Eye-Opening Changes in Book Publishing

My mystery book club recently met to discuss the many crime novels of Don Winslow. Thanks to our hostess Gloria, we able to have a live telephone question and answer session with Don. He was gracious and informative, and spent over 30 minutes on the phone with us. It was a great chance to get some real insight into the trials and tribulations of a mystery writer. Thank you Gloria for arranging it, and thank you Don, for spending the time to talk to our group.

One question that was on many of our minds was how book publishing has changed over the years. There are so many new ways to publish and market. How has this effected the industry? Well, Don couldn't stop talking about this topic. When I got home I did a little more on line research and here are some of my findings.

The hottest thing going right now for books, especially self-published books, are low-priced Kindle editions. Those are out-selling printed books by 500%. Apple will probably follow suit.

Self published books are relatively new in the industry. For a relatively small price, anyone can self publish their book. Then the challenge becomes how to get your product to the public. 48% of consumers today purchase a product because it has social media recommendations and a smartphone app that is simple and convenient. Every author needs a branded app.It looks like the best way to market self published books is to keep up with technology and make the best use of it.

Oprah doesn't work anymore. Her overall viewership is down and she doesn't get the results from author interviews that she used to. Being booked on her show doesn't mean what it used to.

If an author is lucky enough to find a publisher to take his work, he may have to give up a lot of artistic control. Publishers are all about the bottom line, and authors are asked to edit their work the way the publisher sees fit. Most are willing to do this to get their work published.

There is so much writing talent out there and so many different avenues they can take to get their work published. Many are going to self publishing. By using the social media like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube unknown writers and muscial artists have been discovered. I just saw a story about an African singer/musician who was discovered on YouTube and is now an international star. Those stories are few and far between, but then so is writing any novel, getting it published and having it become a best seller. That's a longshot today and it always has been. It's not just about talent. You've got to be lucky.