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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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Change, We’ve Seen You Before

By Dan Balowon April 24, 2018
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Change always seems to occur faster than you think but often slower than you think.

Most things in society or life are at the same time dramatically different than they were a few years ago, but eerily similar to fifty years ago.

If you are an observer or participant in the book publishing world, you can completely ignore certain trends and not be harmed at all. In fact, when you ignore the changes happening every day, publishing actually slows down, and becomes much simpler to understand.

For a while.

But ignoring change for too long will make you complacent and susceptible to becoming a victim of the changes you’ve ignored, making your work irrelevant very quickly and unexpectedly.

Like not upgrading your computer software until the day nothing works.

On one hand, you don’t want to respond immediately to every wind which blows. It would make you unstable, unfocused and unable to function. But ignoring changes altogether for too long is done at your own peril.

The Amazon Kindle first appeared in late 2007. Within a year, many people predicted paper would start to become unnecessary, so we didn’t need to print books at all five years from then.

On the other hand, many people predicted eBooks were just a passing fad and could be ignored entirely.

The truth? There is an appropriate place for both in the publishing market because the most important person in publishing is the reader, and they decide how they want to consume a book, on screen, paper, or in audio.

Publishers or authors don’t decide these things, readers do. Readers have the real power in the publishing world, not the authors, publishers or might I add agents.

One group might desire change to be fast, the other want no change. Reality always resides somewhere between the two.

In publishing, the reader decides.

Not long ago, I received a proposal from an author who wanted to write a book about their vision of heaven, to pick up on the “current” trend of books in that category. Books like it still sell, but they are the classic backlist titles, not new books. This author wasn’t paying attention to what new books were selling today.

By the way, every author, traditional or self-published, takes time to write a book and is playing a perpetual guessing game of what readers want to read one or more years into the future. Good luck hitting an invisible, moving target.

The secret to deciphering the “change code” and deciding how to respond is found in a very complicated process which takes immense knowledge, education and courage. It is best described in two words:

Pay attention.

Maybe I overstated the prerequisites a bit, which are probably more on the work and discipline side of the pendulum swing. But still, I can’t explain it any better.

There are two kinds of change in publishing. Knowing the difference is key.

  1. True changes – involve progress, movement forward, systemic shifts, technological advances and anything which disrupts and causes permanent havoc to what we are accustomed.
  2. Cyclical events – involve things visible only to those who pay attention, but invisible to those who think everything important occurred since 2007 or those who haven’t paid attention since.

Did you know the discussion of eBooks and their effect on the market is similar to the release of what are called “mass market paperbacks” in the 1930’s? (Mass market paperbacks are the slightly smaller, inexpensive books you might find in an airport or grocery store)

In the late 1930’s, money was not plentiful and World War II created opportunities for inexpensive and smaller size books which could be easily purchased and carried.

Book aficionados hated them as they were “not a real book.” Some publishers hated them because the price was low, and it affected the perceived value of a published book.

Any of this remind you of anything?

Mass market books were the “true change” and eBooks are part of a cyclical event. And all this time you thought eBooks were so cutting-edge.

The internet is true change. It is redefining everything. Until the next thing.

 

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Category: Book Business, TrendsTag: Book Business, ebooks, Trends

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

News You Can Use – June 4, 2013

By Steve Laubeon June 4, 2013
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Special Days in June to Market You Book - Edie Melson does it again! Did you know this week is "Fishing Week"?

Publishers Should Invest In Authors, Not Just In Books - from Forbes magazine online. What do you think of what she is saying?

The Seven Deadly Myths of Digital Publishing - I found myself nodding in agreement while reading this article by Bill McCoy the executive director of the …

Read moreNews You Can Use – June 4, 2013
Category: News You Can Use, SteveTag: ebooks, Find an Agent, marketing ideas, Platform

News You Can Use – Oct. 9, 2012

By Steve Laubeon October 9, 2012
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Waterbrook Launches Christian Fiction Reader Hub - Check out Novel Crossing a very exciting and dynamic new site for all readers of Christian fiction. To quote their mission statement, the site "is dedicated to bringing Christian fiction readers the latest news, book releases, author commentary and reviews from a range of writers including authors, professional reviewers, fiction book editors and …

Read moreNews You Can Use – Oct. 9, 2012
Category: Get Published, News You Can Use, SteveTag: ebooks, faith in fiction, Harlequin, Tyndale House, Waterbrook

Ebook-Originals, the Next Step in Traditional Publishing Strategy

By Steve Laubeon July 19, 2012
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Guest Post by Sue Brower

Our guest today is Sue Brower. She is Executive Editor at Zondervan in charge of fiction and thinks she has the best job in the world…she gets paid to read all day!  Zondervan is currently looking for completed manuscripts to fill the Zondervan First fiction eBook platform.  The ideal stories will primarily have romance-driven plots and vivid, realistic characters.  We …

Read moreEbook-Originals, the Next Step in Traditional Publishing Strategy
Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Defense of Traditional Publishing, E-Books, Get Published, TrendsTag: ebooks, publishing, Strategy

News You Can Use – May 1, 2012

By Steve Laubeon May 1, 2012
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Amanda Hocking is Happy with her Publisher – An update from the woman whose self-published ebooks garnered a monster traditional deal.

10 Best First Lines in Fiction - Chosen by editors at the Guardian (UK). Do you agree or disagree?

How We Will Read in the Future - An excellent interview with Maria Popova, the curator for the great BrainPickings blog. (The article is about 2,500 words long …

Read moreNews You Can Use – May 1, 2012
Category: News You Can UseTag: Craft, ebooks, Google Ads, Marketing, Reading

News You Can Use – April 3, 2012

By Steve Laubeon April 3, 2012
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The Spirituality of Rejection - Chris Able asks "Can rejection be good for you?"

In Case You've Been Asleep - The Harry Potter franchise is now available in ebook form on the Pottermore web site. It will be interesting to hear sales data if they are willing to share.

Twelve Blogging Mistakes to Avoid - Jeff Bullas gives great advice.

15 Twitter Hashtags That Every Writer Should Know …

Read moreNews You Can Use – April 3, 2012
Category: News You Can UseTag: blogging, ebooks, hashtags, Rejection, Twitter

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