Sunday, July 22, 2007

The More Things Change . . . Books and Race - Blah, Blah, Blah

As a writer, where do you want your book to reside in ANY bookstore? That's right. WHEREVER the most people interested in your genre will find it. It's a shame that writers of Sci-Fi, horror, and other genres are instantly installed in the "African American" section of the major booksellers just because they also happen to be a different shade.

Simply put, bookstore segregation must stop. However, there will be no busing of novels across the store aisles. Supposedly, Barnes and Nobel has begun to integrate their fiction stacks.

I am going to keep my eye on the lawsuit filed by Nadine Aldred against her publisher, the Penguin Group. This lawsuit and the larger issue are covered in this article written by Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg in the December 6, 2006 issue of the Wall Street Journal: Why Book Industry Sees the World Split Still by Race - WSJ.com

The blog, "On The Wrong Side of the Alligator" has posted a large portion of the complaint. It's lengthy but fascinating reading for those of us that want the best chance to produce an international bestseller. Ms. Aldred's pseudonym weighs in on her blog here: Millenia Black | Taking Care of Business

Friday, July 13, 2007

Our Art Directors are looking at portfolios of artists interested in doing cover illustrations

22nd Century publications include fiction and non-fiction titles. You may send tearsheets or prints or other examples of your work - do not send originals. Include an SASE for return. All materials are sent at your own risk.

The art department may accept email submissions under certain circumstances.Send inquiries to
info AT 22ndCenturyPress DOT com

Monday, July 9, 2007

QBR HOSTS 9th HARLEM BOOK FAIR

QBR hosts the 9th HARLEM BOOK FAIR JULY 20 - 22, 2007
Publishers, writers, literacy vendors will exhibit and author panel discussions will be televised by C-Span’s Book TV.
2007 Harlem Bookfair

Monday, July 2, 2007

The End of Publishing As You Know It?


Check out this big guy – actually not that big, since it’s small enough to fit in at the New York Public Library. It’s the Espresso Book Machine. Coffee, scone and on demand books anyone? Visitors to the library can print off books over 200,000 public domain titles free of charge.

We keep talking about literary change, but here it is in your local neighborhood library (well almost). Sounds of Sam Cooke in the background singing "A Change Is Gonna Come" are being replaced with the whirring sound of that insta-book you just printed. Find your author, subject, publisher and print away. Too cool.

New York Public library gets first Espresso book machine

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Easy Trackers for Book Trends & Statistics Junkies

You're not the only one obsessed with your sales ranking on Amazon
and Barnes & Noble. There are several free online tools for tracking sales rankings, because authors and publishers just can't wait 
for their daily fix of the numbers.

Title Z instantly retrieves historic and current sales rankings from Amazon and creates printable reports. Check the trends and see how topics or titles perform over time - for free (for now).

Check out charts of the top gainers, losers, and the 'currently hot' on Charteous. You can even see the 'all time favorites' (Hmm . . . let's see - Harry Potter, any thing in Oprah's book club, and the tell all for 2007 - The Secret).

If you can't get your numbers fix on here, nothing will do. The true numbers gatherers are those that subscribe to the 'Amazon BestSeller' pitch. Wow! I'm a best seller if I get every one in my mailing lists and my uncle Bob's email list to buy my book at 3:47 am on Amazon. I will then be the best seller for an entire hour. Hot Diggity! Oh yeah, where's my bling?

Don't sell the trailer and buy that Mercedes just yet. According to Steve Weber in his newest offering "Plug Your Book" - ". . . a single technique doesn’t support a book for long; steady sales depend on continuous promotion." On page 34 he demonstrates with Title Z charts the importance of a  'Long Tail' strategy versus the InstaBestseller Campaign.

Oh well. I never take a look at the sales ranking when I buy online. I always go by content, what I need at the time, and personal recommendations. Go figure.