NEW EDITION CONTEMPORARY
PUBLISHING
ISSUE
MAGAZINE 1,
MARCH
2013
Nick Spalding
THE SELF PUBLISHING BESTSELLER TALKS AUTHORS, BOOK DEALS AND BATMAN
NEW EDITION, MARCH 2013
this month 7 4 8
NEWS
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ACTIVE ONLINE
BOOK COVER
NICK SPALDING
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BOOK STORES
shelf life
CONTEMPORARY PUBLISHING MAGAZINE
Welcome Welcome to the inaugural issue of New Edition, Authoright’s sumptuous, stylish and sometimes satirical review of the modern book trade. Each month, we’ll be championing new titles, interviewing bestselling authors – as well as those just starting out, exploring emerging trends, playing around with cutting-edge technology, occasionally indulging in literary whimsy and always debating the news and views central to publishers, literary agents, self publishers, distributors, retailers, readers and writers today, tomorrow and beyond. New Edition is a visual representation of our ethos. Yes, that reads as badly as it sounded in our heads, but it’s true. We believe in making publishing accessible, transparent, equal and rewarding. As the industry continues to weather a storm of epic, game-changing proportions, now more than ever before those of us fortunate enough to work with words need to look closely at how and why we do so, and how we can improve, evolve and future-proof. New Edition is both a commentary on, and a celebration of, the business of books. We hope you like it.
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The Authoright Team
When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny. - Paulo Coelho, ‘The Devil and Miss Prym’
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NEW EDITION, MARCH 2013
THE NEWS
Three Independent Bookstores Take On Amazon and ‘Big Six’ Three independent US bookstores – Book House of New York, Fiction Addiction in South Carolina and Posman Books in New York – filed a lawsuit against Amazon and the ‘big six’ publishers at the end of last week. These bookstores argue that by entering into an agreement with Amazon and other big online retailers, publishers are excluding independent stores from the eBook market. The owners of the stores claim to be representing not just themselves but all independent bookstores against the unfair practices of these corporate giants.
Barnes & Noble in Trouble As Nook Revenue Plummets Sales of B&N’s Nook segment – which includes their e-readers, tablets, and eBooks – dropped 26% in the last financial quarter, signalling more trouble for the US’s largest bookseller. As a result, Barnes & Noble have posted a small loss this quarter, despite a slight increase in profits from their retail stores. This news comes shortly after Leonard Riggio, the company’s chairman and biggest shareholder, announced that he plans to buy the chain’s retail assets, but not the hardware or eBook sector of the business.
New Venture Will Use ‘Pay-AsYou-Read’ Sales Model As eBooks have taken off over the last few years there have been countless start-ups and retailers who have tried to play with book selling models. There have been a few Spotify-style subscription models, for example, many of which have failed to take off. Now a new company, Total Boox, is trying to sell eBooks another way by allowing readers to pay-per-page. This could help sales for new and unknown authors by encouraging would-be-readers to take a risk with a title they’ve never heard of, or know little about. Authors and publishers will no longer have to sell their books for next to nothing in order to entice readers. It could also give the writer some interesting statistics about how people read their books, or indeed at what point they choose not to.
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CONTEMPORARY PUBLISHING MAGAZINE
Penguin Profits Down in 2012 The Penguin Group has revealed that its 2012 profits have dropped 12% on the previous year, despite what Penguin C.E.O. John Makinson has called a ‘monumentous’ year for the company. This loss comes as something of a shock after a 1% rise in sales in the same period. The group’s parent company, Pearson, has seen a similar pattern, with a 5% rise in sales but a 1% fall in profits.
Curtis Brown Buy 50% Stake in Conville & Walsh The publishing industry is in flux; the Penguin/Random House merger and the rumoured partnership between Harper Collins and Simon & Schuster caused many spectators to predict that consolidation was the only way for these large publishing houses to survive. Now agents are adapting to changes in a similar way, with two of the UK’s largest literary agencies – Curtis Brown and Conville & Walsh – set to join forces too. This the announcement last November of United Agents buying up AP Watt. We can expect more mergers of this sort as the publishing industry’s largest companies seek to combine resources and expertise, and to share costs.
iTunes U hits 1 Billion Downloads iTunes U – Apple’s repository for free educational content – has hit the 1 billion download mark, with 60% of downloads coming from outside the US. This is a good sign for the digital education sector at a time when commentators remain sceptical about the scope for e-reading and tablet devices to succeed in this market.
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NEW EDITION, MARCH 2013
judgeD by its cover
Authoright cover designer Sam de Ceccatty talks us through his design for David Brennan’s TV’s Not Dead. What makes a great book cover?
David Brennan is an acclaimed media expert, and his book charts the turbulent passage of television – from analogue to digital – revealing why it never fell out of fashion, even when its future looked bleak. It’s a fascinating insight into the world behind the box, illustrating the true complexity of the televisual medium, outlining its significant role within the psychology of consumerism and in defining our social mores, our habits and our aspirations. And it’s written with a consumer researcher’s eye for detail.
COlour “The colours I used here represent the test pattern of the cathode tubes,” says Sam. But the bold lines also make sure that the book stands out, and bring brightness to the design.
concept While it is really important to have a book cover that is going to stand out, it is often the details which reflect the concept that really set a great cover apart. “The idea behind this cover was the evolution from an analogue to a digital world, and translating that idea through print. We start off at the top with an etching or screen print style, which by the bottom has transformed into a clean, crisp digital print.”
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Sam DE CECCATTY
Iconic design Even big publishers forget that great cover design has to work as an icon on a website as well as it works on the bookshelf. The bold colours and unfussy design of this cover does just that. If you can understand the design of your cover from a distance or at this size, you are half way to success.
active ONLINE CONTEMPORARY PUBLISHING MAGAZINE
WE LOOK AT SOME OF THE MOST USEFUL ONLINE AUTHOR COMMUNITIES
The explosion of the eBook industry has facilitated a growth in the self publishing sector and a subsequent rise in the number of new titles being released. With so much literature out there, it can be hard for writers to find reviewers or readers of their books. A number of online communities have sprung up in the past few years that allow authors to discuss their work, and possibly to gain some exposure. Here are three online communities worth checking out.
authonomy is a writing community which was conceived by Harper Collins in an attempt to find bright new talent, as well as to connect writers who can discuss each other’s work. Each author has a personal profile to which they can upload anything from a draft chapter to a complete manuscript. Other users can read, rate and review their work, leaving helpful feedback which can be a vital part of the creative process. Each month the five highest rated books are reviewed by a Harper Collins editor, and the best titles stand a chance of being offered a book deal. You won’t find many readers on authonomy, but its a great place to seek the valuable advice of fellow authors and you’ll be part of a talent pool regularly scoured by both agents and publishers.
While social media sites like Twitter and Facebook can be great tools for self-promotion, its hard for authors to be heard above the many voices vying for attention. A great alternative is to immerse yourself in a social community dedicated to books. With 13 million members, - most of whom are actively seeking out the next book to read - Goodreads is the perfect place to go to find your audience. Authors can list their books, find potential reviewers, run free giveaways and use Q&A sessions to connect with their readers. Once you get the ball rolling, word-of-mouth spreads fast; Goodreads is neatly hooked up to other social media sites so when someone reads your books, their Facebook friends and Twitter followers will know about it. A word of warning though: users are keen to preserve the site’s role as a community for readers to discuss books, so authors who too obviously self promote through its forums risk earning a bad reputation. If you participate as a reader as well as a writer (by updating and rating the books you read) you’ll be viewed more favourably by the site’s more hardcore users.
Wattpad was created in 2006 as a place for authors to get feedback on their work and to showcase the best undiscovered talent to a large audience of readers. It has since grown into a ‘YouTube for eBooks’, offering a plethora of free literature to over 10 million monthly visitors. It’s a great place to seek the opinion of others, but 9/10 users are readers rather than writers.
This means that authors can also begin building a future audience by including them in the writing process and teasing them with sample chapters. The ability to access Wattpad content on mobile devices via its app has made it popular among readers worldwide, as well as a number of high profile authors including Margaret Atwood who is very active on the site and who was on the judging panel for one of the website’s many competitions, which aim to expose the best new authors. With plenty of willing reviewers and a neat ranking system, Wattpad will ensure that the best literature gets the exposure it deserves.
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NEW EDITION, MARCH 2013
NICK SPALDING
WE MEET THE JOKER WHO WENT FROM TELECOMS TO TELLING STORIES
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Nick Spalding is the poster boy of British self publishing. His story is already the stuff of literary legend; having toiled away on his own for a few years his successful indie ventures suddenly caught the eye of the big traditional publishers, and his works were snapped up by Hodder for a princely sum. Where most of us dream, Nick is living the reality. But his story gives genuine hope and a lot of inspiration - to others. Having spent his entire adult life working in telecommunications in the South of England, Spalding decided to try his hand at writing the sort of comedy fiction that makes us laugh and cringe in equal measure. The sort of books that bring to life with mortifying and hilarious accuracy those experiences we’ve all had in life and love, but would probably rather forget. This new trad direction in his career has been with, in Nick’s own words, “an agreeable level of success so far, it has to be said.” Having sold over 400,000 books, a number which dwarfs many celebrated mainstream authors, Spalding has gained legions of fans, both male and female, unusually for his genre, and he retains a strong connection with his readers. “They’re all maniacs and sexual deviants of the highest order”, he laughs, “most have a twitch and you wouldn’t want to come across one in a dark alley. My other half coined the term ‘Spaldettes’. The women amongst my readership would probably be okay with this, but I’m fairly sure the lads won’t be. Let’s think of a macho sounding name for them, shall we? Spaldinators? Spalderinos? No, they’re both crap. Answers on a postcard folks...”
Spalding is relaxed and funny; in his bio he describes himself as “an author who, try as he might, can’t seem to write anything serious.” In contrast, his massive self publishing success has been a very serious matter indeed, leading to a six-figure book deal with Hodder (their imprint Coronet has published his latest novel) in October 2012. Having enjoyed such terrific success on his own there’s a certain trepidation about entering into the sanctity of a traditional deal, along with all the advantages and potential pitfalls that come with it. “It’s going pretty well at the moment,” Spalding muses playfully, “It’s felt a bit like going back to square one in some ways, and not being able to obsessively track my sales every forty three seconds is strange, but on the whole, it’s been a positive experience so far. I’m certainly glad I took the leap.” He is not wholly convinced, however, that there is much of leap to make between the traditional and self publishing worlds these days. “That whole ‘them and us’ argument is a big old pile of steaming nonsense in my opinion. All the self publishing boom means is that there is now another way to get yourself published, and come to the attention of major publishers should you do well enough at it.” “Every new author should look at the landscape as a whole and decide for themselves what works best. The second you start placing yourself squarely in one camp or the other you’re doing yourself a potential injustice and closing off opportunities. As far as I’m concerned there is only ‘publishing’. There are just more ways to do it now.” Perhaps the most exciting prospect of his traditional
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deal is having his books translated and sold into foreign territories, sharing his humour with readers on different continents and of different cultures. “I can’t wait to read what ‘crapping into a pedal bin’ reads as in German!” Spalding’s view on publishing is therefore one of plurality and choice, one where the author is calling the shots. “The main piece of advice I try to give is get a lot of different opinions from a whole slew of authors, be they self published or otherwise, as well as from publishers and agents. Then arrive at your own conclusions based on those opinions.” He doesn’t think that his rise to success places him in a position of responsibility towards the author community at large because everyone’s experience is unique; he certainly feels that an important element in the modern author’s journey is negotiating and then navigating their own path, their own terms. There are of course some rules of writing and book promotion that
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AS FAR AS I’M CONCERNED THERE IS ONLY ‘PUBLISHING’. THERE ARE JUST MORE WAYS TO DO IT NOW.
Spalding knows shouldn’t be broken: something he terms his, “unholy trinity of self publishing”. “Write a really bloody good book. I can’t stress this enough. Everything is an utter waste of time if you don’t have a corker of a novel to sell. Then get a really good cover and write a really effective blurb. If you’ve got those three things, you’ll find all the other stuff a lot easier to do.” So what is Spalding’s idea of a corker of a novel? As it happens, he doesn’t tend to read commercial fiction for pleasure, and is more likely to be found immersed in anything with guns or grenades on the cover and a liberal amount of blowing things up inside, “...or ones that feature portals opening to dread dimensions.
Or big slathering monsters that inexplicably turn up in small American towns for no adequately explored reason. Or Batman.” Mainly Batman.” Nick’s latest book, the third in what he tells us he is “pompously referring to as the ‘Love...’ trilogy,” has just been released, and he’s hard at work on publicity. “Love... Under Different Skies, continues the story of Jamie and Laura Newman as they up sticks and move across the other side of the world. It contains more of the same humour found in the last two books, with added kangaroos, sunburn and at least one embarrassing episode involving cling film.” Spalding knows his readers’ appetite for his own brand of rib-tickling all too well. Publicity, of course, is key to any publishing success, but Nick’s view of the practice of self promotion is more nuanced than many; he’s no social media evangelist and believes that a great book really can sell itself, sometimes. “While social media is useful for authors who already have a fairly established fan-base, I don’t think it serves much purpose for the author who’s starting out with no platform. By all means do it,” he clarifies, “but don’t invest a huge amount of time in it, as I don’t believe the return is worthwhile for the new self pubber.” He’s crystal clear on the fact that all authors have to get on board with their own promotion these days if they’re to thrive, regardless of how they’ve published. “The idea that as an author you can just give up marketing your work when you get published is rather a silly one, unless you happen to write about boy wizards or unconvincing bondage sex. While my publishers Hodder take up a lot of the promotional strain these days, I still like to contribute as much as I can. When you’ve been doing your own promotion for a long time, it simply doesn’t feel right to sit back on your hands and let somebody else do all the work. Besides, I enjoy it. It gives me chance to speak to
the readers, which is always fun.” It is Spalding’s sense of fun together with his boundless energy and enthusiasm for making people laugh that has shaped his
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THERE ARE ADDED KANGAROOS, SUNBURN AND AT LEAST ONE EMBARRASSING EPISODE INVOVLING CLING FILM
whole literary outlook, not just his storylines. It’s this good-humoured resolve that’s helped him to make a career out of writing. “(You must) try not to take the whole thing too seriously and don’t put your entire life into it,” he advises those looking to emulate his success. “It’s a hard old industry to get a break in, so don’t pin all your hopes on it. Trust me, your blood pressure will thank you for it.” For a man who has an ambivalent relationship with author advice, Nick Spalding has one nugget of genius about book promotion: “Always, always end any interviews you might give with a plug for your books.” Nick Spalding it seems is a man having the last laugh and the last word.
Love... From Both Sides by Nick Spalding (published by Coronet, RRP £6.99, Kindle Edition eBook £2.99) is available now, and you can purchase all three parts of the imperiously titled ‘Love...’ trilogy in eBook format at all respectable online outlets, including Amazon. co.uk. For more information go to www.spaldings-racket.blogspot.co.uk If you see Nick Spalding in the street he will walk away from you if you start twitching. So instead, come and meet Nick at this year’s London Book Fair where he’ll be speaking at The LBF AuthorLounge, curated by Authoright. For more information check out the microsite at www.authoright.com/authorlounge
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Photograph: zoetnet, Flickr
NEW EDITION, MARCH 2013
HIGH STREET BOOK SHOPS IN CRISIS J
anuary in the book trade is always an interesting time. With the Christmas boom over, retailers of all shapes and sizes are frantically reviewing their fortunes, hoping that festive sales will, in some respects, keep them afloat for the immediate new year, and beyond. Come February it’s back to reality; the die will have been cast by then and retailers will already have a reasonable picture as to their forecasts for the coming months. The publishing industry as a whole has become obsessed by internet retailers and their rapacious cannibalism of the consumer market, yet they have
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done little to stem the flow of cash and arguably their own self-respect -in the direction of Amazon, et al. Given that 2012 rounded off rather rudely with poor financial results, redundancies and high-street giants going in to administration, what can booksellers hope for for 2013. But should we care if these bricks-and-mortar bookstores survive beyond next winter? We are told and many of us really feel it in our hearts - that we should save the high street, that it’s in our best interests as consumers to help cultivate a buoyant and bountiful British retail market. But in these gloomy times
of blanket austerity and arguably, slipping standards in customer service, we’re entitled to question why it is that we’re expected to nurture a sense of loyalty and pride in those retailers who have consistently done very little to merit - or reward - our custom. We were forced into bailing out the banks and now we’re required to prop up the high-street too?! In the UK, the first scalp of the year was record and entertainment stalwart HMV. His Master’s Voice first opened in 1921 on London’s Oxford Street; for over half a century it was Britain’s biggest music retailer. In January they tumbled into
CONTEMPORARY PUBLISHING MAGAZINE
administration to what felt like almost universal sorrow and consternation. The demise of the high street is certainly a depressing phenomenon, but it’s not a surprising one. If HMV was so close to so many peoples’ hearts, if its brand loyalty was so secure, how on earth could it be allowed to collapse? Like many other highstreet retailers - and it has to be said, traditional publishers follow this trend, forever looking to blame external forces for their own disappointments the villain in this tale was determined - by the high-street, naturally - to be internet retailers. Boo, hiss, etc. But while it’s true that consumer buying habits have changed and prices online tend to be more competitive than anywhere else, competition cannot be blamed for the demise of certain shops. No one really complained when HMV savagely killed off the small independent record shops, so there can be no room for sentimentality or charity in this next stage of consumer evolution. The fact is that music lovers clearly no longer felt that going in to HMV represented a ‘record-store’ experience. They were happy to swap a physical experience for a convenient one because the high street giants did not give them a good enough reason to come in to their stores. Somewhere along the line they lost their ‘soul’ and with that, their purpose. The same is true for bookshops. It hasn’t been a great few years for our bricks-and-mortar bookstores, with Borders going under in 2011 and the remaining chains, both in the USA and the UK, having a pretty difficult time ever since. Let’s not forget that HMV was also a book retailer, selling mainly, but not exclusively, biographies and music genre books. Again fingers point with futility at online businesses, but we also hear an astonishingly broad range of excuses for decline; one minute it’s the fault of publishers for allowing different retail clients to buy books for different prices,
the next it’s the tech companies for driving down the prices of ebooks... The UK government has set up a Future High Streets Forum of industry experts to try and stop further bankruptcies like those of HMV and Jessops. Foyles, who are making redundancies after a downturn in sales, is being proactive by running collaborative events to gather ideas for their new bookshop from those in the publishing industry. But there is no room here for mere tinkering, the problem is clear: our high-street bookstores need to come up with a new model for their business that is fit for purpose in the modern world. Bookshops need to change, and only they can
Bookshops need to change, and only they can be the agents of their resurgence. be the agents of their resurgence. Many bookshops have become tatty, miserable, uninspiring stock rooms. High-street stores need to give readers a reason to shop with them. This may be by demanding a high level of expert service from their staff, who should be engaging, knowledgable and accessible; through providing innovative services and events; or even by improving the design of the retail space and aesthetic in order to make the browsing and shopping experience an inspiring, pleasurable one. If customers actually want to spend time in a shop they are all the more likely to spend their money there too. One area of the high street that is booming is coffee shops. Not only is this because you can’t (yet!)
buy a latte online, it’s because these new cafés are desirable, inviting, enriching places to spend time in. They know what their customers want intimately and they deliver, without fail, in a stylish, individual way that makes every patron feel at home. We need to start feeling at home, and wanted, in our bookshops again. So where does all this chaos this leave authors? The days when getting your book stocked in your local branch of Waterstones was the apogee of success are sadly over, and the majority of authors should concentrate their efforts online in order to reduce their own costs and to engage with as wide an audience as possible. We know that bookshops as they currently function are not actually even interested in giving new authors and new writing a place to flourish; they’re purely focused on stocking and highlighting the more lucrative celebrity biographies and existing bestsellers. Making your own book a bestseller cannot start in a bookstore. Can you afford 30grand to get it stuck on a discounted table in a visible position so that customers pick it up, zombie-style? But wouldn’t it be great if all authors could unite with actual, local retailers in order to launch their writing careers? It would be fantastic if bookstores could engage with authors as well as consumers, and invite them in to write, network, socialise, and bring reading and writing together within their four walls. Bookstores need to radically re-evaluate their approach, and become more inventive and more relevant, vibrant and daring, rather than pointing fingers and fretting over pointless detail. They need to become the meccas for book lovers that they once were. Rather than trying to compete with the supermarkets and the global brand websites, bookshops need to go back to doing what they did best; serving as enticing temples to literature, but with a determined eye towards the future.
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NEW EDITION, MARCH 2013
SHELF LIFE
FOR THE AUTHOR WHO HAS EVERYTHING, SOMEWHERE TO KEEP IT. PIMP YOUR PROSE WITH THESE BEAUTIFUL BOOKCASES.
THE TRADITIONALIST £POA, Alfie’s Antiques, London This beautiful antique mahogany Globe Wernicke bookcase has the gravitas needed to properly display your heavy historical tome. The glass front will protect your first editions from damage and there is plenty of space for your sequels.
THE DIGITAL CONVERT From $329 / £269, Apple
THE PATRIOT $/£ nope!, Andrei Saltykov Put your books where your heart is with this stunningly designed patriotic bookcase. Some states are better at holding books than others, so save your pocket diaries for Rhode Island! Just please don’t ask about buying it... 12
Bookcases are so last century. Carry thousands of books in your (large) pocket using the iBooks app. The only available colour is a kind-of beech. To ensure that your book is featured prominently on your iShelf, make sure to name it something beginning with ‘a’.
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THE MODERN CONNOISSEUR £149, Made.com The minimalist and unusual design of this walnut-finish bookcase has multiple ‘fronts’ to it. As well as making it a great feature of a room, this means that your beautiful new book can be admired from every angle, even before your guests come to pick it up to read.
“Up, and to my chamber doing several things there for a moment, and then comes Sympson, the Joyner; and he and I with great pains contriving presses to put my books up in: they now growing numerous, and lying one another on my chairs...”
Samuel PEPYS THE ANIMAL LOVER $4,690 / £2,664 Ibride The perfect bookcase for every author writing about their pet, or even penning the next Don Quijote. ‘Martin’ the donkey will store far more than just your books. Don’t let that fool you in to thinking that it’s practical though, at almost 6ft high and 6 1/2 foot long, you will need a stable to keep him in. 13
NEW EDITION, MARCH 2013
Next month...
Next month in New Edition, it is all about the London Book Fair. The brand new LBF AuthorLounge, curated by Authoright, is on the horizon, and we will be giving a sneak preview, so you know what to expect at the Fair. We have an amazing line up of authors, publishers, literary agents and industry experts who will be speaking about and discussing the opportunities and challenges of modern publishing, with special focus on the role of the author. The LBF AuthorLounge curated by Authoright will feature Faber and Faber, HarperCollins, Foyles, Kindle Direct Publishing, Matador, Andrew Lownie Literary Agency and Penguin. Phew! Get the inside track in next month’s New Edition.
New Edition is written and designed by Authoright. Contributors: Louis Dresner, Gareth Howard, Hayley Radford, Ben Wood.
NEW EDITION CONTEMPORARY ISSUE
1,
PUBLISHING MARCH
2013
MAGAZINE