This decision makes me sad. I cut my blogging teeth here and feel great attachment for the ideas posted under the banner of The Business of Writing. However, the pressures of time have forced me to be more ruthless and for now, A Writer of History is where I need to be.

I’ll return at some point. And I believe the ideas about being an author-entrepreneur will endure, perhaps reshaping in some new form down the road.

Many thanks for reading.

Here’s the journey so far:

• The first post considered the locations of those who responded. Although dominated by individuals from the US, the survey drew a mixed crowd from all around the world. How the survey travelled from North America to Europe and Asia is somewhat of a mystery to me.
• The second post – Readers Share their Perspectives – offered a range of results from reading habits and preferred historical time periods to methods of purchase and the print versus ebook question.
• Other posts followed: Reasons not to Read Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction would be Better If, Where Readers Find Recommendations in the non-digital realm and Connecting Readers and Writers in the digital realm.
• Top Authors went up in two different posts last week because I had to make a correction (check here and here), and this week I posted She Says, He Says highlighting male and female differences.

With the business of writing in mind, I now need to consider two questions: what have I learned and what will I do with the information.

No answers yet  but I’ll be back.

“The books of O’Brian and Cornwell, for instance, are marketed as part of a series, branded so that the readership can purchase familiar books and collect the entire set. There are numerous official fan clubs, and those who are interested in Cornwell’s creation can read Mark Adkin’s Sharpe Companion (1998) and his Sharpe Cut (2006), an introduction to the television series. Adkin’s text is an historical guide to the military elements of each Sharpe novel … with images, maps, factual narratives and biographical accounts.”

Apparently, another writer offers similar materials to augment O’Brian’s naval stories. De Groot goes on to say that “these secondary materials buttress the authenticity of the novels, ascribing them a gravitas and a meaningfulness … crucial to the male historical novel”.

Often writers do this with blogs and websites – for free – but what I thought interesting was the opportunity to bring such material together as a product to be sold alongside your novel. If companion materials work for a writer leveraging the novels of someone else, would they not also work for the original author?

Just wondering. What do you think?

• THE PAST FASCINATES. Almost 75% of respondents read more than 25% historical fiction.
• SEX: Women and men differ significantly in their views of historical fiction.
• AGE: Those under 30 have different preferences for genre and time period and have different patterns of consumption and acquisition.
• GOING ONLINE: Social media and online sites play a very significant role for those consuming historical fiction.
• GEOGRAPHY: A reader’s geographic location has less affect than we might expect on preferences.
• EDUCATION: Readers of historical fiction are very well educated: 46% have university degrees, 40.5% have completed graduate school.
• EARLY HABITS: Those introduced to historical fiction in childhood continue to read it at high volumes.

I will continue to analyze and publish further details on both blogs.

Before launching, I had the good fortune to have Sarah Johnson of Reading The Past agree to write about it on her blog. I also knew of groups on LinkedIn, Facebook and Goodreads where I could post a link and I planned to connect with friends via email and post on my blogs and Twitter (@histfiction). But even with these various avenues, I knew that surveys typically have very low response rates.

The survey was designed to discover more about those who read historical fiction and those who do not – demographics, story preferences, favourite time periods, reasons for reading or not reading this genre, sources of recommendations and so on. Since I write historical fiction, I thought the information might be helpful to authors like me as well as others in the publishing industry. I imagined a few follow on blog posts and a tidbit or two of insight into those who love historical fiction. Instead, I have reams of data to sift and sort and formulate into conclusions; a degree in statistical analysis might be helpful!

Sarah’s endorsement on her blog and on Facebook created threads into other blogs. Twitter – both mine and Sarah’s – led to retweets. Friends passed the survey on to other friends. Carol K posted it on her blog, EdiFanoB posted it to folks in Europe, a friend of my husband gave it to his librarian wife who wanted to send it around to other librarians and so it went reaching folks in India, New Zealand, Australia, South America, Asia and elsewhere. Absolutely fascinating.

Note: one person responded from each of Middle East and South America – too small to show on the graph.

I’m sure that some reading this post will chuckle and call me naive – of course the internet and social media will carry the word – but this gal is amazed and grateful.

Get to the point, Mary.

Four weeks ago, I received an email from a company wishing to place ads on my blog. Curious, I thought. Why would anyone target One Writer’s Voice? After a follow up email exchange I learned that the folks at rezatta.com wanted to place ads for Lacoste (Rezatta Agency is a French company, by the way). Then, two weeks ago, a company called More Digital knocked on my door explaining that they have “clients interested in social media marketing on smaller sites with little or no existing advertising”. Hmm, what’s going on?

I’m sure I’m not the only one receiving these solicitations. And, two data points do not a trend make. Still, I’m intrigued. Maybe there’s a new phenomena all about connecting brands to people through small, intimate spaces. Or perhaps, if people are connecting through multiple screens (think iPad, TV, laptop, smartphone) at all hours of the day and night, marketers are attempting to find different ways to engage through these varying windows into people’s lives. Maybe, the tribe phenomena has taken flight and marketers like rezatta and More Digital are trying to find spaces that curate for smaller and smaller tribes. Perhaps the noise factor associated with advertising on large sites has become so intrusive, consumers are turning off these brands rather than turning onto them.

Or, maybe it’s merely serendipity. What do you think?

Check it out!

Wish we had something like that for authors … or maybe we do?

After researching the reasons why people read historical fiction for a blog post, and finding almost nothing, I decided to create a survey to discover more about those who read historical fiction and those who do not – demographics, story preferences, favourite time periods, reasons for reading or not reading this genre, sources of recommendations in this digital world of ours and so on.

As readers, would you please take a few minutes to complete the survey? It doesn’t matter whether you read historical fiction or not because I’d like to hear from as wide a range as possible. And if possible, to add to the robustness of data collected, please pass the survey URL along to friends of all reading interests, ages and in any part of the world you can reach!

Here’s the link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LNM7DKQ

Many thanks,

Mary

Tidbits to spark thinking

Over at SEOBOOK there’s a post titled Perceived Authenticity is Key to Profitable Niche Publishing Models and an interesting diagram linking dramatic market changes to the birth of the attention economy. Should probably be called the attention deficit economy.

Sarah Lacy at pandodaily offered Confessions of a Publisher: We’re in Amazon’s Sights and They’re Going to Kill Us with the following quote from an anonymous publisher:

“there’s a bidding war among the publishers over the big books. We all know what the good books are–it all comes down to how much of an advance we’re willing to pay for them. The hotly fought-for books are the ones that sell. And while we might not make huge profit % on these, we make big profit $ on these. They keep the lights on by covering overhead. Better to cover our fixed costs by going all in on a few big books than trying to buy dozens of mid-list books.”

Lacy’s anonymous publisher goes on to say that Amazon is deliberately keeping advances high which will bankrupt publishers. I’m not trying to replicate what other extremely qualified folks have written on this matter, but it’s critical context.

As reported on The Scholarly Kitchen, another quote to muse on comes from Clay Shirky: Abundance breaks more things than scarcity does.

I also found some thoughts on interconnectivity of today’s savvy consumers, a summary of Michael Porter’s thoughts on competitive advantage [his ideas stand the test of time] and a list of nine stable niche strategies. Sounds like a witches brew doesn’t it?

Reflecting on Tidbits

Authenticity – what does or should authenticity mean to publishers? Various articles I’ve read suggest that publishers have to find ways to connect with consumers (and collect their data) in order to transition successfully and survive. Most consumers don’t care which organization publishes a book, they care about the value of a book’s content in terms they define such as entertainment, usefulness, empathy and so on. Oh, and they also care about price and ease of access to books. Building authenticity within a particular niche in the eyes of consumers (not retailers or distributors) could create a strategic advantage for a publisher.

Profit model – a business model where a few big sellers cover overhead costs for lots of books that do not break-even is unsustainable. Publishing isn’t the only industry where a few profitable customers or products cover up the flaws in a business. I’ve helped several organizations deal with the consequences of such a situation, and I’m personally experiencing the paralysis of an industry afraid to take on a new author. But that very paralysis is driving more and more authors to self-publish or to find new ways to bring their content to market. And, if the anonymous publisher cited above is correct, Amazon is positioned to chip away at the best selling authors who sustain big publishers. And then where will they be?

Abundance – creative content abounds. Creators (writers, poets, journalists, photographers, videographers, instructors etc.) are publishing content without charge or for such a modest charge (99 cent books on Amazon) that price is no longer a barrier. People can consume all day without cost on their laptops or mobile devices.

Attention Economy – as the diagram included on SEOBOOK says “all the rules for business growth, marketing effectiveness and personal performance have changed”. Mainstream brand affiliation is under attack. Growth can be explosive and unexpected. Finding ways to attract attention will be an important skill for authors and publishers.

Consumer interconnectivity – the networked economy enables consumer interconnectivity. This interconnectivity can create positive or negative effects for brand in an incredibly short space of time.

Competitive advantage – according to Michael Porter, businesses create competitive advantage through cost leadership, product differentiation, or focus. Being all things to all segments is not a winning strategy.

Niche strategies – global consulting firm, A. T. Kearney, identified nine successful niche strategies. The challenge for established publishing houses would be to determine and act on a strategy that could set them apart. Authors should also think about their niche.

• regional – a solid understanding of cutovers in a clearly defined regional market
• target group – target certain customer segments and deliver personalized services, like Four Seasons hotels
• product – a highly defined product niche
• branding & lifestyle – examples such as Porsche and Mont Blanc create communities of dedicated customers who value the brand
• speed & lightning consolidation – companies like Amazon or Facebook reshape a market, grow fast and cut out the current market leaders
• innovation – companies define their niche in terms of innovative products
• cooperation – small companies form alliances to compete against large scale leaders
• market splitting – identify and exploit a weakness in the value chain of their industry
• counter – these niche players identify and exploit a weakness in current sector leaders and force a game-changing strategy

Looking at the players and challenges in the industry

A while ago I posted about Amazon’s ‘divide and conquer’ strategy, explaining it with a diagram similar to the one above. What I’ve added to the diagram are the challenges facing each player. For example, authors are challenged because of the abundance of content/competitors and poor levels of remuneration, publishers are challenged with profitability and, because they have not interacted directly with consumers in the past, they are challenged with lack of consumer data. Each player has challenges, even readers are challenged to find the kind of quality they desire because of an abundance of product and an abundance of reviews.

Questions to consider

Perhaps one question to ask is how are publishers adjusting their niche strategies to tackle challenges of profitability and lack of consumer data? Another question, how should authors adjust their strategies to take advantage of niche publishers? It seems to me that publishers have buffered themselves from authors – except their own stable of authors – and consumers; the one through agents, the other through retailers. Could cooperation strategies link authors and publishers in a more symbiotic relationship through well defined niches? Can authors capture their own consumer data?

Which publishers operate successful niche strategies? Harlequin comes to mind as a publisher with presence in the mind of consumers.  Hay House concentrates on self-help and inspirational books, Osprey’s focus is military history books, Chelsea Green’s focus is the politics and practice of sustainable living. I’m sure there are many more examples. With such specific focus come strategic alliances, marketing strategies, author support, distribution arrangement, conference participation and other tactics that are different from broadly based publishers like Hachette or Random House.

To add to the list of questions – are these niche players more sustainably profitable than the famed ‘Big 6′ players in publishing? If you write content in the markets they serve, can you develop a different kind of relationship with these niche players?

Just to leave you with one further thought – the following diagram occurred in a post about reader-writer relationships. Here’s the question: how should publishers insert themselves into the interconnectivity mix in order to add distinct value?

I’m sure I’ve missed many other insights and of course asked more questions than answered. Perhaps the post will spark some dialogue.

When I began blogging about being an author-entrepreneur, I recommended that authors build a business plan in much the same way as other entrepreneurs. Context for any plan is the bigger picture of where you want to be, tangible milestones along the way and the choice of strategies to move in your chosen direction. While I built such a business plan a year ago, not surprisingly circumstances have changed.

Here’s how I’ve responded to my own prescription, my own ‘kick in the pants’.

ARTICULATE WHERE I WANT TO BE IN THREE TO FIVE YEARS

• A published author with 2 or 3 books achieving reasonable sales volume (I have yet to define ‘reasonable’)
• An active participant in the realm of historical fiction

• I will produce novels and possibly short stories serving a market of adult historical fiction readers
• I will blog and write articles about writing historical fiction and the market for historical fiction
• I will concentrate on more recent history (late 1800s and early to mid 1900s)
• I do not yet have a position on young adult fiction

• I have developed a writing plan that includes goals and tactics for writing, platform, blogging, publishing and learning (copy available if you’re interested)
• I have not broken tactics down into specific tasks and timing. There’s something about writing that resists the confines of gantt charts and detailed planning.

• I create bi-weekly to do lists that derive from the plan and tactics above and attempt to balance writing activities with other life priorities

Now, all I need to do is remain focused, track my progress and continue to carve out sufficient time for writing.