tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post114959156837425881..comments2024-03-29T11:20:37.238+00:00Comments on Grumpy Old Bookman: Which way the wind blowsMichael Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11338398159818400930noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-85045660687457654372016-05-18T13:08:37.639+01:002016-05-18T13:08:37.639+01:00Not surprisingly, I'm glad to hear that you di...Not surprisingly, I'm glad to hear that you discovered a lot of interesting things to appear in the book world! I find this blog entry very useful! Hope to see you at a<a href="http://proofreading-services.org/online.php" rel="nofollow">http://proofreading-services.org/online.php</a>! Good luck!<br />hallsarah204@gmail.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15030486128395008892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1149884555147692232006-06-09T21:22:00.000+01:002006-06-09T21:22:00.000+01:00I am one of the people who haven't been able to co...I am one of the people who haven't been able to comment because of the Blogger comment crash. So I can't remember what I was going to write when I first read your post. It is an excellent piece, thank you for writing it.<BR/>Good comments, too!Maxine Clarkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06628509319992204770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1149797518404909422006-06-08T21:11:00.000+01:002006-06-08T21:11:00.000+01:00As to the real meaning of the long tail, here's a ...As to the real meaning of the long tail, here's a quote from the blog of Steve Weber, an online bookseller who's written a book about the subject: "Economists at MIT figured that a book ranked number 10 on Amazon sells about 5,000 copies on Amazon each week, and a book with a rank of 100,000 sells 1.6 copies per week on average. Amazon sells more than 100 million books per year, and about half of those unit sales come from sales of titles ranking above 40,000, according to the MIT research. Titles ranked from 100,000 to 200,000 account for just 7.3 percent of sales at Amazon, and titles ranked from 200,000 to 300,000 produce just 4.6 percent of sales."<BR/><BR/>Now, since Amazon lists just under 4 million different titles, this research is showing that 50% of sales on Amazon come from just ONE PERCENT (40,000) of those titles.<BR/><BR/>This is a VERY deep Zipf curve. Much steeper than the old 80/20 curve. We're talking more like 95/5 here. (95% of online sales come from 5% of the titles on sale.) <BR/><BR/>Sure it's true that online search does find some readers for books that would otherwise have found none. But I have to return to my old, old, old point: it's the absence of persuasive booklovers from the neighborhoods that we're missing. Whether librarians or booksellers, it's essential to plant lots of professionals on the ground, in the real world, where citizens can stumble across them. The novel, to find readers, depends on trustworthy advisors who can encourage those readers. <BR/><BR/>Case in point: Book clubs are so popular because they help people decide what to read, and provide a context for this reading.<BR/><BR/>Sadly, because libraries are funded through taxation, there will probably not be more libraries added to our neighborhoods. But: there CAN be more bookstores added, especially if these storefronts serve multiple functions beyond simple book recommendation and distribution. If they produce TV shows, if they host concerts, if they teach reading classes, if they host civic activism.<BR/><BR/>I would say that you're right about the novel fading away if it's the "self-service" novel you're talking about. But the "full-service" novel -- the one where someone you trust presses it into your hands and convinces you to read it, and asks you to come back to tell what you thought about it -- the full-service novel will still be around.<BR/><BR/>The book is an awfully inexpensive medium through which private individuals can break into the public conversation. All those other types of media -- movies, TV, interactive video games -- those are quite expensive as expressive media for individuals. Blogs now -- sure -- but remember that these are weakly edited, and off-the-cuff. The quality of thought is mediocre. Books -- that's a demanding format. The quality of speech is higher. Novels are a marvelous art form.<BR/><BR/>You really think novels are going out?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1149789470758765792006-06-08T18:57:00.000+01:002006-06-08T18:57:00.000+01:00Much of what you write is valid, but you seem to i...Much of what you write is valid, but you seem to ignore writers as artists.<BR/><BR/>There's a lot more I could say but would only be repeating what the other good commentators have already said.<BR/><BR/>Great article for inspiring debate.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1149785845755941802006-06-08T17:57:00.000+01:002006-06-08T17:57:00.000+01:00I also meant to say that if the time comes when 'p...I also meant to say that if the time comes when 'professional publishers' aren't producing books any better in terms of quality of physical object than individuals can create themselves (because they too are using POD), then really the only service they have left to offer is in the field of distribution and marketing. Perceived value in terms of reputation of the press still counts for something, but if traditional presses are content to churn out books with a bad design aesthetic then their reputation will soon be eroded as well.<BR/><BR/>For decades the advantage of a 'professional publisher' has been in having the funds to produce a good quality book. But quality has cone right down these days, the money is going into marketing (or, in the case of Macmillan New Writing, not even into that). I look back fondly even to the days of the quality, yes quality, mass market paperback. When they actually cared about the product, even if they did do million of 'em.<BR/><BR/>And it's certainly true to say that some self-published books by POD are more professionally designed than those from 'professional publishers', although of course the vast majority of self-published work is fairly amateur in aesthetic. But I don't see that as a massive hurdle to get over, especially as the big presses don't seem to bother about it much any more.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1149775896895668622006-06-08T15:11:00.000+01:002006-06-08T15:11:00.000+01:00Most readers may not care how a book is printed. I...Most readers may not care how a book is printed. I do. And I must say that many of the 'professionally published' books these days leave a lot to be desired. Paperback spines so tight you can't open the book properly, type so small you can hardly see it, paper that is little better than newsprint, typography so amateur it makes me wonder whether designers are employed anymore. <BR/><BR/>A lot has been said, for instance, about how 'posh' the Macmillan New Writing books are. Well I've examined a few of them recently, and they're very poor actually. People seem overimpressed with the blue bit of ribbon for a bookmark. The typography and printing is atrocious, cheap Chinese litho. Frankly the Chinese letterpress books for their own market are so much better, they look cheap but examine them closely and they are a delight, with their paperback foldover flaps and sometimes wonky letterpress imprinting through the paper. A blast from the past. God I would rejoice to have my work published in cheap Chinese LETTERPRESS and forget the crap so-called "good" Chinese litho that Macmillan seems to have managed to persuade us is a product of excellent quality.<BR/><BR/>What I would give for the fine British letterpress of the 50s. Boy, do I care how a book is printed!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1149740042983602742006-06-08T05:14:00.000+01:002006-06-08T05:14:00.000+01:00I'm not completely convinced that the novel will b...I'm not completely convinced that the novel will be supplanted or drowned by the surfeit of competing entertainment media because most of them-radio, movies, TV, games, sports-have been around for decades. More recent new media technology, like delivery of movies on videotape and discs, is merely an extension of preexisting technology.<BR/><BR/>Maybe the internet is the exception, and what do many people do on the internet? Read, of course. So even that is an extension of the same activity into a new technology.<BR/><BR/>I'm skeptical about how soon we'll see bookstores replaced by print-on-demand kiosks. In order to be attractive as a new delivery medium to the public, there have to be a lot of them in convenient locations. That requires a significant investment in hardware. <BR/><BR/>In order to convince publishers or the stores that would have the kiosks to make the inestment there has to be a demand.<BR/><BR/>A reader doesn't care how or where his books are printed, so long as they are affordable and easy to purchase. Between brick and mortar stores and online ordering, books are already easily available. Unless the POD system made them much cheaper to the consumer, I see no reason for readers to suddenly throw their arms wide and embrace it or prefer it.Peter L. Winklerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16005846686173676213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1149731340588540982006-06-08T02:49:00.000+01:002006-06-08T02:49:00.000+01:00I can see where you are coming from, and I guess I...I can see where you are coming from, and I guess I agree with most of it. Literature is a dying artform. It takes persistence, it takes intelligence, and it takes effort, both to read and to write. (okay, this is arguable, but from the general public standpoint...) I agree that other parts of the entertainment media will eventually take over completely.<BR/><BR/>But... fame and fortune? Yeah, I guess... but as a writer (a failed one, so far at least... I'm still a student more than anything, and haven't learned nearly enough), writing to me is more an unending quest for the perfect story than one for fame and fortune. Yeah, I'd like other people to recognize said perfection, but when it comes down to it there's an ample amount of satisfaction in the writing and finishing of it. And it really is an unending quest, too. As a student, the more I practice and learn about my writing, the farther the road seems until I can achieve it. I guess I'm learning to see my faults, if not improve them. But I digress. My point was that while yes, every writer wants people to read and appreciate his or her work, that isn't the defining characteristic of a writer. That is the writing, the desire to create, to illuminate and to express something wonderful. A true writer, at heart, is an artist. The joy is in the creation, and is only multiplied when shared with others.<BR/><BR/>Or maybe I'm just an idealist.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1149696657447506102006-06-07T17:10:00.000+01:002006-06-07T17:10:00.000+01:00GOByou are right. When Citizen Kane hit the theat...GOB<BR/><BR/>you are right. When Citizen Kane hit the theaters, it showed that a movie could do what a novel could, no problem. <BR/><BR/>Normal people like to be entertained by serious issues every once and awhile. So they went to the movies.<BR/><BR/>And all the people who wanted to about serious issues, like war or showing indepth looks at mobsters or whatever. People who would have been writers like a Spielberg or Scocese or Leone went and did movies.Noah Cicerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08739671905998435933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1149683000590697202006-06-07T13:23:00.000+01:002006-06-07T13:23:00.000+01:00Interesting essay, GOB. But I think you overlook o...Interesting essay, GOB. But I think you overlook one important factor, which Gav, alludes to. Children. I have two kids and they both love reading, as well as playing on the computer and watching TV and going to see the latest Disney blockbuster. My son (who is 6) is an avid Captain Underpants fan and can actually quote sections of the books. Not high literature, but a book, nonetheless. That was where the reading habit took root with me, as a kid at school, Alan Garner, Enid Blyton, RL Stevenson, etc... And the writing habit too. I blame my desire to be a writer not on any ambition for fame and fortune, but on the fact that I received early encouragement at school. I loved making up stories and writing them down, and even, at times, reading them out to my class mates. My kids are the same. My daughter (8) took a phone call from one of her friends over half term and they were basically talking about a story they were collaborating on. Luckily it was her friend's parents paying (I think).<BR/><BR/>I would argue that once you have been switched on to the magic of storytelling - either as a recipient or practitioner, or both - it's hard to go back.<BR/><BR/>As for production and distribution means, etc, none of that should really concern the writer - should it? Writing and publishing are two different activities after all.Roger Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08071467030127707462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1149682532247336022006-06-07T13:15:00.000+01:002006-06-07T13:15:00.000+01:00It's sobering that some of this is so true. I've ...It's sobering that some of this is so true. I've been reading this blog for a while now, and I guess this is a sucker-punch for deluded writers. By virtue of our imaginations a lot of us dream of the fame and fortune (though I would just settle for a small fortune myself). Like Debi, I first went into writing when I was 17 because I enjoyed the process. I enjoy writing now, even though it has become a more serious venture for me - in January 2007 my book <EM>The Secret War</EM> gets published by Macmillan New Writing (one of the few big publishing houses who are embracing change). I’m not expecting a wheel-barrow of cash at the end of it, but my motivation for writing is different.<BR/>I know this isn’t the case for every writer – indeed on one site I had a frank discussion with a writer who was desperately trying to predict what would be the next “big thing”, which is a hopeless task as readers are a fickle lot and publishers have proved they can’t predict the direction of the wind either. Some writers (though not all) seem to chase fame and fortune through writing because they think the odds are better to improve their current situation than anything else. Yet the odds are probably worse than winning the lottery, aren’t they?<BR/>I’ve always approached the craft by writing something I would enjoy reading, and if someone else likes it enough to be published, that would be just fine. The only depressing part is that if we cannot give up our day jobs to write then we can only write less books (and at that rate I’ll still be writing when I’m 100 years old!).mattfwcurran.com Web Admin https://www.blogger.com/profile/13651266491906006561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1149681238496969932006-06-07T12:53:00.000+01:002006-06-07T12:53:00.000+01:00I'm with Debi, there is a lot to comment on. As so...I'm with Debi, there is a lot to comment on. <BR/><BR/>As someone who loves reading I don't make enough time for it. The same with writing, drawing, taking photographs, reading tarot, working out, tai chi, walking movies, catching up with the lastest hot tv series like Lost, and Desperate Housewives. There is just too much to do and books take time. They are hours of entertainment. <BR/><BR/>I was in Hay last week, along with the estimated 90,000 other people. What I loved was seeing all these people in the book shop, queueing for autographs, all the children, the people sitting round reading (lots were reading the sample copies of Leaf Books that have been planted round the site). So there is still a lot of interest in books. <BR/><BR/>The childrens market seems to be in focus with authors like Ms Wilson, Garth Nix, Charlie Higgson, etc all doing well. <BR/><BR/>The problem with the adult market seems to be a contridiction between what readers want and what 'those who think they know' tell them they should read. Take The Sea. I'm never ever going to read it no matter now many awards and reviews it gets. <BR/><BR/>Is this dumbing down? Am I missing something? I doubt it. <BR/><BR/>As for the print-on-demand issues. The cost of producing every copy of a bestseller for example as print on demand vs tradional prinitng would be vast. <BR/><BR/>I think the problem is that there are too many books and too much discount. Take Harry Potter. I doubt that many copies were sold at the full rrp price. This means that readers don't trust the cost of a book. Would you spend 3.73 on a bestselling author or try an unknown for 7.99? As I'm a reletively poor student I'd go for the 3.73. <BR/><BR/>Though if i read good reviews, and got good recommendations I'd read the 7.99 one. But the books i love don't get reviewed that often unless I read SFX. Though the guardian is doing some good poetry reviews at the moment. <BR/><BR/>I'm sure there is more, but I feel like I'm rambling so I'll end it there. <BR/><BR/>gav.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1149679328422821992006-06-07T12:22:00.000+01:002006-06-07T12:22:00.000+01:00I get the notion 'all books are entertainment ... ...I get the notion 'all books are entertainment ... false teeth of more value' etc. But I don't buy into it.<BR/>I personally do go with the notion that novels should be entertaining. I also learned early on that you can't rely on making a living from them. When I shifted to the States without a visa for a few years, I was left with having to make money from writing - so switched to nonfiction. i wrote two novels, yet to go out into the world, because they appealed to me, because they had to be written. The 'had to be written' books of course don't start from a commercial premise, and any consequent success in the world is a lottery unless your life comes filled with appropriate connections.<BR/>My new novel 'Slippery When Wet' waqs fourteen years in the writing and started from a very strong premise ... I had worked with kids and their families in schools all of whom had come from Bangladesh, and I wanted to bring some flavour of Bangladesh into UK understanding. It was a mission ... and one I had to embrace and learn from if I was going to pull it off, so visits to Bangladesh for example. I chose characters so readers could identify with them and be carried into the experience. The characters then define their own lives and experiences and the book reveals itself around them. But it's not mere entertainment. It started with an utterly different premise, to take someone across a cultural divide and deliver the emotional and phusical experiences of such a journey. What other books can do that?<BR/>Hooray for novels ... I've learned so much from them.<BR/>I experienced Monica Ali's BRICK LANE as an audio book recently. Driving through the outskirts of Manchester an elderly Asian man played havoc with the traffic as he wove his bike between cars, seeking an exit. Suddenly, from inside the experience of that book, I had a very real sense of the biography of that man, the valour and hopes and failures and efforts and successes of his life. Novels are terrific openers into other worlds. Better to suck at food without false teeth than have such worlds closed to you.Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10737804963996012800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1149679144169429482006-06-07T12:19:00.000+01:002006-06-07T12:19:00.000+01:00Ouch. There's so much in this post it's hard to k...Ouch. There's so much in this post it's hard to know which bits to respond to without it taking all day ...<BR/>I don't believe a time will ever come when people will no longer want to be told a story - to escape into a different reality. What form that story takes (paper, oral, electronic etc) is up for grabs, but I just can't see the total demise of the novel.<BR/>Mind you, this is from the writer who is also a photographer who eschews digital.<BR/>The thing I really take issue with is the reasons you give why people write. I can only speak for myself, but the writing long preceded the hope of getting published. It never even occured to me for some time that I was writing a novel, let alone that anyone might give me £££ for it, or that as a result 'fame and fortune' would be mine. I'm on my 5th now. I got a deal for the first two, Nirvana Bites and Trading Tatiana, but am now in the situation you describe so well where it's proving extremely hard to get a new deal for the next two. If I was told now that I would never be able to make a single further penny from my writing would I stop doing it? No way! It doesn't even feel like I would have that choice. <BR/>And could a day come when I wouldn't want to read a book? Equally no way ...Debihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09600815804658702077noreply@blogger.com