Last June, I posted a blog entry, “Writers Helping Writers”, wherein I wrote about the benefits of writing groups. At the other end of that thread are reading groups — book clubs. They’ve been around almost as long as there have been books, being helped in the 1400s with the invention of the printing press. Some of the earliest groups formed to share the cost of purchasing books, which were expensive. Later, some were hosted by authors. Other groups formed around the ambience of coffee houses or coffee tables.
Harnessing the reach and influence of modern media, Oprah Winfrey gave book clubs a huge boost when she used her popular show to launch Oprah’s Book Club in 1996. During its 15-year run, it recommended 70 books, including some obscure titles that Oprah’s endorsement catapulted into best sellers. She continues her book promotion through her OWN media empire. While other shows, including Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show, NPR’s Fresh Air and syndicated radio show Imus in the Morning also provide springboards for authors of various stripes, Oprah went one important step further: she promoted the concept of book clubs where members gather and encourage reading.
The New York Times has estimated that 5 million Americans currently participate in book clubs around the U.S. What’s the attraction? For some, it’s a shared interest in a genre, a topic or an author. For others it’s an opportunity to exchange ideas. And for some, it’s purely social. The common element is the energy that occurs when people come together in a shared experience connected to art. That energy elevates both books and those who read them.
Because the nature, size and location of book clubs are so diverse, there is no single source that lists all of them. To find a club that suits your interests, simply search online using key words + “book club”. You’re sure to find several clubs to consider. If not, be the one to start one!
On October 5, 2007, Oprah’s Book Club announced Love in the Time of Cholera, a 1985 novel by Nobel Prize laureate Gabriel García Márquez as its selection. Not only was recognition of the author and book greatly enhanced in North America, but his translator Edith Grossman also gained much-deserved recognition. Another work by Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude, was a previous selection for the book club in 2004. On April 17, 2014, Gabriel Garcia Marques, a master of magical realism died at home in Mexico City at the age of 87.
May 1st will be your first chance to purchase a limited first edition of Searching for My Father, Tyrone Power by Romina Power. The book will be available only at Tyrone Power Centennial Celebration events. For more information, check out my YouTube interview with film historian Matthew Hoffman.
When the mind is hungry, few things satisfy as well as a good book. Fortunately, there are feasts around the country throughout the year to fulfill every taste. From small block parties to massive convention exhibits, in every size and genre, there is a book event waiting for you. With the long winter finally departing, the number of book fests, fairs, exhibits, conventions and all variety of literary celebrations is growing. This is good for writers, readers and the publishing industry.
In the age of Amazon and other online booksellers, you might feel inclined to lounge in your … whatever you lounge in … and simply connect through the internet to someplace in cyberspace for a book you’ve preselected in your mind. It’s fast. It’s convenient. It’s also impersonal, colorless, bland. When is the last time, ordering online, you discovered a book or spoke with its author, experienced the “bookness” of books with all your senses (yes, a book can even inspire a taste on the tongue), felt exhilarated as if you were a guest at a banquet? Book fests can offer all these rewards and more.
Book fests may simply be large book sales, but most combine presentations, workshops, readings, book signings, exhibits and social gatherings, along with sales. Some of the biggest and best American book fests still to come on this year’s calendar include:
In other places around the world, top book fests include: Sydney Writers’ Festival, Australia, May 19-25. Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye, Wales, May 22-June 1. FLIP, Paratay, Brazil, July 30-Aug. 3. Festival Letterature, Mantova, Italy, Sept. 3-7.
If you’re looking for a way to spice up your literary life in 2014, feast on a book fest!
Plans for the nationwide centennial celebration of legendary actor Tyrone Power are expanding. To learn more, Book●ed blog readers can see my YouTube interview with film historian Matthew Hoffman. A very special launch event, May 1st at the historic Pickwick Theatre will feature the opportunity to purchase a collector’s quality Limited First Edition of Searching for My Father, Tyrone Power by Romina Power. It’s an updated and expanded English-language version of Romina’s Italian bestseller, Cercando Mio Padre. If you can’t make the Pickwick celebration, Taryn Power Greendeer (Tyrone’s younger daughter) will appear at the Northbrook Public Library on May 2nd at 2:00 p.m. and Romina’s book will be available for sale. Centennial events are also planned in Ohio and California. Updates will appear in my future blog posts.
A friend of mine asked me to help her get her book published. Although it had been a best-seller in another country several years ago, she was frustrated by the lack of interest from American publishers. I suggested she let me help her self-publish her book. Unsure of the process, and wondering if there was a market for her book, she asked if we could publish her book in a limited quantity to test the market. Her father was a passionate collector of First Edition books, so we decided to self-publish a Limited First Edition, tied to a special year-long event. Even before the book was off the press, a buzz has been building and requests for the book have started to come in.
That got me thinking about the allure of First Editions, Limited Editions, and Limited First Editions. Book collecting, especially collecting special editions, is like faith: if you don’t understand the passion, I can’t explain it to your; if you have the passion, I don’t need to explain it to you.
The first printing of a book is called the first edition, although later printings of an unchanged manuscript may also be called first editions. Collectors most value the very first printing because it is the one the author saw through the production process and is closest to the time the book was written. If a publishing company owns the rights to a book, its editors usually can go to town in subsequent editions, revising as they deem fit to meet their marketing needs. Collectors like to have books that reflect the author’s – not the editor’s — intentions.
Limited editions range from as few as 50 copies to as many as 1,000 copies. They come in various forms, including those from trade (mass market) book publishers, small fine press publishers and private publishers. At the highest end, a signed, numbered and slipcased limited first edition will cost three to five times the cost of a regular first edition. An established book can be reissued with new material in a high quality Limited First Edition, offering handsomely bound books or with the author’s autograph, which also has added value to collectors.
Many websites offer first editions, limited editions and limited first editions. But if you’ve never held a limited first edition of a book in your hands – often a magical piece of history and culture — you might want to visit antiquarian bookstores, book fests, maybe even your local independent bookstore. Catch the passion!
Book●ed blog readers living in the Chicagoland area are invited to a very special event May 1st at the historic Pickwick Theatre in Park Ridge. Launching a nationwide centennial celebration of legendary actor Tyrone Power (born 1914), the theatre will host a double feature of In Old Chicago and Jesse James. Special appearance by actress Taryn Power-Greendeer and theatrical producer Michael Butler (daughter and godson of Tyrone Power and actress Linda Christian). And for booklovers, a collector’s quality Limited First Edition of Searching for My Father, Tyrone Power by Romina Power, will be available for purchase. This updated and expanded English-language version of Romina’s Italian bestseller will only be sold at centennial events. If you can’t make the Pickwick celebration, Taryn will appear at the Northbrook Public Library on May 2nd at 2:00 p.m. and Romina’s book will be available for sale.
This is the third in a 3-part series for authors who want to get their books published. Part 1 posed the questions: Why do I want my book to be published? and How much control am I comfortable giving up? Part 2 addressed: What will it take to get my book accepted by the kind of publisher I want? and How long am I willing to wait to get my book to market?
In part 3, the final questions that should guide your publishing decisions are: 1) How will my books reach readers? and 2) What influences the life and death of book sales?
1) How will my books reach readers? The two most common ways are online and in stores. Major distributors charge a hefty percentage of your sales but are crucial in today’s market if you want to sell books.
Online selling means through such well-known distributors as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Another important distributor you may not have heard of is Ingram. This company serves publishers, including self-published authors. In addition to distribution to stores, they have a very strong connection with libraries around the U.S. Traditional publishers will set up distribution for you. Self-published authors need to make these arrangements themselves or pay a service to do this.
Online can also mean selling directly to consumers through your own website, if you know how to attract people to your website and are willing to handle order fulfillment. There are companies that will warehouse your book, handle orders that come in and provide sales reports to you. All of these services charge fees, depending on the service you use. Your printer may be able to recommend reliable resources.
Because of the competition for limited display space, in-store placement is a challenge, particularly for self-published authors. This is especially true of national chain stores. Local independent bookstores, however, may be friendlier to the self-published author if your book is high quality, you or your book’s topic are linked to the community in which the store is located and you are willing to appear for a talk and book-signing. This is an opportunity for you to augment the local store’s publicity efforts, which they appreciate.
Book sale opportunities are unlimited if you think outside the box. Additional venues, depending on your book’s genre and target audiences, could include book fairs, senior centers, houses of worship, schools, libraries, book clubs, farmers’ markets, writer’s groups, etc. You get the idea. If you have expertise in an area related to your book, check out Speaker’s Bureaus. Some venues will charge you a fee or ask for a percentage of book sales, some will offer you free space, some may even pay you to do a presentation tied to the sale.
Any time you can speak to a group – about writing, marketing, or a topic related to your book – have your books available for sale. Keep copies of your book in your car for any unexpected opportunity to sell or to offer to someone who can help promote it. Consider donating books to charitable fundraisers in exchange for some goodwill promotion; if your donation is to a tax-exempt organization, you have the bonus of a tax write-off.
The more work you do, the less you will pay others to do it for you. Do your research, be realistic about your capabilities to handle distribution and sales, and recognize that moving your book into readers’ hands is both an art and a science.
2) What influences the life and death of book sales? Today’s newspapers will line the bottoms of birdcages tomorrow and Tweets will have flown away. Not only do you have to promote your book when it first comes out, you have to keep it relevant to readers. Beyond the first months your book is published, continue to seek opportunities to promote it.
Stay current on the day’s news; if you can you tie it to some aspect of your book, your book becomes timely once again. Does your book have an historical tie in to a commemorative event? Is it especially appropriate as a gift for certain holidays or occasions? Write articles that either link to your book or allow you to include your book information in the byline. Get creative!
Make sure your website stays up-to-date, including good reviews and links to any interviews you’ve done, as well as announcements about upcoming appearances.
Network: always let people know about your book and ask them for ideas or referrals; then follow up!
If you forget about your book, others will too.
Final thought: writing a book is an art. Publishing and marketing a book combines the art with business. Selling a book is all business.
Book●ed blog readers living in the Chicagoland area are invited to a very special event May 1st at the historic Pickwick Theatre in Park Ridge. Launching a nationwide centennial celebration of legendary actor Tyrone Power (born 1914), the theatre will host a double feature of In Old Chicago and Jessie James. Special appearance by actress Taryn Power-Greendeer and theatrical producer Michael Butler (daughter and godson of Tyrone Power and actress Linda Christian). And for booklovers, a collector’s quality limited First Edition of Searching for My Father, Tyrone Power by Romina Power, will be available for purchase. This updated and expanded English-language version of Romina’s Italian bestseller will only be sold at centennial events. If you can’t make the Pickwick celebration, Taryn will appear at the Northbrook Public Library on May 2nd at 2:00 p.m. and Romina’s book will be available for sale.
