. But you have to start with a good manuscript, and much of what goes into one is not optional. I was reminded of that because during a chat about the various steps leading to publication one author told me that he planned to pay a publicist thousands to market his book but he couldn’t afford a professional editor and so would skip that step.

I had to tell him that, in this writer’s opinion. That is not an option. You might just as well decide not to have a picture on the cover. In other words, if you can’t afford to get a professional editor to work your manuscript, well, you can’t afford to publish your book.

No matter how good a writer you think you are, EVERYONE needs an editor. If you have any hopes of selling copies of your book it needs to be as close to flawless as possible. And if you want an agent to show your work to a publisher, it has to be polished.

Remember, the big publishers wouldn’t let your book go out without being professionally edited, and neither should you.

How am I doing?

For people in the business world, that is not a rhetorical question. It is one that I contemplate more and more as I approach the release of my next novel.

For a goal-oriented person like me, the world sometimes revolves around tracking what I do and measuring the results. Tracking my activity is relatively simple. So what have I done to insure success of the new novel? I got a manuscript professionally proofread, edited and formatted. I added dedications to my favorite booksellers and a formal invitation to book clubs. I pored over the galleys. I’ve ordered bookmarks, coasters, print ads, post cards, and a mailing list to send those post cards to. I’ve requested blurbs from half a dozen writers whom I respect. Three have already blessed me with wonderful words. I’m poised to send off review copies to an extensive list of reviewers.

But how will I measure success? What line do I cross that tells me my book is a hit?

In our business, the Holy Grail is writing a best seller. Yet, that status does not come with a pre-determined sales point. Not only is this a relative scale, but it is transitory. Getting on someone’s bestseller list merely means that you did better than everyone else THAT WEEK. If the economy is bad enough, that could mean you sold 20 when everyone else sold 19. No book bestseller lists put numbers next to them, like box office figures for top movies, not even in industry publications like Publisher's Weekly. And the fact that different lists have different titles is a pretty good indication that they don’t reflect actual sales anyway.

Even if you have access to sales numbers, there are two sales numbers that can be used: the number of books that are bought by stores through distributors and the number of books actually sold to consumers. The latter is tracked by BookScan, but I don’t know how even publishers get those numbers.

After some digging I learned that I can at least find out how many books shipped through Ingram, the distributor that handles all my books. They have an automated system you can call (615-213-6803 - you’re welcome.) Punch in the ISBN number and the computer will tell you how many copies sold this year. But that number won’t answer my REAL question. How many books do I have to sell before I declare the book a success?

A November 2005 article in Fast Company Magazine stated that the average number of copies sold of a book is 11,800. That is, they said, the average author who manages to find an agent and land a deal. That leaves out a lot of my competition.

Bill Frank, of One2One Direct stated that the average book sells 7500 copies, including million-sellers and flops.

ParaPublishing.com quoted the Authors Guild as saying that a successful fiction book sells 5,000 copies.

My favorite so far is a July 2007 article called “THE 10 AWFUL TRUTHS ABOUT BOOK PUBLISHING” by Steven Piersanti, President of Berrett-Koehler Publishers. He quotes statistics published in Publishers Weekly, July 17, 2006.

“In 2004, 950,000 titles out of the 1.2 million tracked by Nielsen BookScan sold fewer than 99 copies. Another 200,000 sold fewer than 1,000 copies. Only 25,000 sold more than 5,000 copies. The average book in America sells about 500 copies”

Presumably the average in this case is the mean, distorted by the Stephen Kings of the world who sell millions. The other numbers seem more useful. So let’s see...

According to this data, when sales hit 100 my novel will have outperformed 79 percent of its fellow releases. When we pass 500 we’re already above average. At 1,000 copies it’s in the 96th percentile. When we hit 5,000 copies (he said optimistically) the book is in the top 2 percent sales-wise. At that point a paperback would have earned a $3,000 advance. I guess we can call that the line for success.

I’ll keep you posted.