From the back cover of The Best From Fantasy and Science Fiction, 9th Series, Copyright 1958:

“Life Magazine says there are more than TWO MILLION science fiction fans in this country. From all corners of the nation comes the resounding proof that science fiction has established itself as an exciting and imaginative NEW FORM OF LITERATURE that is attracting literally tens of thousands of new readers every year!

Why? Because no other form of fiction can provide you with such thrilling and unprecedented advantures! No other form of fiction can take you on an eerie trip to Mars . . . amaze you with a journey to the year 3000AD . . . or sweep you into the fabulous realms of unexplored Space! Yes, it’s no wonder that this exciting new form of imaginative literature has captivate the largest group of fascinated new readers in the United States today!”

Leaving aside the hype (I now see where the global exclamation point shortage came from), the gist is clear: science fiction was vibrant and growing. It inspired. It pointed the way to a positive future.

And, as silly and sophomoric as that Golden Age SF seems today, the ability to promote positive change, to create hope, and to urge ourselves to move forward is something we need to return to. As Gareth Lyn Powell says, “Sometimes you have to inspire.” And, as Jetse de Vries says, Optimistic SF: An Idea Whose Time Has Come.

Because, for every financial meltdown, there is a 12-year-old kid pushing the boundaries of solar power. For every global warming crisis, there is a return to space. Or two. And for every genetically-modified, factory-farmed food item, there are the nearly unlimited opportunities for communication and commerce in a shared, decentralized, persistently connected electronic medium that is changing the world daily.

This has been your semi-monthly positive-ish message from StrangeAndHappy, Inc.

September 26th, 2008 / 1,046 Comments »

A reader pointed me at New York Magazine’s blockbuster article on the publishing industry, cheerfully entitled “The End.”

I say: the end of what? The end of corporate hubris, broken business models, and lockstep, marching-into-the-oblivion party lines? You bet. And it’s well-deserved. An industry built on creating superstars to prop up the bottom line, which openly admits they don’t even know how to market their own product to a reader base that they know nothing about (and continues to shrink)—what part of this ever sounded like a good idea?

Some of the quotes are truly classic.

The piece opens with the most telling. Debbie Stier, #2 of HarperStudio, asked her 12-year-old son what they could do to fix the publishing business. He said: “So maybe you have to turn all the books into movies so nobody has to waste their time.”

Or about the audience:

“Nobody knows where the readers are, or how to connect with them. Fifteen years ago, Philip Roth guessed there were at most 120,000 serious American readers—those who read every night—and that the number was dropping by half every decade. Others vehemently disagree. But who really knows? Focused consumer research is almost nonexistent in publishing.”

Sorry, marketing-guy interjection: WHAT THE HELL? A $30B industry that doesn’t know what its customer base is like or what they want? What agencies have they been flushing their marketing dollars down the past few decades? Didn’t I just say, “Fire your agencies?”

Or about marketing:

“One key advantage of corporate publishing was supposed to be its marketing muscle: You may not publish exactly the books you’d like to, but the ones you publish will get the attention they deserve. Yet in recent years, more accurate internal sales numbers have confirmed what publishers long suspected: Traditional marketing is useless. “Media doesn’t matter, reviews don’t matter, blurbs don’t matter,” says one powerful agent. Nobody knows where the readers are, or how to connect with them.”

Wow. Give me a decent budget and a couple weeks of a research-focused AdWords buy and I’ll tell you where the readers are, how to connect with them, and whether it not it will be profitable at the first sale. This is the most basic online marketing stuff on the planet. But somehow, it has eluded the biggest publishers out there.

So, hell, let’s drop all pretense here: any publishers out there who want an agency that is full of readers and writers, which knows how this new intartubey marketing works, is getting real results, and is building for future success, maybe you need to talk to us.

Okay. Commercial over.

And, you know what? I refuse to get discouraged by all of this. Even if everything we know about publishing changes overnight—even if it disappears entirely—I’m willing to bet that the future for creative, flexible people who tell stories is bright. The form may change. The portrait of the lonely, tortured, antisocial writer will likely go by the wayside. We may have to accept different kinds of deals.

But the deals—and the stories—will be there.

September 21st, 2008 / 551 Comments »

Sorry, I really can’t hold back on this one. From Green Man Review, regarding the Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and fantasy:

“The collection opens with a beautiful story by Jason Stoddard, “The Elephant Ironclads.” Not able to glean anything in particular from the title, I entered into this one with a clean slate. It turns out to be an alternate history, which the story’s intro describes as “based (as most of the best of the subgenre) on some unbelievable but actual historical events.” The story follows two young friends, Wallace and Niyol, on a short but grueling journey through the desert — first as guides, then captives, of two mysterious tourists with shady agendas. Adventure this story does have, and a gritty, absolutely believable social and historical backdrop. A story about choices, identity, and personal accountability, all on a very human and totally comprehensible scale. Absolutely one of the best stories I’ve read all year. Deserves major genre recognition and possibly awards.”

“An outstanding collection overall, with a diversity and breadth of scope not often seen in modern collections. A 2008 must-buy for anthology fans. Several award-worthy stories within, and if McHugh and Stoddard don’t win at least a couple between them, I’ll be sorely disappointed.”

Full Review Here

Buy the Book

September 17th, 2008 / 801 Comments »

Okay. Time for the last of three follow-on posts regarding what to do with the wealth of statistics, media planning tools, and modern maketing tactics available today.

In this one, I’m advising a hypothetical Large Publisher on what to do with this information and these techniques to maximize their results. This isn’t such a reach. I’ve advised companies as large as these publishers on marketing strategy—and created campaigns for them—in my day job.

What I’ll be doing differently here is that I’ll be talking to this hypothetical Large Publisher as if we were old friends—friends who were comfortable enough together to be brutally honest. So, buckle up. There will be no punches pulled here.

So, here’s what I’d advise a Big Publisher to do, in today’s marketing ecosystem:

First, get out a tumbler of your favorite single-malt, sit down, and say this aloud: “My business model is based on the shipping-around of slabs of pulped wood fiber, in a world where the current leading edge of entertainment, business and news are all in a shared electronic medium—a world that’s maybe 2 years away from a mobile-centric, persistently-connected information economy, and maybe 5 years away from large-scale deployment of augmented reality.” Does this scare you? If not, lean forward and look down from your corner office at all the people carrying smartphones. Compare this to the number of people carrying books or Kindles. Amazon may talk about “hundreds of thousands” of Kindles, but Apple wants to move 15 million iPhones this year—and that’s only one brand.

Think “Business Process Innovation.” You have something people want. There’s one big problem: today, you cannot control the distribution of the content; you control only the distribution of the physical books. And, for everyone who says “I like to hold a book in my hand,” there’s another who says, “I like to hold my entire library in my smartphone.” (Or, you know, ten others.) In a world where copying and transmitting your content is trivial, you have two choices. One: You can try to sue them into sticking to your old business model—but we all know how well that is working out for the RIAA. Two: you can look at new business models that deliver what they want in a way that your customers (and potential customers) consider high-value and easy to use.

Test these new models. Yes, it takes time. Yes, it takes effort. And yes, Tor is already experimenting with some social features on its site. But I’m thinking bigger. What about an all-you-can-read subscription model? Or an all-you-can-read ad-supported model—after all, your demographic is upscale, it’s easy to target by interest, and you should be able to command premium CPMs for ads placed in your electronic editions. Or a sliding-scale, pay-for-content model, where everything is nearly free, until it gets popular (the price of each ebook increases as the ebook increases in popularity, rewarding early readers). There are many opportunities to step outside of the current business model, most of which can be tested online before large-scale deployment.

Fire your agencies. No. Seriously. Full-page ads in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, but not a single keyword buy? You have to be kidding me! Blowout ads with results that cannot be measured accurately (let’s face it, even with a bigpublisher.com/respondhere url, measuring the results of offline impressions to sales is iffy at best) are a service only to the agency that doesn’t want to be measured. And, seriously, none of your interactive agencies ever introduced you to Ning or Pringo as social network platforms? Or talked to you about widgets having 67% reach of the worldwide internet (this is a ComScore number, too). Or spoke to you about the value of getting into the social spaces in a meaningful, relevant way now, rather than waiting for someone else to do it? You have personalities. They have followings. This is an opportunity.

Create a marketing plan based on the new media realities. Focus on bringing in new customers rather than coddling old ones, or else your marketing will soon have a singular message: Please buy a few more books before you die. Think Buick.

Think loyalty programs, insiders clubs, and special perks. All of the advice we gave to small publishers holds true here as well. Though you’re going to find it a lot harder to gain a perch in people’s hearts and minds, unless you fragment your programs into genre- or interest-specific categories. The more you can make the book a ticket to an insiders club (though a virtual world like Neopets, or through local author events, or through special edition books designed to treasure) the better off you’ll be.

Stay flexible. The pace of change continues to accelerate. What we’ll see over the next 10 years will look like the last 20. And where was your cellphone, your email address, and your internet browser in 1988?

Is this the be-all and end-all prescription to end all woes in the publishing industry? Of course not. It’s just advice from one person. But really, think about the music industry. You don’t want to be their less-evil, lower-markup, higher-intrinsic-value, less-marketing-focused little brother, do you?

September 14th, 2008 / 2,068 Comments »

Okay, let’s keep this going. This post is a followup to my previous one on the wealth of analytics and marketing tools available today. It covers my recommendations for a small publisher who would like to use these tools to boost sales.

Here’s the setup: By “small publisher,” we’re talking about one who doesn’t have a household name. They aren’t part of a megaconglomerate. They probably focus on a genre (or a couple) rather than mainstream fiction or self-help books. They don’t have infinite money to spend on big ad campaigns, but they can spend when it makes sense. They don’t have infinite staff to spend on social media endeavors, but, again, they can spend some time working this angle.

So, the question is: how do I use my resources most effectively, given the free information online and the wealth of modern marketing tools?

Let’s start with a different POV. One thing we frequently forget is this: in all industries, there are always small, passionate companies hiding under the skirts of the multinationals—and, in many cases, they’re charging premium prices, and making a damn nice living at it. For every GE, there is a Mag-Lite. For every Nike, there is a Birkenstock. For every Toyota, there is a Mini. These companies cater to small, engaged groups of customers. Ones that consider their choices part of their personality, and aren’t worried if they can get ten bux off at Wal-Mart. Things shouldn’t be any different in small publishing. You’re creating unique content for a small group of highly engaged people. Look at what the successful small organizations are doing in other industries—and take a lot of notes.

Then, start at the beginning. I’m talking brand and their key messages. And yes, I just said “brand.” I know there’s going to be a lot of howling about this, because “brand” is such a charged word right now. Too many irresponsible branding companies have convinced too many large companies with too much money that creating a brand is a “finger-snap” away. It isn’t. But if you build the foundation of your brand with a unique position and personality that resonates with the audience, and if you deliver on that position and personality, you’re going to be remembered. You’re going to stand out. And people will come back. So: what is your unique brand and messages? Are you all about near-future science fiction, with a price point under ten bux (yeah, I know, keep dreaming), or are you about creating masterpieces of bookbinding to hand down to your kids. Or are you about finding authors too edgy for the mainstream? Are you the sacred cow skewerer? There’s a reason you got into publishing—and it probably stems from the fiction you like. What are you bringing to your audience that nobody else can? Have that in your head? Good. Now express it visually, and apply it to everything you do.

Now, do everything you can to engage your current customers, before you go looking for new ones. The most successful small companies know their success is based on deeply engaging a small audience, rather than fishing in the everyman pool. What are you doing to make sure your customers are engaged? Do you have an enewsletter program to let them know about new releases? Are you giving them a reason to sign up for it (and to accept the newsletter?) If not, this is probably the most important thing you can do. We’ve worked with many small companies where their customers have joked, “Wow, I gotta get off of your enewsletter, because I’m buying too much stuff, but I can’t because I don’t get the best deals.” Once you have your enewsletter program in place, it’s time to consider a true loyalty program. Buy 8 books, get 1 free (or whatever works with your margins). Then, it’s time to look at a referral program. Refer 3 friends who buy books, and you get a free book (or earn points.)

“Wow, this sounds like . . . evil marketing stuff!” You might be saying.

And you’re half right. It is definitely marketing. But, you know what? If you don’t do it, someone else will. Consider that the Mini is not that much different than a Yaris with better styling and good marketing—and it sells for 2X what the Yaris costs.

Okay, we can now look for new customers—and keywords are your friends. Okay. This is ridiculous. Go to Google right now. Type in “science fiction,” and take a look at the AdWords ads that show up on the right hand side of the page. As of this writing, there is only one ad—and it is for a self-published book. Try it for other genres. Look for other words at Compete.com. And if you don’t think this is a gigantic opportunity standing in front of you, check out now. Fact is, you can get a BIG footprint in paid search for very little spend in many genre-related keywords. And AdWords can be broadcast out to many other sites–including some very big blogs that cover our genres. Go to Google, sign up, and create some ads that compel qualified people to click through and shop at your store. Track the results with Google Analytics. You can throttle the spend, control what times ads appear, try different ads and have the system optimize the response for you. With a good paid search program, it’s entirely possible to deliver profit at the first purchase.

BlogAds and other targeted networks are also your friends. Okay, let’s say AdWords are working for you, and you’ve branched out to Yahoo’s own paid search ads. Where do you go from here? Well, it may be time to look at BlogAds and other, targeted advertising networks like Federated Media or Gawker. BlogAds is a great way to get broad exposure for very little spend, and you can target sites that cover books, technology, and more. Federated Media and Gawker get you into BoingBoing and io9 respectively. Best of all, most of these work on the same self-service model as AdWords–choose your sites, choose how much you want to spend, then track and optimize the results. No agency necessary.

“Wow. That sounds like, well, evil advertising stuff.” And yes, it is. And yes, it works.

These are ads that are highly targeted—either at people searching for your stuff, or at people who are browsing sites that cover the same genres. This is how you find new, passionate customers who you can engage over the long term.

And, like everything else, there’s a lot more you can do. The above recommendations are simply the most likely to produce real, measurable results.

But if you have bandwidth for more, here you go:

Run a “friend to enter” sweepstakes. Want to build the number of friends you have on MySpace or fans on Facebook? Run a “become our friend to enter” sweepstakes with the grand prize being a complete library of your books. Or something even bigger, like a paid-up iPhone with eBook reading software. More friends on the social spaces means you have more people you can communicate to (through bulletins) or make public comments on. Both are great ways to get the word out about new books and events you’re putting on.

Look at big shows, not small. It’s great how many small publishers I see at small science fiction conventions. But, by doing this, they’re simply reconnecting with the same small group of buyers—something that can easily be accomplished through an enewsletter or through contact via the social spaces. If you’re looking at doing shows, I’d strongly consider ComiCon. Yes, it’s expensive. Yes, it’s only once a year. And yes, it’s 125,000 people—120,000 of which would never show up at a WorldCon. And ComiCon, despite the name, enbraces everyone. You’ll see comic book artists, yeah. And you’ll also see movies, books, games, and more. If you’re looking to get in front of a new audience, this is the ticket.

Create your own social network. Yeah, Tor did it. Finally. The irony is that you can do it too—and all it takes is a trip over to Ning, a few clicks, and zero dollars. Let’s repeat that: this is free. You can do it in an afternoon. No expensive agency necessary. The reason you may want to consider this is simple: you are catering to a small, passionate audience with similar interests. It’s entirely possible that they may want to get to know each other. It’s highly probable they’ll want to look at each others’ bookshelves, and hear what the others have to say about their books. Letting them connect deepens their engagement with each other—and it deepens their engagement with you, because you are the facilitator. It also gives you permissio to communicate with them. Remember: free.

Consider iPhone versions of your books. Not for free, for sale. Why? It gets you in front of 10MM leading-edge people who are frequently traveling. They’re frequently the tastemakers. And they are very, very passionate about things they believe in.

“So where’s the blog? The Twitter?” you ask. Hey, if you want to, I wouldn’t get in your way. But I also wouldn’t put it in front of outreach designed to create sales.

Next week: What’s a Big Publisher to Do? You’ll like this one.

September 6th, 2008 / 1,732 Comments »