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The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Get Published » E-Books

E-Books

Book Industry Trends

By Steve Laubeon November 7, 2022
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Publishing is partly an exercise in guessing what might be the next surprise bestseller. Some of it is an educated guess based on certain trends we see in the industry and in society at large. Any exercise in naming these trends bears the risk of expressing the obvious or being out of date the moment they are stated. So bear with me as I tinker with some of the factors that are either influencing trends or are trends within themselves.

The Blockbuster Mentality

If it were your money, you would likely “bet” on those book ideas you know will sell tens of thousands of copies. And only those who already have a track record are assured of a ready-made buying audience. In addition, for the nonfiction writer in particular, there is a demand for the author to have a visible or quantifiable platform from which they can launch their book ideas. Much ink has been spilled on defining platform and how to build one, and for a good reason.

Economically, a single blockbuster can make or break a publishing company’s bottom line for the year. Think of the impact The Five Love Languages, Jesus Calling, 90 Minutes in Heaven, The Shack, The Action Bible, Left Behind, God Gave Us You, and others have had on their prospective publisher’s profit. Those titles, published by Moody Publishing, Thomas Nelson/Harper Christian, Revell/Baker Publishing Group, FaithWords, David C. Cook, Tyndale, and Waterbrook/Multnomah respectively have each sold over one million copies and generated a windfall of revenue. No one could have predicted any of those bestsellers. But each has created a second book (or more), even a franchise. Every publisher wants one of their own.

The Power of the Brick and Mortar Retailer Is Changing

The demise of Family Bookstores, the closure of Lifeway and Cokesbury, as well as the shrinking shelf space at Walmart and other large retailers have had a huge impact on publishers’ acquisitions. In the past, those bookstore-chain accounts, along with Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million, could make or break the success of a single title. But the buying power of the brick-and-mortar stores has begun to wane as people have become increasingly comfortable with ordering online. Today it is that much harder to get the exposure necessary to launch new or midlist authors. Thus, the pressure to have a ready-made platform from which to sell those books.

E-books changed the game, but have settled and are no longer as disruptive. Instead, they are a vital part of a publisher’s offerings. Where we see disruption is the growth of subscription services like Kindle Unlimited, Scribd, and Epic. Publishers and indie authors are constantly exploring new ways to launch books without relying on traditional sales channels.

Risk Management Instead of Risk Taking

Economic pressure has caused a number of publishers to be more cautious than ever before when acquiring a new author (not necessarily a debut author but someone new to their company). It is part of the first trend mentioned above. Some of my publisher friends would argue that this has always been the case, and they are right to an extent. Fiscal responsibility has always been a part of the publishing equation. And yet we agents can see an overall shift since the economic challenges of the last few years. Many predict hard times in the near future, and publishers are not immune.

This situation affects us too. We must constantly make decisions about representing books or authors based on whether or not we think we can sell them. While one might argue that the lack of sale is without risk to the agent, I would argue that “time is money” and time spent on a failed project is time lost forever.

Advances paid to an author are being squeezed. Or the full payment is spread out over time so that the publisher’s outlay is closer to the revenue received on publication.

Printing costs have increased in the past year by nearly 40%. The timeline from placing a print order to receipt of the physical books has doubled if not tripled in time. Paper shortages are plaguing the supply chain.

A Pox on Your Trends!

I can hear the groans many of you have made while reading this. In fact, I have about four or five other bullet points that sound increasingly morbid and depressing. As I looked at them all together, I actually smiled, believe it or not. I wrote many of these same words ten years ago and was spot on. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

If publishing were easy, anyone could do it and be successful. That is why it is called work. I take these “trends” and have to say, “Okay, glad to know that. So let’s get busy.” Instead of reading doom and gloom and the sky-is-falling, I suggest we see the incredible opportunities we have before us.

It Is a Great Time to Be a Writer

Our agency has been incredibly busy this year, closing on multiple new contracts every week (over 120 new book deals from January to October). It has been astounding to see how many books are being written by our clients. This is both exciting and encouraging. It is truly a great time to be a writer. There are so many places for your ideas and your words to find an audience. While it is hard, I can’t name a time when it was ever easy. Therefore, take the challenge and do the work and enjoy the richness of changing our world word by word.

 

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Category: Book Business, Contracts, E-Books, Get Published, TrendsTag: book industry, Trends

A Is for Agent

By Steve Laubeon March 14, 2022
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by Steve Laube

I thought it might be fun to write a series that addresses some of the basic terms that define our industry. The perfect place to start, of course, is the letter "A." And even better to start with the word "Agent."

If you are a writer, you've got it easy. When you say you are a writer your audience lights up because they know what that means. (Their perception is that you …

Read moreA Is for Agent
Category: Agents, Book Business, Book Business, Career, Creativity, E-Books, Legal Issues, Publishing A-Z, Writing CraftTag: Agent, Book Business, publishing

When Editorial Errors Matter

By Steve Laubeon September 20, 2021
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by Steve Laube

Writers make mistakes. It happens. Often an editor’s job is to be the safety net and catch those tidbits that find their way into an early draft of a manuscript for any number of reasons.

The simplicity of “cut & paste” has created more opportunity for error than ever before. I've seen half sentences left in their original place because the writer failed to cut and …

Read moreWhen Editorial Errors Matter
Category: Book Business, Craft, E-Books, Editing, Grammar, Steve, Writing CraftTag: Editing, Errors, Writing Craft

Three Significant Announcements Regarding E-books and Audiobooks

By Steve Laubeon January 29, 2018
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Last week there were three significant announcements from Apple, Google, and Walmart of interest to all authors. First the three bits of news and then a few observations. Apple Apple announced that their iBooks app is being renamed to simply Books. Accompanying it will be a complete redesign of the reading app, their store, and the addition of an audiobook tab to make it easier for users to access …

Read moreThree Significant Announcements Regarding E-books and Audiobooks
Category: Book Business, Book Sales, E-Books, Economics, News You Can Use, The Publishing Life, TrendsTag: Audio Books, Book Sales, ebooks, Technology

Print and Prejudice

By Steve Laubeon May 1, 2017
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For the last ten years, since the unveiling of the Kindle reader, there has been a constant conversation about reader’s preferences. Print or Ebook? While ebook sales grew exponentially and paper sales stagnated many declared victory for the ebook. I have a number of friends who have not purchased a paper edition of a book for quite some time. Some libraries have removed all their books and gone …

Read morePrint and Prejudice
Category: Book Business, E-Books, Personal, ReadingTag: Book Business, ebooks, Reading

Switching or Grinding Gears?

By Dan Balowon September 8, 2015
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Each year in the U.S. more titles are published indie/self-pub than by all traditional publishers combined. Some authors publish only indie or traditional, but some entrepreneurial folks are known as “hybrid” and use whatever model works best for the situation at the moment. Many clients of the Steve Laube Agency are hybrid authors and it works just fine. There are some things you do for an indie …

Read moreSwitching or Grinding Gears?
Category: Book Business, Career, E-Books, Economics, Editing, Marketing, The Publishing LifeTag: Hybrid Authors, Indie Publishing, The Publishing Life, Traditional Publishing

Did You Feel the Tremor in the Industry Last Week?

By Steve Laubeon March 3, 2014
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by Steve Laube

I know what it is like to feel the earth move under my feet having experienced the '64 Alaska earthquake firsthand. (The above picture is from the neighborhood where we lived called Turnagain Arm.) Therefore I know the difference between a 9.2 Richter scale quake and a tremor that registers near 2.0 on the scale.

Last Thursday Amazon announced they were reducing the royalty …

Read moreDid You Feel the Tremor in the Industry Last Week?
Category: Book Business, E-Books, Get Published, Steve, The Publishing LifeTag: Book Business, E-Books, publishing

Is Christian Fiction Dying?

By Dan Balowon January 28, 2014
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Last year, a couple Christian publishers stopped publishing fiction.  Some publishers are nervous about it and in a wait-and-see mode. Others are excited about growth potential.  The answer to the title question is no, but it is certainly interesting to explore the reason behind such widely diverse opinions on the subject.

NOTE #1: For full disclosure, I am a member of the advisory board for …

Read moreIs Christian Fiction Dying?
Category: Awards, Book Business, Dan, E-Books, Get Published, TrendsTag: fiction, Trends

Embracing Change

By Dan Balowon January 14, 2014
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On September 3, 1967 the world changed. It was a day remembered for chaos and disillusionment, despair and confusion.  No, it wasn’t because the last episode of “What’s My Line?” aired on U.S. television.

The above picture is what happened in Sweden the day the country switched from driving on the left to the right side of the road.  Their neighbors, Norway and Finland had already changed, but …

Read moreEmbracing Change
Category: Book Business, Dan, E-Books, Get Published, The Publishing Life

E-Readers, Tablets and Bears, Oh My

By Dan Balowon November 19, 2013
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The latest data from the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project released this Fall and confirmed in solid data what we all know to be true…that e-Book readers and tablets are becoming more prevalent in American society.

In a scientific survey conducted five times since May, 2010, the Pew Research Center concluded as of September 2013 that 24% of Americans age 16 and older have a dedicated …

Read moreE-Readers, Tablets and Bears, Oh My
Category: Book Business, Dan, E-Books, TrendsTag: E-Books, readers, Technology, Trends
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