New “Alternative to Self-Publishing” Poses Risks for Authors

Zondervan and Baker Publishing Group have launched a new online social site for Christian authors, touted as a “free, easy alternative to the self-publishing model.”

Now instead of sending rejection letters for unsolicited manuscripts, Zondervan and Baker will send authors an invitation to post their manuscripts on their new social publishing website.

This social publishing website is Authonomy.com and was started by Zondervan’s parent company HarperCollins in 2008. It has been expanded to have a specific Christian manuscript section – Authonomy.com/Christian.

Zondervan and Baker claim that having authors post their manuscripts on this site will “allow authors to quickly get valuable feedback from consumers on the relevance of their work and gain traction in the market without giving up any of their publishing rights.” They also claim that this new website is a way for Zondervan and Baker to discover and foster new writing talent.

Authors beware!

Authors serious about getting a manuscript published should be careful where they post their manuscript online for anyone to view. Open sites such as Authonomy.com mean two things for unpublished authors:

1.  You are giving your book away free of charge on the Internet.

Anyone can read a manuscript on Authonomy.com. Readers do not even need to log into the website to read a book. The manuscripts are open for anyone to read. Authors posting a manuscript on this website are giving the world access to their work, free of charge. At least with self-publishing, an author has an actual printed book or even ebook she can sell.

2.  You are giving your storyline to others for potential use and abuse.

Social publishing sites are great resources for others to get storylines for books. Manuscripts that are not published, give authors and even publishers ideas for storylines. Some unscrupulous publishers may find a good storyline on a social publishing site and then hire an author to write a similar book for them to publish. From my perusal of Authonomy.com, I found no copyright notices on the manuscripts posted or references to the manuscripts being copyrighted; although the site does allow users to report abuses.

My advice is authors should think twice before posting a manuscript to an open publishing site such as Authonomy.com.

Micro-Target to Get Results

Reading over various 2010 prediction lists, one prediction in particular caught my eye.

The prediction included the phrase:  “Micro-targeting is the watchword for 2010.”

Micro-targeting – what a great phrase!

Why micro-targeting? Because our audiences are becoming more fragmented.

I receive many emails from self-published authors that tell me that they just know that everyone will love their book. No one book (accept the Bible) is for everyone. People have different interests, needs, and reading styles.

Few books truly reach the masses. Most books are geared to niche audiences. Book promoters (authors, publishers, etc.) can utilize micro-targeting to run more effective book promotion campaigns.

If you conduct a search for books on the subject of money on Amazon.com, hundreds of titles will show up. The reason: one style of writing about money management does not reach everyone.

Figuring out your target audience is key in promoting a book. Once you know your target audience, then you can micro-target to subgroups within your target audience.

For example, if you have produced a devotional book for women, consider your micro-targets. Is your book for working Christian women or stay-at-home moms? If you determine working Christian women, then ask: Is it for working Christian women with children? If the answer is yes, then ask: Is it for working Christian women with preschoolers, elementary-aged children, or teenagers? If you determine all three, then you have three micro-targets: working Christian women with preschoolers, working Christian women with elementary-aged children, and working Christian women with teenagers.

Micro-targeting can go further. Working Christian women with preschoolers with chronic medical needs, or working Christian women with elementary-aged children with learning disabilities, or working Christian women with a disabled teenager, are just a few of the in-depth micro-targets your book promotion campaign could include.

Each of these micro-target units have different needs, different places they hang-out online, and different publications they read. Each micro-target group responds to different words and messages. Knowing this, you can create an effective plan to reach each of your micro-groups, increasing the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.

I encourage you to keep micro-targeting in mind when you are planning your book promotion campaigns this year.

Amazon vs. Macmillan: The Real Loser

“Who will win and who will lose?” is the question that stalks every battle. You may be surprised at who the loser is in the battle that has been raging between Amazon.com and Macmillan publishing company this past week.

For some time, publishers have been concerned over Amazon’s pricing for Kindle ebooks. Amazon has set the price for Kindle ebooks at $9.99 and recently has been pre-selling upcoming releases from large publishers for $7.99.

Publishers are concerned that pricing ebooks at these low prices will create a demand in consumers for low-priced ebooks, and as ebook sales grow, publishers will ultimately lose out and not remain profitable.  As a result, many large publishers have decided to delay the release of ebook versions for their hardcover titles by three months, giving a chance for the higher priced hardcovers to sell.

Macmillan decided they did not want to capitulate to Amazon’s practice of price-setting for Kindle ebooks. They wanted to retain control of the price structure for their ebooks.

Macmillan met with Amazon and gave them a proposal for new terms of sale for their ebooks under a new model to become effective in early March. In the new model, Macmillan will set the price for each ebook individually. The plan is that Macmillan’s ebooks, released concurrent with hardcover releases, will be priced between $14.99 and $12.99.

Amazon did not want to accept Macmillan’s proposal. Instead, they tried to bully Macmillan into capitulating to the $9.99 price. When Macmillan refused, Amazon responded by ceasing to sell all titles by Macmillan both in print and ebook format. Kindle owners report that Amazon went as far as deleting all Macmillan sample chapters stored on their personal Kindles.

Who’s the bully? Amazon!

I believe that Amazon is desperately trying to keep the Kindle the front runner in e-readers. The Kindle currently represents an estimated 75 percent of the e-reader market (not counting smartphones and computers – just other hand-held e-readers). Amazon means to keep it on top.

How? By offering cheap ebooks. If I purchase a Kindle and can get ebooks from Amazon for $9.99, then why should I buy a Nook and have to pay $11.99 or more for the same title at Barnes and Noble?

Amazon does not care if they aren’t making money off of the sale of Kindle ebooks. Their cash cow is the Kindle itself. The profit they make from the sale of the Kindle is their motivation, not the sale of ebooks.

So who is the real loser in this battle? Anyone who owns a Kindle; the very people Amazon is supposed to be servicing.

Ultimately Amazon recognizes this, which is why it has said that “ultimately” it must capitulate “because Macmillan has a monopoly over their own titles,” forcing Amazon to sell its titles “even at prices it believe are needlessly high for e-books.”

In the meantime, I feel for all the Kindle owners caught between two battling forces when all they want is to be able to read the latest book from Macmillan and not have Amazon mess with the content on their Kindles.