Comments on: Dreaming of having your book published? There are some things you need to be aware of…

By: Oliver Donway

Oliver Donway — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:04:55 +0000

I think it is great that this is the only report on the reality of publishing that i have found on the internet. books are no longer valued today alongside authors and publishers have no passion for literature, only money. I am writing my book and in it I will highlight the problems that good authors are faced with. Hopefully, I will get published as speaking objectively, my idea and statements in my book are great and very amusing but true.

By: Penelope Alexander

Penelope Alexander — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 08:59:49 +0000

“The general ‘mood’ in publishing is it would be a really good business if it wasn’t for all the authors.”

Does anyone else have the feeling there’s a parallel here in film, with the use of computerised ‘actors’ ?

By: Debra Rixon

Debra Rixon — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 14:22:58 +0000

I have to agree with Teresa – as a ‘wannabe’ author and avid reader (I get through 1, maybe 2 books – depending on size – a week), there are some perfectly dreadful books published, which also leads me to lie down in a darkened room with a wet flannel over my forehead, despairing of ever punching through the ‘swampy cess pit’! I buy my books, critically sorting through the ones to go to the Charity shop, and the ones I know I will read again at some point because they were so good – I will pay top price for a hardback because I love the author – but the covers truly are vital. I will instantly shy away from the pastel, ditzy woman figure with stupid writing because I know it will be the same as the rest, which helps in the discerning purchasing bit, and I largely ignore the jacket blurb on an author I like, I will just buy it. It IS the brand – the author – that I am willing to pay money for. As an aspiring author, I have to think that if R&J (like Oprah in the US) have such an influence, then it behoves me to get a wriggle on and enter – not because they’ve pushed up the advances, but to maybe have a better chance of actually being read.

By: Register or Signup to Free Internet Services » Blog Archive » Dreaming of having your book published? There are some things you need to be aware of…

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 05:20:00 +0000

[...] The only figures available on the value of books to the cultural economy appear in The Work Foundation report (Staying Ahead: … The book industry has an impact on literacy, education, business, film, television and even the games market….Coupled with the scramble for territory in the burgeoning childrens market (book publishing is closer to spread betting than any other business) … Authors are part of the cultural capital of the UK economy, yet their value is grossly under-estimated…. source: Dreaming of having your book published? There are some things you need to be aware of…, Danuta Kean – Freelance Journalist [...]

By: Teresa Hamilton-Jones

Teresa Hamilton-Jones — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 09:49:31 +0000

Writing can not remain a viable occupation until the publishers are more discerning and put less books on the shelves. In the good old days, one knew if a book was published at all it had to be half decent. These days, I am not convinced publishers even read the books they print, I think they are all bought and sold on a ‘pitch’. I would say on average I read 24-30 books a year, and over the last few years I have noticed that on average about 70% of them were just not good enough to be published. Ten years ago, you could have turned that statistic on its head.

In an ideal world Wannabe authors should face the litererary world’s version of Simon Cowall, who can just say point blank ‘You’re rubbish, don’t give up the day job’ and then hopefully the current swampy cess pit of a market would tighten into a solid quality arena.

As a reader, my complaint is always the same. There are too many rubbish books being published which ought not to be.

By: Richard Madeley

Richard Madeley — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 16:22:38 +0000

As much as I don’t like taking the blame for this, it is very, very depressing. I mean, really depressing. I can’t see how writing can remain a viable occupation.

By: SUSAN HILL

SUSAN HILL — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 21:44:48 +0000

I could not agree more about expectation and reality…but few aspiring authors believe you if you tell them 400 copies sold of a first novel is GOOD.

By: David Thorpe

David Thorpe — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 10:46:56 +0000

As writers are to these retailers so are farmers to supermarkets. Both are being squeezed.

By: Richard Havers

Richard Havers — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 09:44:04 +0000

Susan, I agree it was a bit of a fob off, my agent is still laying down, in a dark room, trying to get his head around it. However, I think it is symptomatic of a mind set which is increasingly linked to the need to have big hits – known as the PLC syndrome around here). The other thing I’ve heard a lot recently is the, “we need to publish fewer books and sell more of those we do.” Lovely thought, and obviously we all go for that as an ideal but that too is linked to the way in which many publishers operate. The sales tail wagging the editorial dog is to me part of what’s wrong. Anyone can tell you what has happened, it’s the role of the editorial/publishing soothsayers to try to work out what is going to sell in 12 to 24 months time.

Publishing is just like TV. The copycat approach nearly always means a spiralling downwards in quality and success.

As I’ve said before, on this blog, I think some of the answer lies in publishers (and by that I mean the big ones, but not exclusively) more fully understanding the marketing process. They should be having an altogether more honest conversation with their authors and create an environment of expectation more closely linked to reality.

By: SUSAN HILL

SUSAN HILL — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 08:52:10 +0000

Richard, I think they were fobbing you off in a cack-handed way. No publisher would say a book was not worth publishing if it didn`t sell quarter of a million in supermarkets – which rarely sell that many of anything other than sprouts. Depending on book and price it`s worth publishing for 1,000 copies plus JUST.. depending on the advance. My tiny publishing company pays a flat £1,000 for everyone in advance, The Friday Project does not pay anything.. for e.g. Obviously one likes to sell 5 or 10 thousand but few books do. The killers are the ones on which an advance of 25K and some publicity money has been spent, as well as actual production costs, and they sell 400 copies.. I am talking of copies actually sold through the tills not into the stores. The Nielsen Book Scan figures are the only ones worth quoting as they are real sales to real people in carrier bags, not Sale or Return into the stores, only to come back again 3 months later.

By: directab » Dreaming of having your book published? There are some things you …

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 18:12:13 +0000

[...] click here for full story [...]

By: Linda

Linda — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 17:31:57 +0000

Talking of people who ‘dream’ of being a published author, news that the Writers Bureau, purveyors of ads claiming ex students were now the writers of ‘bestsellers’, have had complaints upheld against their advertising, has to be seen as a victory for common sense.

One of the ads claimed a £25,000 ‘advance’ – the ‘evidence’ for which was said to be something written on a piece of paper.

(More details and links here:

http://www.freelancewritingtips.com/2007/11/blogger-takes-o.html)

Nice one!

By: Richard Havers

Richard Havers — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 17:03:52 +0000

I’ve personally run into such a brick wall recently. It was so dispiriting to be told that because a book wouldn’t sel 250,000 copies through a particular supermarket, according to their sales people, that there was no point in publishing it.

By: Maria McCarthy

Maria McCarthy — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 16:59:35 +0000

This is such useful information, and stuff that so many aspiring writers are unaware of.
I’ve been doing the literature festival this year, talking about how to get published and always direct students to this blog for the *real* background about publishing as opposed to the six-figure advance hype!

By: Danuta Kean

Danuta Kean — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 16:48:40 +0000

It depends on what time of year it is .If it is January or February, when book sales are traditionally quite slow, a few hundred in a week can get you a top 10 placing in the UK. In the run up to Christmas, when the majority of books are sold, then you need to sell several thousand to get into the top 10.
Sales are measured by Nielsen BookScan when the book is swiped at the till, so the data from BookScan is pretty reliable for trade books as opposed to academic and professional books.

And Richard, yes, I understand what you mean. The energy does get dissipated, but I do think a lot of it has to do with the brick wall publishers come up against when taking into retailer and all they end up talking about is discount and bungs. It is very dispiriting.