THE "INDIE" LABEL- DO LABELS MATTER?

THE INDIE LABEL

Today, Nathan Bransford asked who deserves the "indie" label - self-published authors or independent publishers.

We answered:

Shelfstealers is a new, independent publisher with 15 books, and looking for 35 more before we launch in 2012, but we don't call ourselves an 'indie' publisher.

One reason is that self-published authors have usurped the 'indie' label in their efforts to escape the 'self-published' stigma. We believe they would usurp whatever new label the independent publishers might choose.

A second reason is that the quality of books published by independent publishers varies almost as widely as the quality of self-published books.

So what's an independent publisher to do?

We believe we must develop a brand that is identified with good books, i.e., we must earn the respect of the reading public by inextricably linking the Shelfstealers' name with the names of our authors and their good books.

Each of our books, even books previously published by the majors (one of which was short-listed for the Canadian Governor General's Award for English Fiction) goes through a rigorous editing process. Does this mean readers will like all our books? Of course not, because readers' tastes are varied.

In the past, readers rarely sought the publisher's name in their search for books to buy. Word-of-mouth is still the most powerful marketing tool in a publisher's tool kit, and will likely become even more powerful with the decline of bricks and mortar chains. Some things don't change.

What might change, however - and we can't predict the future any better than anyone else - is that readers may seek more ways to sift the chaff from the wheat, and one of those ways might well be a publisher's reputation for good books.

In other words, the only label we hope to control is our own name.

Sincerely,
Sheryl J. Dunn
Chief Thief (a.k.a. CEO)
www.shelfstealers.com

DO LABELS MATTER?

I think they do. Ask anyone who has acquired an undeserved  and negative label: slut or player, thief or liar, flighty or gold-digger, or a host of epithets many people so easily apply to others in the absence of the facts. Those labels can hurt feelings, and they can damage reputations almost irreparably.

The opposite is also true: people can acquire a stellar reputation that is unearned.

No one can control, or even know, what others really think of us. Even our best and loyal friends can say unkind or thoughtless words about us, and when those words are repeated, they are often believed.

So, what does an individual or a company do in a world that isn't fair and where justice seems unattainable?

I think you carry on living your life and running your business the best way you know how, and especially in a way that's consistent with your true values, not because anyone else, including God (if there is one), will reward you, but simply because you won't find peace or happiness any other way.

So, labels? Who cares?

Do you?

Sheryl J. Dunn, Founder and CEO for Shelfstealers, wrote this post, and takes full responsibility for its content, typos, lack of clarity, tone, boredom-quotient, and lack of originality.

DO PUBLISHERS HAVE A FUTURE?

PANIC IN THE MAJORS

Last year (2010), Anne Rice created a thread on the Kindle discussion board on Amazon. She asked whether a major author should 'go Kindle first,' and mentioned that, in her opinion, the advent of digital books was creating cataclysmic change in the publishing business, and that major publishers were panicking.

When I came up with the idea for Shelfstealers, I believed that a publisher that focused on ebooks and audiobooks, with new ideas, and the determination to help good books find their markets, could survive in this changing environment.

Then came along Barry Eisler who turned down a $500,000 two-book deal from a major publisher; he'll be self-publishing.

SHOULD MINOR PUBLISHERS PANIC, TOO?

Although Shelfstealers believes that luck plays a huge role in an author's success, we also believe we'll be able to help our authors find success through hard work and creative marketing. I've always believed you have to be good to be lucky, and you have to work hard to be good, whether you're an author or a publisher. (Forget, for the moment, that luck shines on us sometimes whether we're good or not.)

Let's say Lady Luck shines on one (or more) of our authors and their books go viral. Should you be loyal and stay with Shelfstealers or the publisher who helped you to get your start, especially if your first publisher fulfilled its promises to you?

I'd bet you're expecting me to list a host of reasons why you should, but the fact is that most publishing contracts are for one book only--the author is free to find a different publisher for, or to self-publish, subsequent books. In other words, the risk of losing a successful author has always been a fact of the business.

And even if that were not so, an 'earned' loyalty can be bought. I've  worn those shoes, or at least, my ex-husband did when he received a cash offer to 'cross the street' to another brokerage house, and the deal was too good to pass up. When you can see the probability of paying off your mortgage, sending your kids to college, and being set for life, of course, you'll leave your publisher.

YES, PUBLISHERS HAVE A FUTURE--DIGITAL BOOK PUBLISHERS, THAT IS 

In any business, the risk of competition is a constant, and you worry about, and try to stay ahead of, the competition. The only two things that have changed about book publishing are digital books and self-publishing, and self-publishing is simply another competitor.

Perhaps the new role for publishers is primarily to foster debut authors, to help them to find their audiences, and then to let them fly away. Much the same as raising a child, although authors aren't usually children. If that's true, you can understand why the major publishers are less willing to 'stake' debut authors; their business model is a costly one.

A secondary role is supporting good authors whose books never go viral, and this role is also costly for traditional publishers, which is why they so often abandon their mid-list authors.

The more I scan the publishing environment, the more I am convinced that digital books are the only way to go, with print books playing an increasingly smaller role in an author's success, although print books won't disappear in our lifetime. Well, I'm probably definitely older than most of you, so let me say that they won't disappear in my lifetime, but they might be insignificant in your child's lifetime and virtually non-existent in your grandchild's lifetime.

In the meantime, the principals of Shelfstealers are doing what we love. We need to make enough money to survive, to carry on helping authors to find their audiences, but we don't need to be rich.

Sheryl J. Dunn, Founder and CEO for Shelfstealers, wrote this post, and takes full responsibility for its content, typos, lack of clarity, tone, boredom-quotient, and lack of originality.

WHEN DO YOU START BUILDING YOUR PLATFORM?

WHAT IS A PLATFORM?

Most of you know that authors of non-fiction need a platform, i.e., a name and a reputation that relates to the subject matter of their books.

If you're an author of fiction, you can bemoan the ever-growing need to have your own platform, but moaning and groaning aren't going to increase the chances of your books going viral.

Instead of complaining, you can build your platform . . .

YESTERDAY

Yes, yesterday, i.e., long before your work is published.

Oops! You've missed the boat, or as the Mexicans say, in a different context, the plane left without you.

Okay, so you've missed the Concord, but you still have time to board that twin-engine plane . . .

TODAY

If you're one of Shelfstealers' authors, you already have a boarding pass to the Watch Our Writers program. Get ready to board because we're rushing to repair (i.e., redesign) and fuel that plane. Very shortly, you'll find detailed instructions in The Stacks, our Shelfstealers-authors-only blog, about how to prepare for the WOW program, and how to use it effectively.

Unlike many other marketing activities that may help you to build a platform,  the WOW program doesn't distract you from your writing. It's designed to help you build a platform AND work on your next project. But like all our crazy marketing ideas, we don't know whether it's going to work exactly how we planned. We'll be analyzing it, tinkering with it and guiding you as we go along. 

Whether or not you're one of our authors, learn how to use social media, start a blog and comment on other people's blogs, have a website, contribute, contribute, and contribute.  One key rule: it's not about selling or promoting your books; it's about giving back, letting people know you have strong opinions (but respect opposing views), and, especially, it's about being yourself. 

Not everyone will fall in love with you, but each of us has something to offer to the world. Find that something and put it out there, with all its warts, too. No, I'm not talking about typos or poorly written thoughts and information--for heaven's sake, do edit your public statements because nothing can destroy a writer's reputation more than unedited material.

I'm talking about honesty and your truths, whatever they might be. 

If you write non-fiction, you'll want to demonstrate that you know what you're talking about without pretension or arrogance. You're sharing; you're helping; you want to make the world, or a specific part of it, a better place.

If you write fiction, your truths need not be directly related to the subject matter of your novels, but they should relate to one or more of the themes that drove you to write your novels. In the interests of full disclosure, this opinion is untried and untested, but it makes sense to me that who you are and what you believe are both revealed in your writing. What you want to do, I think, is build on those same truths in your blogs and other social media marketing efforts. Have faith that other people share your truths. Be not afraid when people disagree with you--a little controversy, well-handled, will help rather that hurt.

TOMORROW

Don't try to do everything at once. Plan an overall approach, and then implement that plan a bit at a time. If you're blogging, prepare a point-form outline for your blogging strategy. If you're tweeting, do the same.

Lawyers often call business plans and even legal agreements 'living documents' because circumstances change. Review your plan on a regular basis and adapt it to the new circumstances, but keep to your truths and someone out there is going to think you're wonderful. 

If you're lucky, many will think you're wonderful. 

If you're really lucky, they'll even buy your books.

Sheryl J. Dunn, Founder and CEO for Shelfstealers, wrote this post, and takes full responsibility for its content, typos, lack of clarity, tone, boredom-quotient, and lack of originality.

WHO IS SHELFSTEALERS' BIGGEST COMPETITOR?

Is it 

• Random House or any of the other traditional publishers? 

• is it CreateSpace or Lulu or Smashwords or the other self-publishing houses?

We think our biggest competitor is a trend: the trend toward self-publishing, the thousands or even millions of people out there who are considering and who are choosing to self-publish  their novels and non-fiction books.

To stay alive in business, you must

1. offer services or products that aren't necessarily better than the competition's products or services, but your public must perceive that your products or services are special in some way;
2. deliver your products or services consistently;
3. demonstrate results;
4. exceed your customers' expectations (and your customers in the publishing business include your authors); and
5. ensure that the world knows about you, your products, services, and satisfied customers.

(You also have to manage your business efficiently, but business management isn't the topic of this post.)

So how will Shelfstealers compete with the trend toward self-publishing?

We've got some ideas, and they include:

• proving that our authors will sell significantly more books on average than self-publishing authors sell on average;
• proving that our authors will make  significantly more money on average than do self-publishing authors on average; and
• providing service to our authors and our authors' fans that exceeds their expectations.

What does 'significantly' mean in this context? 

Well, it includes statistically significant results, and if you've studied Statistical Methods, you'll know what that means. But, really, statistically significant results could mean that Shelfstealers will show that its authors sell 10% more books and make 10% more money on average than do self-publishing authors.

Is that going to be good enough? We don't think so. We're aiming for at least twice as well as self-publishing authors generally.

It's easy to 'lie with statistics.' A lot depends upon the comparative statistics you choose to report, and it also depends upon the comparative statistics that are available. But whenever we make a comparison, we will disclose the sources of our comparisons and their limitations.

Now it's your turn. 

What do you think Shelfstealers must do to compete effectively with the trend toward self-publishing? 

What measurements or comparisons should we use to show that we're competing well?

Sheryl J. Dunn, Founder and CEO for Shelfstealers, wrote this post, and takes full responsibility for its content, typos, lack of clarity, tone, boredom-quotient, and lack of originality.

TOO MANY BOOKS; NOT ENOUGH TIME

Most writers are avid readers–or should be. As Stephen King says, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time or tools to write.”

But with all the books out there, how do you get people to choose your book?

Think about how you choose a book to buy, or borrow, and read. A recommendation from a friend? A book that’s already a bestseller? A book that a recognized reviewer said was a great read? To impress your friends? Price? You liked the cover? A book by your favorite author? To study how a great/popular writer does it? You need the information? You trust the publisher? None of the above?

Next week, we’ll blog about how readers (as opposed to libraries and bookstores) really do choose what books to buy. We've got ideas, but you can help us refine them by completing our poll in the right-hand column. In the meantime, remember that you are not alone–millions of readers/book buyers must decide what books to buy, just like you.

Your job–and ours if you’re one of our authors–is to help them choose your book.

Sheryl J. Dunn, Founder and CEO for Shelfstealers, wrote this post, and takes full responsibility for its content, typos, lack of clarity, tone, boredom-quotient, and lack of originality.