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Home » Archives for January 2017 » Page 2

Archives for January 2017

Media Changes and The Writer

By Dan Balowon January 17, 2017
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The other day, a copy of the new Yellow Pages and phone directory was delivered to our house.  As I picked it up off the front step, I was reminded it has been years since I even looked at one.

The recycling container has it now.

I suppose I will regret tossing it if I lose internet access for a long time, or if I need to level a wobbly table, but the fact a Yellow Pages edition is still produced is an interesting example of an old communications medium hanging on for its last few breaths.

Not too many years ago, a small business, which didn’t advertise in the Yellow Pages, was considered out of touch and destined to fail. Today, the standard is a website and social media.

All media is in a constant state of change and the changes are happening more rapidly as time goes on.

A few years ago, the total advertising revenue at Google surpassed the advertising revenue of the entire newspaper industry in the United States. The newspaper industry, which was once one of the most powerful forces in our society, was bypassed by one company.

Newspapers are now a shadow of their former selves.

Here are some items to consider and reflections, which can be helpful in deciding how to view media of the future:

  • Newspaper use and revenues are in significant decline. Mergers create a few super-newspapers, but smaller papers will continue to decline and disappear.
  • Younger people will not read newspapers to any significant extent and the clock is ticking on the industry as its readership dies off, literally.
  • Online news and social media are the newspapers of the future.
  • Newspapers will disappear while still having a good number of subscribers, just not enough to sustain the operation. A bankrupt newspaper might have 100,000 subscribers, but if it needs 120,000 to achieve financial breakeven and advertisers are spending money elsewhere the writing is on the wall.
  • Print magazine readership and revenues are generally in decline, but are holding on longer because each has a specific niche and purpose. They have a future but it is a constant evolving future. Online components of the print edition are very important.
  • eBook sales have flattened over the last few years. eBooks have not been around long enough to make any permanent judgments about their future. The technology is less than ten years old. Predictions about eBooks replacing print editions were made too quickly. No one has any idea what eBooks will be five years from now.
  • A significant majority of eBooks are read on devices other than dedicated eBook readers.
  • Social media in one form or another is here to stay. It is the way people communicate worldwide.
  • There will be something new in social media, which will revolutionize the category. I don’t know what it is, but technological advances usually leapfrog over existing things. Nothing stays #1 for long.
  • The Internet is the most important thing for all media. It is the highway on which everything runs.
  • Our experience with media in the United States gives no insight into global media trends. We are neither the leader or follower. We are the exception to what the rest of the world is experiencing.
  • Smart phones are the global media device of the present and future.

In a fast changing world, we tend to rush to judgment on whether something is truly a long-term trend, which we must adjust to or a fad we watch with amusement for a time until it fades away. The Internet is just over 20 years old and it runs everything. I can’t imagine what will be happening in another 20 years.

For creators of content, you authors and writers, be acutely aware of how media morphs and changes because media is the receptacle for your work.  Watch the trends, adjust and create inspired material for whatever media container is best for your message.

Everything does not need a book.

Some things should be articles or blogs.

Some things should be free.

Some things should not be free.

Shorter content is not always better.

Longer content is not always better.

Write for the container and the consumer.

But first, study the containers and how they constantly change.

And don’t be disappointed when your favorite newspaper or Yellow Pages are only available online. The end is near for them.

Don’t say you weren’t warned.

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Category: Book Business, Marketing, Social Media, Technology, The Publishing Life, The Writing Life, TrendsTag: Book Business, Technology, The Publishing Life

Ask Me Anything – TeleSeminar Invitation

By Steve Laubeon January 16, 2017
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If you could ask me ANY question you wanted about writing or publishing for the Christian writer, what would your question be? Here is your chance. I will be the guest on a live  70 minute TeleSeminar hosted by Terry Whalin tomorrow, January 17th at 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern Time. The event is free. All you need to do is write your question at http://www.askstevelaube.com. In exchange for entering …

Read moreAsk Me Anything – TeleSeminar Invitation
Category: Get PublishedTag: Get Published

Fun Fridays – January 13, 2017

By Steve Laubeon January 13, 2017
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I have lived in Phoenix for 40 years. Winter has beautiful weather and brings visitors from the frozen north. But, as this weatherman discovered, sometimes it can get a little toasty in the desert. His reaction is priceless: HT: Vicki Crumpton

Read moreFun Fridays – January 13, 2017
Category: Fun Fridays

Should an Author Query by Phone?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 12, 2017
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Recently I was asked by an author (not a client) if I could spend “ten minutes” talking on the phone about a book before I see the submission. I prefer to see the work first. Some questions may enter the author’s mind in response to that. Here are my answers. What’s the matter, are you too “busy” or snobby to talk to authors? No, I am not. In fact, I believe most people find time to do what they …

Read moreShould an Author Query by Phone?
Category: Book Proposals, Get Published, Pitch, Pitching, The Writing LifeTag: Agents, book proposals, pitch

Finding Great Book Ideas

By Karen Ballon January 11, 2017
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The beginning of a whole new year seems like a good time to think about new ideas. Specifically, new ideas for stories to write. We all have our favorite sources for new ideas. Some pull story ideas from breaking news stories, some from their own personal experiences or struggles, some from the lives of those they know, some from all of the above and more. Next week I’ll share some ways to spark …

Read moreFinding Great Book Ideas
Category: CreativityTag: Creativity

Guaranteed Time-Saving Tips for Social Media

By Dan Balowon January 10, 2017
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Written with tongue firmly planted in cheek… Managing your social media is a meaningless treadmill of work with no real purpose. While it seems to be one of the most efficient and effective ways to promote books and authors, really, who needs it? Sure, every publisher wants authors with strong social media numbers and self-published authors find it critical to their success, but other than …

Read moreGuaranteed Time-Saving Tips for Social Media
Category: Career, Marketing, Platform, Social Media, The Writing LifeTag: Marketing, Platform, Social Media

Will Your Author Website Disappear from Google Searches?

By Steve Laubeon January 9, 2017
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Last month we moved our website to a new host server. As part of the move we discovered that we needed to change the security for the site. If you look carefully at the URL when visiting the site you’ll notice that it now has “https” at the beginning instead of “http”. The “s” at the end indicates there is a level of security on the site that was not …

Read moreWill Your Author Website Disappear from Google Searches?
Category: Marketing, TechnologyTag: Author Websites, Google+, Technology

Fun Fridays – January 6, 2017

By Steve Laubeon January 6, 2017
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A perfect picture of how we should celebrate the new year! from the forthcoming book Great Dane Chronicles by Andy Seliverstoff. (Follow this link to see more photos from the book.)

Read moreFun Fridays – January 6, 2017
Category: Fun Fridays

2016: The Year of Travel

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 5, 2017
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Conferences The year 2016 was a year of travel for me. I was privileged to be on faculty at many conferences. I appreciate the warmth and kindness of conference staff and volunteers, as well as all the hardworking and generous conference directors. Everywhere I went, I felt welcomed and at home. For me, reconnecting with editors and other publishing professionals is always a conference highlight. …

Read more2016: The Year of Travel
Category: Agency, PersonalTag: Agency, Personal, writers conferences

Best Selling Books Fifty Years Ago

By Dan Balowon January 3, 2017
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Twice each year, somewhere around the beginning and middle of the calendar, I like to take a look back at books published long ago. This is not simply a nostalgic exercise. If you never consider what came before, authors and publishers can delude themselves into believing they are first ever to explore some new literary territory. But when you look at the past, you discover creativity has always …

Read moreBest Selling Books Fifty Years Ago
Category: Book BusinessTag: bestseller list, Book Business
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