The Publishing Business

Building on the idea that all publishing should satisfy a need in a target market, this chapter focuses on how all parts of the publishing organization must be aware of the eventual reader or user when they are acquiring, editing, designing and producing a publication.

It explores how marketing and the supply chain are interlinked and work together to reach readers and the ways in which publishers (and authors, agents and other intermediaries) communicate through promotion, publicity and social media. These activities require publishers to be creative in developing, managing and monitoring the budgets and schedules required to put on effective marketing campaigns. This chapter also looks at collecting and analysing marketing information and using the feedback to market publications successfully.

In its broadest sense, marketing is at the core of publishing: it is about the process of telling retailers and readers about the publications that have been developed and ensuring that they are attractive to their target markets. Even the most beautifully written, designed and produced publication has not fulfilled its role if it does not reach its intended audience.

So while publications must appeal to an audience and be appropriately priced, delivering them into the hands of readers is vital. This is dependent on two things: communicating effectively with potential buyers and readers (both directly and through a wide variety of intermediaries), and managing the physical or digital supply chain that gets the publication in front of the reader.

The traditional ‘four Ps’ of marketing – product, price, place and promotion – are incorporated in the idea of the marketing mix, a tool that can help publishers to understand the different elements that make it possible to satisfy the consumers’ needs, and make enough profit to stay in business.

The product (or service) that is provided must be produced with the qualities and features that the consumer is looking for. Another way of looking at this is in terms of the benefits that the user gets from the product. Does, for example, the book entertain, instruct or otherwise give the reader something that is useful or pleasurable? What does the publication look like? What will the customers think about the format and design? What is the user experience? How the product is made (both physically and digitally) often determines how it is received by the market.

When a price is set for the publication, it must be right for the target market – neither too high nor too low. Customers have an expectation about what they want to pay for a particular product or service and it’s important to get it just right: a high price can mean prestige or rip-off, and a low price may indicate cheap and nasty – or a terrific bargain and value for money. Publishers and booksellers are used to selling separate editions (hardback, paperback and e-book) at different prices, and they are now experimenting with differential pricing for a variety of market segments, and diverse distribution channels. Pricing is also vital to determining the income that is derived from each sale, and the levels of trade discounts and agency payments must be taken into account. The income must be sufficient to cover all the publisher’s costs.

The best place to sell the product must also be considered. How is the physical or digital publication going to be distributed? Do customers have preferences as to where and how they spend their money? Is it necessary to think about different supply channels for distinct market segments? The same book, for example, may sell to different types of reader in a bookshop, a supermarket or through an online retailer.

The promotion strategy may include digital and viral marketing, social media, print and poster advertising, public relations, sales promotion, events and reviews. All of this is geared to communicating successfully with identified target markets, other parts of the supply chain and relevant gatekeepers. These gatekeepers are people or organizations that make critical decisions about buying books for the trade, promoting them to their customers and dealing with other people who influence publicity and promotion in other parts of the chain. At various times you are certain to see other ‘Ps’ mentioned as part of the marketing mix – including people, profit and packaging. These are discussed throughout this book.

In recent years the supply chain for both physical and digital publications has developed and changed, and looks set continuing to do so. The main purpose of the supply chain remains that of ensuring a timely and cost-efficient supply from the publisher to the reader. The smooth operation of this supply chain requires not just robust systems to handle the storage and delivery of physical and digital publications, but also a secure system for handling the financial transactions involved in the commerce of book supply. At all points in the supply chain there are opportunities to develop marketing strengths through publicity, promotion, social networks, communities and more nuanced articulation of brand identities. In this way, the supply chain and the communication chain are intimately and intricately interlinked.

When the printer has completed the production process and the job has been approved by the production controller and the editor, the bulk of the printed stock is sent to the publisher’s warehouse, or to the warehouse of the distributor who stocks and distributes the books on the publisher’s behalf. The publisher’s order-processing system has a record of all advance orders placed for the book prior to publication (variously called advance orders, pre-publication orders, subscription orders or ‘dues’), and these advance orders are shipped to the retail booksellers, bookshop chains and book wholesalers in time for them to be offered for sale on the official publication date.

Distributors warehouse books and act on behalf of the publisher to supply bookshops and wholesalers on terms set by the publisher. They produce sales invoices and collect payment on the publisher’s behalf, remitting funds to the publisher on a regular cycle after deducting an agreed service charge, which is usually based on a percentage of the publisher’s net sales revenue. Wholesalers buy books from publishers and sell them on to retail outlets on terms that they agree with these retailers. Many distributors now also offer POD facilities so that publisher’s titles are printed out and dispatched by the same companies.

Both wholesalers and distributors can undertake additional sales and marketing activities for publishers (usually geared specifically to promotion to the trade) and publishers pay for these services. They also provide promotional materials and subsidies for special promotions. Some firms like Gardners Books (UK) and Ingram Book Company (United States) offer a variety of these services, from which publishers can choose.

Booksellers find it more cost-effective to use wholesalers as they can then get all their orders from one place in one delivery (often next day). There is just one invoice, and returns of unsold stock can be made to one location with one credit note. Nearly all of the business between publisher, distributor, wholesalers and booksellers is done using web-based communication systems.

Most publishers do not sell printed books directly to their end users (although an increasing number of publishers now actively pursue sales of e-books directly from their own websites); they deal with booksellers, supermarkets, online retailers, special offers and clubs by selling to them at a discount or by paying an agency commission. Publishers, their sales managers and sales representatives have the job of making sure that their company’s titles are stocked and displayed prominently in the retail outlets, and that they are part of any in-store promotions organized through the trade. The sales team are in touch with all those who stock and sell physical books: independent bookshops, bookshop chains, supermarkets selling books, and special outlets such as shops at university campuses, tourist locations, museums and art galleries. Likewise, for online bookselling, publishers make sure that the relevant websites have the necessary information about the publication (see the section on ‘metadata and cataloguing’). They may negotiate appropriate promotion and publicity deals with the internet retailer, and these deals may entail the publisher granting a higher discount or providing a subsidy payment.

The retail book market has undergone radical changes this century, widely seen as resulting from the increase in digital publishing, the growth of sales through non-traditional outlets (supermarkets, online retailers), more direct purchasing by some large retailers, and, in the case of the UK, the end of the system of fixed prices under the Net Book Agreement in the 1990s. Major bookshop chains have ceased trading (Borders) or changed ownership (Waterstones), and many independent booksellers have gone out of business. In spite of this, publishers still rely on retail booksellers to stock and promote their new titles. Bookshops provide a place where customers can examine the physical books at leisure, and also make unexpected discoveries when browsing the shelves. Buying habits have changed (particularly for the most popular titles), but some independent bookshops are putting up a good fight; and their share of the overall book market is not declining as rapidly as it was. The most creative bookshops offer something the online retailer cannot, so there has been a big increase in author appearances, book-club meetings, local book fairs, readings for children and other special events in bookshops, in order to stress the role of the bookshop in the community as a place where you can meet other people who love reading and know about books.

The role of the professional bookseller in knowing the individual taste of customers, recommending or ‘hand selling’ (as it is known in the United States) books, is being emphasized as the great marketing advantage that bricks-and-mortar bookshops still have over sites like Amazon. The challenging market conditions have led to some independent booksellers evolving cooperative ventures between groups of independent booksellers in order to compete with the big chains.

To protect their sales, some booksellers are increasing their stock of remainders (publishers’ unsold stocks) and promotional books (specially produced cheap editions), and the market for second-hand and collectible books has grown in recent years. In the UK, charity shops, like the Oxfam Book Shops, have captured a large part of the high-street second-hand market, and this has been identified as another reason for the decline in sales of new books at independent bookshops.

‘People love buying books. It’s a physical pleasure that cannot be replicated online. If we keep creating shops that do that, it doesn’t matter what goes on online or in the digital space. But if we fail, the rules change and the obverse will happen. If we do it well, continue to invest in our shops and hire good booksellers then we’ll be fine. High streets and shops are part of the heart of the community. People will always want to go to shops. I don’t think we have the ability to respond wholly effectively to Amazon. The investment needed to match the logistics and pricing would be enormous; the idea that as an online retailer idea we can match Amazon is complete fantasy. There’s absolutely no future in that, but as physical bookseller, with a decent and credible online offering, could we offer an alternative that customers can logically and emotionally choose? Yes.’ James Daunt, Managing Director, Waterstones

Discoverability and choice

Browsing in a bookshop; reading reviews in the press and online; and recommendations by friends and family have long been important ways that have influenced readers as to which publications to buy, borrow and read. At the same time, a large proportion of books and magazines are bought on impulse. Marketing can be seen as guiding the potential customer through the labyrinth of potential purchases, so understanding how people behave in their role as consumers is very important. In planning a publicity and promotion campaign, marketers need to understand which recommendations have the voice of authority; how readers’ purchasing decisions are influenced by the image they have of themselves and their social group; and how people may change their buying behaviour in different situations (think of the various ways we buy books for work, gifts or when travelling). Since Chris Anderson publicized the idea of ‘the long tail’ in WIRED in 2004, there has been a lot of discussion about the nature of the ‘choice’ offered by online retailers (like Amazon), book digitization projects (like Google Books) and the proliferation of book bloggers and vloggers, tweeters and self-publishers. It is now possible to identify and ‘find’ a much larger amount of published writing than was possible at the beginning of the twenty-first century. However, it is still true that a relatively small number of publications represent a high proportion of the overall sales volume by both units and monetary value. For every million-selling author, there are hundreds of thousands of other writers and journalists with few readers. Discoverability is becoming increasingly important to publishers as consumers become overwhelmed by choice. Publishers are not only looking to improve metadata descriptions, to help retailers and readers, but there have been a number of apps and websites, such as Penguin Random House’s Penguin Flipper book recommendation tool, that have appeared in the last few years.

Discounts

When they sell to the retail trade, publishers receive less than the price that is printed on the cover of the book or advertised on a website, because the retailers buy the books from the publisher at a discount. This can range from 25 per cent to 55 per cent on different types of books (less for academic and school books and more for mass-market paperbacks). For books sold to Amazon, Walmart (United States) or Tesco (UK), the discount will be up to 70 per cent, meaning the publisher may get no more than 30 per cent of the ‘publisher’s price’. These high discounts can still leave a profit for the publishers of bestselling consumer books, because of the increase in the numbers of copies sold; but for less popular books and those from publishers with small sales, the greatly increased discounts can make it very difficult to see any profit at all. In many countries booksellers have the right to send back unsold copies of books to the publisher and receive a full credit; and the issue of ‘returns’, as they are known, has proved to be another thing that has affected the profitability of publishers. Innovation in alternative marketing is therefore vital for smaller publishers, and those with titles that sell in small quantities.

The economics of trade publishing have changed significantly since the 1990s. When books carried a fixed price, and most sales were through the established book trade or through library suppliers (specialist wholesalers that provide libraries with books), the publisher could expect (after book trade discounts of 20 per cent to 40 per cent then prevalent) to receive no less than 60 per cent of the list price of the sale from each book sold. The author would usually have got a fixed percentage of the list price of the book (often between 10 per cent and 15 per cent), or a similar percentage of the publisher’s net receipts (the money they actually got from the trade). Even if many books were not as successful as the publisher had hoped, the overall return was usually enough to cover costs and to provide a modest profit. Now that the retailers demand discounts of up to 70 per cent on the list price, and successful authors command high advances, trade books must sell in very high numbers of units to provide the financial return needed for profitability.

Disintermediation

In recent years, changes in the publishing supply and value chain have led to ‘disintermediation’, in which the creator and consumer are brought closer together by the more direct connections between individuals (with file-sharing and other peer-to-peer channels known as P2P); and transactions between publishers and readers can take place without intermediaries (known as business-to-consumer or B2C). This is made possible by the use of digital technologies for content creation, production and distribution.

Some formerly important links in the book chain have become less important, while other new intermediaries have entered the publishing ecosystem. Publishing networks of writers, readers and a wide variety of intermediaries act in collaborative and competitive ways that imply we are not so much in a period of ‘disintermediation’ but one that is ‘differently intermediated’. In some cases, authors are brought into closer direct communication with readers through personal appearances and online communications, other intermediaries such as bloggers, vloggers, special sales promotion agents and non-traditional book retailers have become more important parts of the book-supply network. The term ‘diffintermediation’ was suggested for this development by Kent Anderson in September 2009 on the website http://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org.

The opportunity for diversity presented by digital publishing is accompanied by a battle to control and influence the internet as a commercial supply chain, with fierce competition between some major global brands, such as Google, Amazon, Apple and Facebook. Other media companies, including some of the major newspaper publishers, such as the Huffington Post and the Los Angeles Times, now produce and distribute e-books. These companies have increasingly sophisticated communication and supply systems, which allow them greater control of the product. Their power can now rival that of the publisher, and much of the marketing activity undertaken by publishers is now centred on working with them, often in ways that have much in common with the business models developed for music streaming, movie rental and multiplayer games.

The case of John Locke

In 2011 American writer John Locke was the first self-published author to sell a million Kindle e-books. Locke subsequently signed a deal with Simon & Schuster to print and distribute physical copies of his books, while keeping control over his e-book publishing. There are now a number of authors who have achieved million-plus sales of Kindle editions. This has spawned the rise of the Kindlepreneur: bestselling, self-published authors on Amazon.

Discussion questions

1Draw a diagram of the supply chain used to get this book from the publisher to you, the reader.

2What strategies can smaller publishers use to keep some control over the supply chain?

3How is the rapid growth in e-book use changing the way books are bought and sold?

4How can bricks-and-mortar booksellers compete in the current book market?

5Do you think availability leads to improved discoverability, and why?

Communication through promotion and publicity

In order for an audience to discover any publication, there must be effective marketing communication with the potential customers: gatekeepers and networks need to be influenced, and appropriate media must be used for the communications. This brief overview of some of the many types of promotion undertaken by publishers represents a part of the large and varied menu of possibilities.

Publicity and promotion

Promotion and publicity are two types of marketing communication. Publicity is sometimes seen as a ‘free’ activity, and is generated when other communicators, such as print media, TV, radio reviewers, commentators and bloggers/vloggers, are persuaded to tell their audiences about a book, an author or some publishing development. Promotional activities, on the other hand, are those things that have a direct cost, such as space advertising, posters, catalogues, websites, internet ‘features’ and banners, TV and radio advertisements.

Both publicity and promotion are important in the communication process, and the distinction between paid and unpaid marketing activities is not always clear. All marketing activity entails cost (direct or indirect), including publicity activities such as book launches, publicity photographs, and author tours. The distinction is blurred further because booksellers and the media often require payment to select a title to be featured as a ‘pick’ or ‘hot tip’, and, as a result, the impartiality of reviews on book-related websites and blogs has been questioned. Some reviews are paid for, and others are planted with what is sometimes called ‘AstroTurf’ marketing, that is endorsements and positive reviews that are artificially ‘planted’ when they appear to be authentic ‘grassroots’ comments. They all form part of marketing.

A marketing toolbox

In planning a marketing campaign for a given publication, some or all of the following might be considered as important ways to communicate with the target audience. Some of these activities are aimed at the audience itself, enticing them to try and buy a particular publication (what is called pull marketing). Some may be geared to increasing the supply and visibility of a publication in the supply chain (called push marketing). By pushing stock and promotional messages through the supply channel, and giving customers reasons to pull the title off the shelves and into their shopping baskets, push and pull work together to create sales.

Marketing by the product itself

The book as an object (the product itself) carries numerous marketing messages. The cover illustration and design must be chosen with care to reflect both the content and the expectations of the target readers. This includes aspects of design such as the page format, typography, layout and illustrations. Dust jacket and paperback covers may contain information on the content, the author and comparisons to other similar books, favourable comments from other authors, industry experts or media reviews, and a host of other metadata required for the commercial transaction of book supply (ISBN, barcode and price). As more book sales are made via the internet, covers must be attractive and legible as thumbnails, and promotional copy must be readable on screen. The cover may be the most important thing that encourages readers to pick a book off the bookshop shelves or click on a link on a website. Hyperlinks to sample chapters, author interviews, media tie-ins and author signing schedules that appear on a website promotion must add value to the browsing experience without creating too much distraction from the ultimate objective – to secure a sale.

Promotional materials

Advance information (AI) sheets for new books are produced in both print and digital form for use by sales people, trade intermediaries and other members of the book network. This AI represents the basis of the book’s metadata. Catalogues, brochures and flyers (in print, as internet databases and as downloads) are produced to promote a wide variety of publications. They are particularly important in specialist markets where direct communication with known customers, or prime prospects, remains a central part of the overall strategy to saturate core markets with communication about publications. This is true of any publishing (such as academic, hobby or professional) that is aimed at a specific subject group or a limited geographic market. Online catalogues can be used both for reference, and to promote selected new titles, make seasonal offers (such as Christmas, and Mothers’ Day) or offer special promotional reduced price sales.

Advertising in the print media promotes awareness of new titles (often in connection with reviews in the same media). Print advertising is a useful way of reinforcing brand awareness for a mass-market title. It can be used to reach specialist markets for niche publications. It also plays a role in recruiting authors from among the readers of these journals and magazines. Direct-mail promotion to potential customers is still a major way in which specialist publishers announce their new publications to the market. Much of this direct promotion and selling is now done via email promotion lists, which reduces costs and can make it easier to gather more valuable information on potential customers. Video and audio promotions are widely used because of the availability of sites like YouTube, and the possibility of making low-cost podcasts and webcasts. These methods are an extension of the type of publicity that can be gained through personal appearances and readings. The possibility of forwarding links to entertaining or informative videos opens up the possibilities for the viral spread of the promotional message.

Point-of-sales promotion

In-store promotions include window and point-of-sale (POS) displays in bookshops and other retail outlets. The publisher may subsidize this promotion, often related to an author signing, a reading or a media launch. The way in which a book is displayed in the bookshop also makes a difference. Promoted books are often exhibited on tables (often as part of special pricing promotions), or face-out, so that the cover design has full effect. These expensive POS items are less prevalent with the rise of online book sales channels.

Special promotions are also arranged with internet and e-book suppliers on a paid basis. Web banners and other online advertising is paid for on the basis of how many people view or click through a particular link or page; these form an important part of the promotional mix.

8.3 | James Bond

When James Bond leapt from the pages of Ian Fleming’s novels to the big screen, the success of the cinema adaptation was used to re-promote the books. This is now a well-established practice, with film tie-in film covers now having a huge influence on reaching new markets. Here, an original version of the French cover can be seen following the film’s release.

Physical posters (especially in high traffic areas such as train stations) and display ads in the print media (especially for celebrity and media tie-in books) are still important in reaching some mass audiences, and these can often be downloaded from publisher websites, used as digital wallpaper, or posted on social media. Posters can be particularly important in promoting new titles from established writers, as well as for brand authors who have a regular readership, or books that have TV and movie tie-ins.

Events

Author appearances, live interviews and signings at book festivals, in bookshops and at other events are increasingly important as authors develop as self-promoters and performers. Popular writers must be accessible to their audiences in person as well as online and in the media. While this is not an entirely new phenomenon (Mark Twain and Charles Dickens both undertook punishing author tours across

YouTube’s influence on the publishing industry

An interesting recent trend is the crossover between traditional print culture and the more modern YouTube community. Many publishers have used YouTube as a scouting ground for new talent and have successfully adapted YouTube content into book form. Bestselling books by vloggers include Girl Online by Zoella/Zoe Suggs, which was the fastest-selling book of 2014 and sold 78,109 copies in its first week, and The Pointless Book by Alfie Deyes, which topped the Amazon and Sunday Times charts and sold 15,330 copies in its first week. However, publishers are not only using YouTube to snap up potential authors: it was first, and continues to be, used as a platform to publicize their front-list titles and reignite interest in their backlists. This is particularly useful for reaching a younger – YA – audience. For example, some of the Big Five publishers now have dedicated YA YouTube channels, which feature interviews with authors, book trailers, competitions etc.: HarperCollins’ Epic Reads has more than 130,000 subscribers; Scholastic’s This Is Teen has over 3,000 subscribers; and Macmillan’s Fierce Reads has over 2,500 subscribers. Authors are also using YouTube to connect directly to their readers. The most successful is, YA author, John Green who, alongside his brother Hank, has developed eleven YouTube series, which include Vlogbrothers (more than 3 million subscribers) and the educational CrashCourse (over 6 million subscribers). YouTube has also introduced another new, key influence in the publishing industry: the BookTuber. BookTubers are vloggers that share their love of books, particularly through book reviews, on YouTube. The BookTubing community can be seen as an evolution of the traditional book club and an extension of social reading activities. The growing BookTubing community often interacts with each other, setting up activities such as readathons and themed reviewing: it’s a word-of-mouth phenomenon that is changing marketing activities. Publishers have capitalized on the growing influence of BookTubers, with their large lists of followers: Bloomsbury partnered YA authors with BookTubers to create a new YA anthology You Love to Hate Me while other publishers have worked with some of the most influential BookTubers to help promote their books on their vlogs. With almost 5 billion videos being watched on YouTube each day, the opportunity for collaboration between publishers and the YouTube community, and between print and video, are vast.

nineteenth-century America), air travel and modern media pressures have made the promotional tour both more gruelling and more effective in reaching a mass audience. These author appearances are important in getting publicity in local media for new titles by established and upcoming authors, and help to establish the all-important ‘platform’ that is a foundation of any author’s brand identity. Exhibitions at conferences, trade shows and professional events provide important promotional and publicity opportunities to professional, academic and STM publishers. Hobby publishers also have exhibitions and sales counters at specialist events like food fairs, motor rallies and boat shows. These events represent an effective way of joining a specialist community, and this is good not only for sales, but also to keep ahead of trends and to recruit new authors.

Book fairs such as BookExpo in the United States and the Guadalajara International Book Fair in Mexico are used for selling books to booksellers and rights to other publishers, and to link with companies providing other services, such as IT systems, shipping and logistics, and printing. Other book events, such as literary festivals, are intended for the general public and to generate publicity for authors. The Hay Festival, which started in Hay-on-Wye in the UK, is now a global organization hosting literary events in place such as Kerala in India and Xalapa in Mexico.

8.4 | Kolkata Book Fair

Publishing companies at book fairs promote their books to the general public and to the book trade.

Media publicity

Reviews and author features in the press remain a major form of book publicity. In some cases, the book pages of daily and weekly newspapers have been downgraded (with shorter reviews of a less varied selection of books) and supplemented by blogs, podcasts and social media feeds. Serialization, readings and adaptations of books in newspapers, magazines and on the radio are another valuable means of promoting books (mostly fiction and popular non-fiction). This is not just an integral part of the marketing mix, but also a source of additional revenue for the publisher and the author. Sample chapters and free e-books have joined the promotional toolkit, and free e-books are sometimes offered in the press and through book websites. Chapters of forthcoming books are also made available online and at the back of paperback editions of popular fiction.

Communities, viral marketing and ‘free’ publicity

Online promotion can be used to generate an email list, to develop a social network community, or to support promotional activities such as personal appearances and media events. Publishers’ websites and social media are in stiff competition for the attention of the browser, so the purpose of a publisher’s internet activity must be well planned (but flexible). It should be aimed at achieving specific goals, and be checked to see if these goals are achieved. Publishers’ digital promotion activities include techniques that go beyond the features available in print brochures, posters and point-of-sale handouts. Digital marketing can engage potential customers by getting them to ‘play’ on the site (referred to as ‘gamification’) and by encouraging them to enter competitions, answer quizzes, watch promotional videos or download sample chapters, share content via email or social networking sites, and add comments or reviews.

Customers may be persuaded to register for alerts, which can give the publisher information about the users if they complete a profile. An item that is tweeted, forwarded or otherwise recommended to others can spread like a virus (which is why it’s called viral marketing). Whatever the online marketing strategy, it is vitally important to monitor usage and analyse data on a regular basis. By using tools such as Google Analytics you can see if you are reaching your target audience effectively and also discover if any groups you had not previously considered are finding your site interesting. Remember that the number of visitors to a site or page is not nearly as important as who they are, how often they visit, how long they stay and what they do while on your site. Authors also actively promote themselves and their works on the internet. They may encourage other sites to review, promote and provide what appears to be disinterested word-of-mouth recommendations to appropriate market segments. Many other parts of the book chain (agent, publisher and media) may contribute to the digital marketing campaign. This is important in specialist markets where the academic, professional, hobby or enthusiast websites and social media may be the most effective way of reaching the audience. In the mass market, instant trending can result from a skilful spread of a Twitter hashtag or viral video.

Marketing brands

Brand is increasingly important to publishers. Elsevier, Mills & Boon, Scholastic and Virago are all examples of successful publisher branding. Each represents a certain style of publishing, a mark of quality, a reason for the book buyer to trust that a publication bearing one of these imprints will deliver according to expectations. Trusted brands reduce the feeling of risk inherent in every purchase. A publisher’s trademark is only one of the important brand elements: authors and characters are also important, for example, the author Lee Child and his character Jack Reacher (published by Penguin Random House), Ian Fleming and his hero James Bond, and Julia Donaldson’s Gruffalo. Imprints and series are also brands, for example, Teach Yourself books and Horrible Histories. In these cases, publishers consciously develop the brand identity and use it to communicate with loyal readers and to develop new audiences. ‘Buy this book about this character written by this author in this series published by this publisher and you won’t be disappointed,’ the marketing message might run. Brands are about building trust, loyalty and repeat purchase. They encourage word-of-mouth promotion, which is so important to sales growth, and encourage a sense of community that comes from brand loyalty.

As parts of the supply network focus on blockbusting bestsellers, and employ marketing techniques to maximize revenue, ‘brand’ authors are expected to play their part, often undertaking gruelling schedules of interviews, personal appearances and media performances. Those authors from whom lower sales are anticipated are largely expected to do a lot of promotion themselves, manage their own websites, engage with readers on social media, and arrange local readings and signing sessions.

Metadata and cataloguing

Metadata is the information that enables a published item to be identified, located and accessed from among the mass of other published items available in an ever more varied choice of formats. It’s often described as ‘data about data’. An extension of the kind of information that might be found in a library catalogue for a given publication, metadata includes a wealth of other information for which a common terminology and format is essential if there is to be effective communication between the different data systems that connect parts of the publishing network. The management of metadata is now seen as a central function of publishing. It includes the more obvious details such as the author, title, publisher, place of publication, information on print and digital formats, unique identifiers such as the ISBN, ISSN and DOI, and can include the markers needed for DRM. Good metadata is an aid to effective online searching for traditional catalogue information such as the title, author, ISBN, price, publication date and blurb, and for tags and keywords that promote discoverability and improve the success of the SEO (search engine optimization) strategy. Many parts of the publishing organization are now involved in making sure that the ‘data about data’ is accurate and organized in a way that helps readers to discover the publication through whatever search and retrieval method they employ.

Industry information

Nielsen BookData stresses that digital books need product metadata as much as physical books do to fulfil these objectives:

•Enable the discovery of each separately traded product.

•Persuade and inform the customer showing clearly details of characteristics of the work identified.

•Enable unambiguous selection and sale of the chosen product.

•Enable the supply chain to understand what has been sold and when.

For more information, you can consult the websites of Nielsen BookData and the Book Industry Study Group, which produces a comprehensive ‘Roadmap of Organizational Relationships’ and a ‘Roadmap of Identifiers’.

Digital product placement

The idea of digital product placement was promoted so that different products could ‘appear’ on-screen in TV programmes, depending on the audience or market. So, for example, brands of breakfast cereal on sale in different countries can be substituted on the breakfast table in a TV drama. This technique is now being suggested for e-books. So a product might be inserted into the digital text according to the location where the book is being read, the preferences of the reader or a promotion in an online or neighbouring store – all will provide payments for the publisher and author. At a flick of the digital publisher’s switch, James Bond’s car could change from an Aston Martin to a Ferrari to a Bentley, and Paddington Bear could eat peanut butter instead of marmalade.

Some types of metadata

The DOI – Digital Object Identifier – is used to identify a component such as text, an image, or other media. The ISBN – International Standard Book Number – identifies a particular manifestation or edition of a book. ISSN – International Standard Serial Number – identifies a journal. Metadata also includes ways of identifying a particular part of the distribution channel such as the SAN – Standard Address Number. Other basic metadata includes: Book title, Author, Publisher, BIC code/Book Category, Page count, Number of illustrations and Publication date.

An expert’s view of serendipity

‘Serendipity is the great unsung hero of publishing. We can never be sure of the precise value of all those sales arising from chance encounters in bookshops, the flash of a good jacket catching the reader’s eye, igniting the purchase instinct so that before they know it they’ve bought another book. We’ve all been there; we’ve casually browsed, and probably found many of our favourite books this way – by chance, in bookshops, passing time, scanning idly. We will never have a precise figure for what this is worth, but it is likely to be very large indeed. How about in digital environments? Well, there has been a great attempt at not just replicating the mechanisms of the physical world but surpassing them, and a good deal of web innovation has centred around recommendation engines, affiliate networks, filtering systems, automatic suggestions and the prediction of taste, a world where our literary preferences are served up to us, where we always find what we want. To some this is a world where abundant culture becomes easily discoverable, where we can find what we like and structure our experience in a totally customized way; to others it is what Eli Pariser has called the “filter bubble”, an egotistical echo chamber where we are never challenged by newness or difference aside from our pre-existing predilections. Regardless of the rights or the wrongs, one thing is clear: that in an environment where chance is lost, where algorithms replace luck and the keyword search term is king, metadata is the fulcrum of discovery. Metadata, in short, decides whether your book is found, and by extension whether your book is bought.

Metadata influences search, it influences territoriality and categorization – metadata is the advert, the sales pitch, the sell and the advance promotion; metadata is the random book left on the table, the fervent recommendation of a friend, the arresting blurb, the good review, serving the random browser and the determined buyer alike. Bad metadata means your book is invisible and un-purchasable. Yet compared with too many industries either totally or increasingly focused on digital commerce, publishing lags in its understanding of SEO practices, metadata standards implementation, data collection and analysis and systems investment. Yes, most publishers have started all the above. But this is only the beginning. We still haven’t fully figured out how to replace the experience of shopping in a bricks-and-mortar store, that sense of surprise, fun, the unexpected – and we haven’t worked out how we can create and capture those impulse buys. We are going to need to, and the answer will be found in a revolution of what metadata we supply, and how we supply it.’ Michael Bhaskar, then Digital Publishing Director, Profile Books, now Publishing Director, Canelo; on Frankfurt Book Fair Blog

Discussion questions

1What promotion and publicity techniques would be most suitable for a celebrity cookery book?

2Why do publishers go to conferences and exhibitions?

3What is metadata and why is it important?

4What makes good descriptive metadata?

5What other information could be included in the metadata?

6Why is ‘discoverability’ important?

Managing budgets and schedules

Sales projections for new titles start with the editor’s initial evaluation of the market potential and are developed in consultation with sales, marketing and finance departments. They gradually become more detailed as publication day approaches. The sales expectations (in units, in monetary value and in terms of the period over which they are made) both determine and are determined by the promotional plan and the budget that is available. The schedule and budget relate to the potential for sales and profit, and other factors such as the project’s overall importance to the company, support from media and parts of the supply chain, and the possibility of significant income from subsidiary rights and export sales.

General and specific costs

Developing and managing a sales and marketing budget and schedule is a vital part of the marketing department’s activities; and this is done in the light of the company’s expectation of the percentage of its sales revenue that is allocated to this activity. This can range from 5 per cent to 15 per cent of overall sales revenues depending on the type of publishing and the competitive nature of the particular market. Some marketing expenses, such as the catalogue, the company’s website and attendance at major book fairs (for example, London, Frankfurt and Beijing), are undertaken at some level by most publishers. In the planning process, these activities and their costs are often hotly debated; and, as they are central to the company’s business, they are planned with great attention to detail. Other costs, associated with the promotion of particular titles or series, can be broken down and the costs allocated directly to those titles and/or series that are covered. The priorities given to publications in terms of anticipated sales and financial returns, as well as competitive pressures, decide the promotional expenditure.

Marketing budget

The marketing and promotion budget is allocated (see the table opposite which is an example of an imaginary publishing company’s marketing budget) in relation to the company’s projected sales revenue (A). A proportion of the total marketing budget (B) is allocated to central promotion costs (C), promoting all the company’s new and backlist lists. Each division also has a marketing budget (D), which is allocated to the marketing of individual titles, series and lists depending on the publishing programme. Some titles (stars) get a larger proportion of the overall spend (E), while other new titles have much less money spent on individual promotion (F).

Marketing schedule

Promotional and publicity activities are carefully scheduled, generally in relation to the publication date, a critical sales period (such as Christmas or the beginning of term or semester), or another significant event. The detailed schedule is planned at the later stages of the development of the publishing project and, as all promotion and publicity events take time to organize, this planning stage is very important. When the title goes into production, the plan is further refined and expenditure is approved. The expected costs of all activities must be based on real estimates, and from suppliers, such as designers and printers of promotional materials, travel and costs for author events and exhibitions

Sales staff may have special requirements for promotional materials (such as price lists and display cards), and these are discussed at sales conferences. Overseas agents may want promotional materials, and the international sales team needs time to contact agents and booksellers worldwide. Rights managers also require material to send to other publishers. Attention to detail is vital, and any metadata (such as ISBNs) and pricing information must be checked carefully. All of this takes time, so a structured schedule is important to ensure that the process goes smoothly and that materials for new titles are prepared well before the publication date.

Discussion questions

1Who within the company may have a need for promotional materials?

2What different activities are covered by the promotional budget?

3When is a promotional schedule prepared?

4Will a publisher spend an equal amount on promotion of all titles?

Using feedback to monitor success

Now frequently known as metrics, the data sources that publishers need to monitor their business performance have vastly improved from the 1990s onwards. As the supply chain becomes integrated using web-based systems, this information is likely to become even more comprehensive and analytical.

Nielsen BookScan

Nielsen BookData was mentioned earlier in this chapter; another part of the same corporation called Nielsen BookScan collects retail sales information directly from point-of-sale systems in more than 35,500 bookshops around the world. Subscribers can access the data online, and produce a wide variety of reports on such things as market size and share of different book categories, unit sales and revenue for individual publishers, specific imprints, authors and price points. The system gathers information from the supply chain and covers different parts of the market including specialized categories and small imprints, as well as larger companies. BookScan’s main focus is on the UK, United States, Australia and New Zealand, but data is available from some other countries.

Table 8.1

Marketing schedule

	Breakdown of expenditure	Revenue projected £/$/€	Marketing budget £/$/€
Company	Company budget Marketing budget is 5% of the total sales revenue.	Company revenue (A) 10,000,000	Company marketing budget (B) 500,000 (5% of projected revenue)
	Central promotion costs Includes catalogues, trade fairs, website and backlist promotion.	10,000,000 is the total of the company’s projected revenue from the sale of new and backlist titles.	Company-wide marketing (C) 250,000 (2.5% of projected revenue)
Division	Division (5 divisions in company) Includes exhibitions in major areas of publishing (e.g. STM, art), brochures, ads and inserts in specialist media.	Divisional revenue plan 2,000,000 (×5)	Divisional marketing budget (D) 50,000 per division (×5)
Title	Star titles (3 titles per division) Includes launch party, author tour, ads and posters.	Revenue projections Each ‘star’ title: 200,000 Division: 600,000 Company: 3,000,000	‘Star’ title marketing budget (E) Each ‘star’ title: 10,000 Division: 30,000 Company: 150,000
	Other titles (20 new titles per division) Includes flyers, readings at bookstores, exhibits at specialist events.	Revenue projections Each other title: 50,000 Division: 1,000,000 Company: 5,000,000	Other title marketing budget (F) Each other title: 1,000 Division: 20,000 Company: 100,000

Keeping an eye on major book buyers

Market research into publishing and bookselling has shown that a quite small core of heavy book buyers (those buying more than twelve books per year) is critical to the health of the business. It has become clear that these buyers were also among the heaviest buyers of e-books, and that e-books were particularly attractive to the over-fifties (especially women readers). The baby-boomer generation were a major factor in the growth of the trade paperback, the chain bookshop and the growth of reading groups; they may also be at the forefront of the move from p-books to e-books. This insight into the way in which a major customer group has changed its buying habits is a good example of the need for publishers and booksellers to watch the way people discover, buy, read and evaluate books. The book market is rarely static and is prone to periods of rapid development when disrupted by economic, social, political or technological changes. The global economy has an effect on publishing as it does on everything else; and technological developments continue to revolutionize all communications, bringing great changes to the currently evolving hybrid print/digital culture.

Nielsen activities

The various Nielsen activities that provide data and other services for publishers.

8.5 | Nielsen activities

Bestseller lists

Publishers of trade fiction, children’s books and non-fiction titles benefit when their books appear in bestseller lists. The very word ‘bestseller’ is often used in advertising and promotion materials, and publishers use the buzz created by the ‘bestseller’ tag to promote authors and books through the press and other media. This ensures the continued prominent display of the ‘bestselling’ book in bookshops and online bookselling sites. Bestseller lists appear in the press, but there is no standard way of determining this status. In some countries, the bestseller lists are based on sales records taken from quite a small sample of publishers or booksellers. Nielsen BookScan bestseller lists, based on a wide sample of books sold in a given period, can be far more reliable than a more restricted sampling of bookshops and online retailers. Bookshop displays often include what are referred to as ‘bestsellers’, although the evidence for the bestseller status is sometimes obscure. The rise of e-books has further complicated the way in which bestseller charts are created, but the media now publish lists of e-book bestsellers and some have integrated e-books into the overall bestseller lists.

Discussion questions

1How does Nielsen BookScan collect data? Why might publishers be willing to pay for the market information that Nielsen gathers?

2How does Nielsen BookScan influence commissioning processes, and what are the implications of this?

3Why is the ‘bestseller’ label important?

4Are older people interested in e-books? Why might this group be particularly important to publishers, and how could they tailor their products to meet the needs of the ‘baby-boomer’ generation?

5Do e-books appear on bestseller lists?

6Why do you think the growth of e-books has plateaued?

Case study

Persephone Books

Persephone Books – a small publisher with traditional publishing values – shows the importance of keeping control over the communication and supply channels. Persephone, founded by Nicola Beauman in 1998, publishes novels, short stories, diaries and cookery books. It has developed a reputation for high-quality publishing (in both the content and form), while developing innovative design and marketing. The books are much praised for their clear typographic design, stylishly understated dove-grey jackets, fabric-patterned endpapers and bookmarks, and their entertaining and informative introductions. It has approximately 122 titles currently in print. The company says its titles are ‘are chosen to appeal to busy people wanting titles that are neither too literary nor too commercial’, and the company is thriving in its niche market.

8.5 | Persephone cover

Persephone is admired not just for its editorial integrity, but also for its stylish covers, tasteful typesetting, individual endpapers, bookmarks and quality paper.

The feminist publishing context

Persephone occupies a position within a tradition of women’s publishing that came to prominence in the late twentieth century. In the 1970s a number of women’s presses were established, reflecting developments in the feminist movement and an increase in academic and media interest in writings by and for women. In the UK, the most famous of these is Virago, founded as an independent publisher in 1973 and now an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group. Virago publish some of the major feminist thinkers including Kate Millett, Adrienne Rich, Eva Figes, Angela Carter, Juliet Mitchell, Lynne Segal, Sheila Rowbotham and Elaine Showalter. The Virago Modern Classics list is dedicated to the rediscovery and reprinting of the works of women writers. It has published such diverse authors as George Eliot, Grace Paley, Elizabeth von Arnim, Pat Barker, Edith Wharton, Mae West, Willa Cather and Molly Keane. It has some 200 titles in print. Virago Travellers is another highly successful series: it has reprinted the stories of the greatest women travellers including Gertrude Bell, Emily Eden, Lucie Duff Gordon and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. In recent years, Virago Vs was launched to cater for a new generation (broadly aimed at twenty- to thirty-five year olds). The first title was Sarah Waters’s tale of Victorian lesbian London, Tipping the Velvet. Other publishers, such as The Women’s Press in the UK and the independent US non-profit The Feminist Press, began by rescuing lost and forgotten works by women writers from diverse ethnic, racial and class backgrounds. Some feminist publishers have also been active in publishing books classified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+).

8.6 | Virago

For many years, Virago books used distinctive covers with a green band that were instantly recognized by their core readers, but the company now uses a wider variety of designs and images as the books compete in a broader market.

‘There are cute books, there are beautiful books and then there are Persephone books.’ The Irish Times

Interview

Ian Lamb, Head of Children’s Marketing and Publicity, Bloomsbury Publishing

Tell us about how you became Head of Children’s Marketing and Publicity at Bloomsbury (i.e. what has been your career path, what other publishing jobs have you had, what have been your career highlights etc.)

After university I worked as a bookseller for three years and then managed to get an assistant role at a vanity publishers in London. It was a good introduction to working with people who are passionate about getting their work published.

From there I moved to A&C Black to work in the publicity department. I worked across all the imprints including sailing, pottery and theatre books. However, it was the children’s list that really caught my attention and it was then I decided to focus on that part of the market. I was lucky enough to get a publicity job at Puffin after that and worked there for three years.

I eventually moved to Bloomsbury and have been working here for just under twelve years now. Structural changes and promotions have led me to becoming Head of Children’s Marketing and Publicity where I now focus on the Harry Potter novels and manage a team of eight.

There have been many career highlights. Chatting with Elmore Leonard on the phone, being at the Natural History Museum for the midnight reading of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, working on a sold-out 2,500 seater event for Neil Gaiman’s Fortunately, the Milk, discussing wrestling injuries with John Irving. One of my biggest highlights though is getting to meet Paul Jennings. He had a huge impact on my reading as a young person and to meet him and say thanks was absolutely brilliant.

What does your role entail? (i.e. what is the most challenging part of your role? What’s a typical work week like?)

The beauty of marketing and publicity is that it is such a varied department to work in. One day you might be heading off to a school event with an author, and the next you are at the BBC watching Blue Peter being filmed. It’s quite hard to pin down exactly what is done week by week as the team are involved in so many different elements. We create marketing materials, adverts and proofs as well as organize author events and pitch for media interviews. Each book has its own unique strengths and the marketing and publicity will always need to adapt to that.

I think the most challenging aspect of the role is understanding that a lot of people will have opinions on what they think is best for a book. Sales may want to focus on getting the book in to key stores while editorial may see it as a book that needs to get on award shortlists. The challenge is to put all these requirements in to the mix to create the best plan for the book, while retaining the marketing and publicity knowledge that an experienced team can bring to a campaign.

What are some of the biggest changes, in the industry and in marketing, you’ve experienced during your career? What predications do you have for the future of marketing?

I’m a publicist at heart and I think one of the biggest changes in the industry is the drastic reduction of review space for children’s books in the national press. It seems that everyone is keen to make sure that young people become readers but the space for people to find out about great new children’s books has shrunk consistently over the fifteen years I’ve worked in the industry.

This leads to another change and that is the way that young people are interacting with the world. Marketing campaigns need to be on top of the various ways that young people (and those who are buying books for them) are finding information. Social media has become hugely important whether it be speaking to parents via Twitter or Facebook, or talking directly to children on PopJam.

It is heartening to see that children still love meeting authors and I think this has remained as important as ever. The difference in a child after meeting an author can be amazing. Getting authors out and about to schools and festivals is still incredibly important, particularly to areas that may not have the access to author visits.

What role has social media and digital played in attracting more people to reading and to careers in publishing? (and why has it been so effective? How has the focus shifted towards the ‘audience’?)

I think social media gives people a voice. Clever use of social media can mean your thoughts, opinions and reviews are read and absorbed by millions of people across the world.

It also means that people can be in touch and create communities that they may not have had access to before. It’s always brilliant to see groups of people being passionate about the books they love and supporting each other through social and digital media.

We, as publicists and marketeers, have the ability to talk directly to readers now. We can gain a better understanding of what people like or dislike about books and adapt campaigns accordingly.

As for attracting more people to reading and careers in publishing, I would say that social media means that people have access to more information. It’s now possible to interact with a favourite author, get an insight to how a publisher works, or find out about books that may not be in the bestseller charts. I would suggest that this closeness to the industry, and the fact that publishing has understood that social and digital elements are essential to a book’s success, makes it more appealing as a career.

What would your advice be to someone interested in a career in marketing? (e.g. in terms of attending literary and publishing events, which are the qualities (skills/abilities) or studies (background/education) that prepare one for this kind of job?)

My advice would be to be passionate about the books you love. If you are a fan of children’s books then be sure to champion them in any way you can – the same if you are passionate about graphic novels, fantasy fiction or cookery books. It is that passion that will often be recognized in interviews and can lead to the start of a career.

Attending literary and publishing events gives you an insight to the world and can always help. Internships at publishers means you spend time in an office. You may not get involved with key campaigns but being in a marketing department and listening to the activity around you is great for an understanding of the industry – and always ask questions!

You don’t need to be a master at social media but having an understanding of the basics will always put you in good stead. Blogging, having an active Twitter account or using Instagram to show your love for books adds many strings to your bow.

As for skills/abilities I would say that a good marketeer or publicist needs to be creative, have the ability to think laterally and quickly, and be able to deal with many different types of people. Having original ideas is great but being able to allow other people to deconstruct, change or reject those ideas with calmness and respect is even stronger.

Summary

Key points

Women buy more books than men (Nielsen’s 2015 UK books and consumers survey/2016 Book Reading survey), and the sales of books written by and for women has grown into a significant part of the overall publishing market. Smaller companies publishing for these readers have had to adopt innovative approaches in order to secure sales.

•Persephone is in a market niche where one publisher, Virago, has a commanding visibility and brand strength. In order to compete, Persephone has developed a strong distinctive image of its own, and has successfully used design and direct communication with customers to stress its distinctive identity.

•Marketing, sales and distribution remain firmly under Persephone’s direct control.

•The mail-order strategy is central to Persephone’s sales. A regular printed catalogue is distributed, there is a fortnightly newsletter and the company has subscribers who sign up to receive a new book every month for six or twelve months. The website acts as the hub for the Persephone audience and is geared to developing a real community of readers.

•Some booksellers do not consider that the tastefully understated Persephone cover designs are suitable for display and promotion through the trade, so the company has issued a small selection of Persephone Classics in illustrated covers for distribution through bookshops. This has been done carefully, making sure not to offend the core market’s passion for the classic Persephone design.

•Audiobooks (as both CD and MP3 download) are available through the Persephone website, and thirty e-books are available through different platforms, including some free titles. As with all its innovations, this is being implemented gradually and with constant review and evaluation.

•The Persephone shop is in the same building as the company’s office, and harks back to the days when all London publishers had a trade counter, to make sure books were available to customers at all times, even though (due to book trade conventions at the time) publishers did not then sell directly to the public.

•All of this shows how important it is for a publisher to keep a constant eye on quality, stay in close touch with readers, and retain control of the supply chain. As Nicola Beauman says: ‘The most important thing for us is resuscitating forgotten women writers and having a mail order niche has been a good way to do this.’

Activity

Small publishers often have to be more creative about their marketing than their larger competitors. They must find a memorable way to communicate in the crowded marketplace, make the most of limited budgets and develop a brand in their niche market. Search online, on bookshop shelves or through your own book collection to identify some small publishers. Find out about their current marketing activities and consider the following questions.

1What niche market does the publisher target with its promotion?

2Does the publisher have a brand identity and how is this presented to potential readers and customers?

3Does the company employ any innovative or special promotional techniques?

4What is the company’s online marketing strategy?

5How does the company make use of other media in its promotional activities?