One of those include the possible sale of the company.

Read the press release here.

Depending on the outcome this could have significant impact on the industry. Few authors realize how key B&N is to the successful launch of a book or how key B&N is to the ongoing sales of backlist titles. Barnes & Noble is the world’s largest brick & mortar bookseller. They operate over 700 stores in all fifty states. They also have a subsidiary that operates over 600 college bookstores which support nearly four million students and faculty across the U.S.

Think of it this way. If each B&N store sold only 12 copies of your book over the last twelve months (one per month) that would account for over 16,000 copies sold. If you eliminate the college stores from that scenario it still accounts for 8,500 copies sold.

That is significant.

Someone asked me the other day, “Who will be affected most by the e-book revolution. Publishers or Authors?” I answered, “Neither. Both will continue to survive for many reasons. The one effected most is the brick and mortar store.” B&N created their e-reader “The Nook” to combat that. But the combination of the economy, which has hurt all retail, and the surge in sales through places like Amazon.com has socked B&N right in their pocketbook.

Many have speculated that the other mega-store chain, Borders, would fail (hasn’t happened yet) but those same prophets figure that B&N would pick up the slack.

Now, just because they are for sale doesn’t mean they are out of business. Only that they want to find a way to secure better financial security. My guess follows the speculation of other press on this issue. They postulate that Len Riggio, who currently has a 30% stake in the company, will do his best to buy it himself (along with a consortium of investors).

Stay tuned!

But today I came across this article “What Amazon Didn’t Say About E-Books” by David Carnoy for CNET. In the article he makes some very strong statements regarding Amazon’s claim of reaching a “tipping point” with regard to Kindle sales and its impact on e-book sales.

Do yourself a favor and read the article.

Then vow to lay it all aside for the rest of the Summer and write your book!

And no, the picture for this post is not our cat. I simply found the picture and thought it might get your attention. Feel free to submit your own caption for the photo in the comment section.

Additional statistics from that article include:  “Amazon sought to suggest that Amazon remains the leading retailer for e-books. The company said that of the 1.14 million James Patterson e-books sold as of July 6, nearly 868,000 were from Amazon.” Also, “in June, Apple CEO Steve Jobs had claimed that his company’s iBookstore, which launched in April, had taken 20% of the market.”

My observations of these developments are two-fold.
One. Everyone is claiming “dominance” but no one is sharing actual verifiable data. It’s like standing on the playground in pre-school and saying “my Dad can beat up your Dad.”

Two. Claiming that e-books have outsold hardcovers is disingenuous if they are counting free downloads as sales. Remember when Amazon claimed that on Christmas Day they sold more e-books than p-books? Of course they did. Everyone who received a Kindle as a gift, turned it on and downloaded books. Who else was shopping for books on Christmas Day?

Remember the news adage “if it bleeds it leads.” So just because something makes a great headline and a press release doesn’t necessarily reflect day-to-day mundane reality.

By the way, take a look at the comments section of yesterday’s blog entry. Randy Ingermanson provided some great thoughts and I responded with a couple other things to consider as well as part of the ongoing discussion on this issue.

The biggest area of growth, percentage-wise, is in e-books (up 162.8%).

But lets look at actual dollars, not percentages.

Publisher sales (according to the Association of American Publishers) were $715.3 million in May. Of that total, e-books accounted for $29.3 million…or about 4%. If this was a 162% jump over 2009, then e-book sales in May of last year were $11.2 million.

There is no question that this is a huge leap. But it still means that 96% of all sales are still in hard copy.

Many experts claim that in five years (by the year 2015) that e-books will “tip” and account for over 50% of all book sales. I’ve heard this from two major publishers (one was the head of the digital initiatives for that publisher) and from my friend Randy Ingermanson in his excellent e-zine (read pages 2-11 for his full report on the issue).

For that to happen a 100% growth rate would have to be sustained. That would mean 2011 would have e-books at 8% of sales, 2012 at 16% of sales, 2013 at 32%, etc.

I’m not arguing that it won’t happen. Just that it may not happen quite so fast. Sustaining that rate of growth is a lot harder than it looks on paper (no pun intended). Please read my earlier blog post “Is Print Dead” to go further behind these type of statistics (in that post I attempt to show that hard copy CDs still account for nearly 70% of all music sales).

I’ve written earlier that I own a Kindle and like it. I have bought a number of books for the device. And in fact have purchased many books that I already owned in paper…sort of a “best of” or “favorites” bookshelf. Why? Because I’m a collector. And having those books with me at all times is a neat thing. Plus they become searchable. It also means that I can have access to these books forever and from wherever I am. And I’m not in fear of losing books when the corner of the garage collapses in a big rain storm (true story). However, if there are a lot of people like me, then the “growth” is somewhat skewed.

I hesitantly compare this to the transition from record albums to cassette tapes to compact discs. Or the transition from VHS to DVD (and now to Blue-Ray). I suspect many of you purchased albums or movies that you already owned because you wanted them in the new format, for whatever reason. They were your favorites. So initially some of your expenditures were not for new material. Of course, eventually we began purchasing 100% of all new music or movies in the new format. And that is where the direct comparison with books breaks down.

There are legion of readers who will not convert to e-books. An amateur poll I’ve taken of folks (family, friends, professional acquaintances) has been very interesting. Most are intrigued by the Kindle device. One showed me their iPad (with an accompanying gloat). But few were ready to embrace switching from p-books (paper) to e-books (electronic). And none were prepared to go all digital any time soon.

I reiterate what I’ve said before. This is one of the most exciting times to be in this industry. The changes are rapid, they are innovative, and they are creative. Writers who can create dynamic content have nothing to fear. The consumer continues to demand great content in whatever form they can get it. Literary agents like myself, make it our job to watch these developments carefully and to continue to safeguard our client’s revenue and their ideas.

Read the entire article here.

Then weep.

Then pray that cooler heads prevail and that it can somehow be kept out of the court system.

The key element to the story, from my agent’s perspective, is that there was not a solid contract in place from the beginning. It started with a hand shake. Then when a big publisher (FaithWords, a division of Hachette) wanted to get involved in distribution a contract was put in place. But the agreement between the publisher, Windblown Media, and the author has terminology that remains unclear. Signing a contract that pays based on net profits can be trouble unless “profit” is defined very clearly. Most book contracts are based either on retail price or on net receipts. Big difference between receipts and profits. Young claims that Windblown has under-reported the profits.

Windblown Media counter-sued and claims that their owners Wayne Jacobsen and Brad Cummings should be named as co-authors of the book because of the work they did back in the beginning of the project.

So Hachette, in a defensive move, had to file their own lawsuit against Windblown Media and William P. Young. Why? Because they have one million dollars they owe to these fellows, but if they send a check, and it is later determined by the other lawsuits that the money was paid incorrectly, then Hachette could be sued. So they very wisely put the money in a judicial escrow account where it will remain until Windblown and Young settle their dispute. In other words, from now on…no one gets paid…until the things are settled by the courts.

What a mess.

Clearly some huge misunderstandings have occurred. Dig even deeper into the article and note that “reserves against returns” is misunderstood. In addition there is dispute over reduced royalties paid on books sold at a very high discount. Both are well documented industry practices and are usually in a contract with clear definitions.

This illustrates why writers need literary agents to help with their intellectual property concerns. This week I have helped three clients unravel their royalty statements. Each case had different concerns and because of what I do I could understand and explain the situation. In one case we are writing a note to the publisher asking for clarification. In another case I think the royalty rate for e-books does not match the contractual rate and thus a note has been sent asking for clarification.

I have seen situations among writing friends disintegrate over editorial and publishing issues. That is why I encourage anyone who is wanting to collaborate on a project that they get a solid collaboration agreement in place as early as possible.

Don’t just shake hands and hope for honorable behavior. We would like to hope for honor and honesty but we are all fallen creatures in desperate need of redemption.

At least consider using a conciliation organization like Peacemakers (click here for the first steps in dispute resolution) before taking anyone to court.

Update: August 2, 2010

If you would like to read the actual court documents you can follow these links — the federal court complaint of Jacobsen and Cummings (the founders of Windblown Media) vs. Young, Young’s court motion to dismiss, and Windblown’s legal response.

Then enjoy the actual court document where Hachette is asking for court relief — this is where they state that there is nearly a million dollars in royalties waiting to be paid.

This was my 29th consecutive booksellers convention. At its height there were approximately 14,000 in attendance, many years ago. That is no longer the case. Statistics released indicate total attendance was 6,812. Registered pick-ups in attendance was  4,747 (flat compared to 2009); professional attendance was 1,675 (up 4.5% over last year); and international attendance came in at 390 (up 4% over 2009). I’m not sure if they combine exhibitors and retailers in that first number of if the exhibitors (publishers, etc.) are included in the second number. As an agent we are considered “professional” attendees.

Apparently the national average retail trade show attendance is down 16%, so the convention is feeling pretty good about this year’s showing.

I’ll admit to being skeptical about St. Louis as the locale. In my nearly 30 years of attendance it had never been in that city. I was pleasantly surprised. I was fortunate to be staying at the hotel directly across the street from the convention hall which made moving from one thing to another very easy. I was also impressed by the number of fine restaurants in the area, most within walking distance. I had the fun to host two author-related dinners and both restaurants were excellent.

Since I don’t go to the convention with tourism in mind I have no idea what I might have missed, other than traveling to top of that Arch. However I spoke to the husband and son of an author who thoroughly enjoyed the area and filled three days with a wide variety of activities.

For me the event began with the Christy Award reception on Saturday night. Our agency had three authors who were finalists. None received the top award, but being recognized as a finalist is an honor in and of itself. I love the Christys and what it represents. If you ever have someone criticize Christian fiction as being vapid or poorly written, challenge their assumptions by suggesting they read the finalists. I predict they will be chagrined to have made their accusations after having a chance to read some of the incredible writers represented among the award finalists.

The rest of the week was a series of scheduled meetings and “hallway” or “aisle-way” conversations. I had thirty scheduled appointments and probably ended up with over 50 significant conversations when the time was done. Even had the chance to discuss deal points on a new contract that surfaced during the convention (that almost never happens).

I was also privileged to hear a hour and a half presentation by Hachette Digital. They are working very hard to maximize the opportunities created by the digital revolution. I came away feeling like some very smart people are working hard on doing smart things in this world. They were open to questions and suggestions. Very impressive. Thank you Rolf, for the invitation.

Tuesday was an odd day in that every meeting was in the hotel until late afternoon. I did not actually hit the convention floor until 4:00. That was something new for me since, in the past, most meetings took place on the convention floor or in Publisher suites. This was also the first year that not a single appointment took place in a publisher’s suite!

Because the convention itself was smaller in scale it fit in the hall very well. There were always people visibly roaming the aisles all the way until the closing announcement on Wednesday afternoon. It “felt” busier because of that.

The International rights section was a hive of activity. Goodness. There was never a dull moment in that space. It is incredible to think of the marvelous activity of great Christian literature and its impact around the globe.

I’ve had some disagreement with a colleague or two over whether the ICRS convention is a dinosaur that will soon disappear. I tend to remain positive about its place in the industry and truly hope it does not go away. There is simply no other single event where so many industry-related people gather in one place. I can think of a half dozen conversations that would not have happened if were not for this event.

For publishers it has become an Author-Relations event, not much of a sales opportunity. The stores have already placed their orders for forthcoming books and music. And while there are fewer Christian stores, many major big box retail buyers were in attendance. Therefore while actual orders may not be placed at the show, the seeds for new sales were being planted.

Since both Chi Libris (fiction) and AWSA (women speakers and authors) organizations have their retreat in the days before the convention, many authors are there. I believe we had at least 12 or 13 of our clients who were there for at least part of the event.

The gift section was humming the entire show. And that will always be. Many gifts are such that they have to be physically held or seen in person before knowing if they are a product the retailer can sell. If ICRS goes away the retailers will have to rely on the general market Gift Shows which would not have as many vendors and their selection opportunities would decline.

All the usual suspects of kitchy art, gifts, and toys were there. Nothing made me exclaim, “you’ve got to be kidding.” So that either means I’ve become immune after all these years or there were simply fewer products to see. (Years ago, my all-time worst observation was a clown making balloon art. He was methodically putting together a six foot high brown crucifix with a flesh colored Jesus on it…all made out of long thin “clown” balloons. From the back of the adoring crowd I muttered a little too loudly, “My kingdom for a pin.” And then walked away shaking my head.) In general I don’t mind most of that material since I sold a lot of it during my days as a Christian retailer. For many people the items are a real blessing in their church or home. But that balloon art exhibition was over my line.

I enjoyed taking pictures of client’s book covers and displays and emailing those to them. A lot of fun for those who couldn’t attend.

Bottom line? Publishing is alive and well. Publishers are still looking for great content and great authors. The Christian retail business is small, but those who survived the “crash” are still working hard and serving their communities. It is nice to see there are those still dedicated to the call of being booksellers.

I can’t wait to get to work each day to find out what’s new in this terrible, horrible, wonderful, exciting, frustrating, exhilarating business.

This is one of the keys to creating a marketing hook that makes your idea sellable in today’s crowded market.

You have less than a minute to make that hook work.

It is also called creating the “elevator pitch” or the “Hollywood pitch.” The goal is get the marketing department to exclaim, “We can sell that without any problem!” And ultimately to get a consumer to say, “I want that” or “I need that” or “I know someone who should have that.”

I recently came across a series of delightful web sites that takes this exercise to hilarious conclusions. Click through these links below and pick your favorite book, kids book, science fiction story, or movie and enjoy.

Let me know which one is your favorite. Then see if you can do the same, albeit in a more serious way, with your own idea. Then go pitch it to an agent or an editor!

A Book-A- Minute Classics

A Book-A-Minute Bed Time Stories

A Book-A-Minute Science Fiction/Fantasy

A Movie-A-Minute

1. What do you believe to be the most important trend in Christian publishing and why?

This can be a complex question depending on which part of publishing being discussed. The obvious answer is the digital revolution. While e-book sales are still only a tiny percentage of the whole, the foundations being laid today will have long term implications.

In fiction I have been encouraged by the continued diversity in publisher’s acquisitions. While “romance” is king, a great story can still get a chance.

In non-fiction there has been a concerted push by publishers to acquire only those authors with a built-in audience of some sort. This is especially hard for the debut writers who have enormous talent and insight but have yet to construct a personal following. I even had one editor at a publishing house write me the following after I groused about a rejection letter that didn’t square with what I knew about that publisher:

“…it seems we no longer trust the old methods of reading the market, trying to get ahead of the curve on reader tastes and needs, and so forth. Now we have to prove a book’s success in advance, on paper, using mathematics.”

That is a stunning statement but in a sense is not news. If writers have not come to grips with the fact that publishing is a business, then now is the time to do so. Never forget that without a “bottom line” (i.e. profit) the publisher goes away (or they downsize) and everyone gets hurt.

Some will read that and despair. Others will shrug and say, “What’s new?” I think it is exciting that the industry is becoming that much more professional and the demands on excellence, quality, and “big ideas” will only help create better and more successful books.

2. When were you last in a Christian store and why?

In February, while traveling on business, I visited a local Christian store to observe their layout, featured products, and whether our client’s books were in stock. This particular store is part of a Christian retail chain with multiple locations.

The results were mixed. A front-of-store cardboard display was empty of product which was a good for store sales – meaning they had sold out, but signaled to me that their buyer was much too conservative (“stack ‘em high and watch ‘em fly” vs. “keep it low and they won’t go”). Since I did not own that item they missed out on selling one to me.

3. What can Christian stores do to better differentiate themselves from other channels selling Christian products?

Remember that I was in the Christian bookstore business for over a decade and our store received the National Store of the Year award from CBA (The Christian Booksellers Association) in 1989. So while my personal in-store experience is now nearly two decades out of date, I still understand many of the nuances of Christian retail.

My answer to the above question is “Personal service and community building.” The competition isn’t always the online channels. Sometimes it is simply those outlets that choose the top 10 titles to display. Thus product knowledge and personal relationships are the key to customer retention.

We had a Christian store in our area where our family shopped because of a long term friendship we had with its owner. Unfortunately, after 35 years it closed its doors after the city decided to build light rail in front of her location and made it nearly impossible to visit. We really don’t have an alternate store within a reasonable driving distance, which is disappointing in a city the size of Phoenix.

The CBA store is still a powerful customer for the Christian publishing community. But as a whole is losing “market share.” This market share has been shaved by online retailing, big box retailing that siphons off bestsellers, and a general malaise for the specialty retailer. The gift side of the CBA store is where most stores will find their survival because it does not have the competition from online stores. I hear many who are highly critical of the non-book section of the Christian store. Let’s stop that, okay? Let’s consider changing the view of the Christian bookstore to one of a Christian “supply” store or, if you must, a Christian “boutique.” Wherever there are vital and growing churches there are vital and growing Christian stores.

At the risk of sounding out of date I remember that the Christian stores I managed, back in the 80s, served nearly 500 church accounts. Once we counted the number of student curriculum packets we sold in one quarter and were startled to find that we sold 10,000 pieces of student material intended for Sunday School education for children. So while we had some plaques and jewelry and cards and posters and knick-knacks in the store we also had curriculum, at least 3,000 book titles, and hundreds of Bibles.

If you can, support your local Christian store, they serve a vital role as the Supply Sergeants of the Kingdom.

4. Do you own an e-book reader and if so what kind and what are you currently reading on it?

I have owned the Kindle since it was first released (currently using the Kindle 2). I last read a client’s manuscript on it while traveling (uploaded from my computer to the Kindle). In addition I also re-read Phil Vischer’s Me, Myself, and Bob: A True Story after hearing him speak on the topic at a recent conference.

I have resisted the lure of the iPad so far. I plan to wait for the second version to see if some of the bugs get worked out. Unfortunately the “swiping” motion on the screen gives me a bit of vertigo. I find that standing in the Apple Store playing with it gives me a slight headache. So I may never be able to use one comfortably.

HarperStudio had made big news by setting up a low advance model in exchange for high royalties. It was termed a “profit sharing” model. (of course define “profit” first… ) Plus they sold their books on a non-returnable basis to the stores, both online and brick & mortar.

It was a highly creative idea and caused quite a stir, especially when there was talk of a 50/50 profit split.

My questions are these. Does this mean the end to the experiment of “profit sharing” in publishing?Also…

Did the model fail to produce the necessary revenue or did the acquisitions team fail to select the right titles?

At the risk of being a hindsight prophet, I think it was the latter. Don’t get me wrong. The books themselves are quality titles for the most part, but none of them became “blockbusters.” The model might work if the book generates enough revenue. But the combination of a modest list, with no break out bestsellers, and the fact that the stores could not return slow moving titles probably contributed to conservative buying patterns and kept the big box retailers from “stacking ‘em high.”

What do you think?

HarperStudio, the unusual imprint founded two years ago by Bob Miller, is being shut down and its books and staff will land at other HarperCollins imprints. Miller left Harper last month to become group publisher at Workman (Shelf Awareness, March 16, 2010).

The final titles to be published by HarperStudio will be the summer 2010 list. All fall titles and titles scheduled to be published thereafter will be published by other HarperCollins imprints. In a memo to employees, Michael Morrison, president and publisher of U.S. general books and Canada, said that Harper “will be contacting agents and authors to discuss the best editors and imprints for” its fall and other future titles. “All of our imprints are happy to discuss profit sharing scenarios on a book by book basis.”

Debbie Stier, associate publisher of HarperStudio and director of digital marketing for HarperCollins, continues as director of digital marketing and continues to acquire books for all imprints as editor-at-large. Kathryn Ratcliffe-Lee continues to report to Stier.

Senior editor Julia Cheiffetz is moving to the Harper imprint. Assistant editor Katie Salisbury continues to report to Cheiffetz.

Jessica Wiener continues as director of marketing.

In its brief life, HarperStudio published mainly nonfiction, offered low advances with profit-sharing, tried to sell titles on a nonreturnable basis and signed many authors who were well-known in other fields or were writers who wanted to try projects that differed from their usual ones.

To illustrate how volatile this industry is, let’s look at two of the people featured in the article.  Jane Friedman is no longer the CEO of HarperCollins (which she was at the time of the original meeting) and Bob Miller resigned today as the head of HarperStudio. HarperStudio was creative with a unique financial model (see the article for the gist of it). But on a web site set up to answer questions about this development HarperStudio wrote this:

“Of our ORIGINAL goals, I’d give us a 6 [out of 10]. But there were other goals that cropped up along the way that were unintended benefits.”

Founded in April 2008, it has already changed in less than two years. Their first year was developmental as it takes time to acquire and produce new book titles. 2009 was a tough year for the economy in general and publishing was not immune. Thus the changes. They stop short of saying it didn’t work very well, but the tone of their answer page is very much a “let’s wait and see what the future holds.”

From my perspective I continue to remain upbeat and positive. A year ago the industry “puckered.” Layoffs and reorganization had hit most publishers in late 2008 and early 2009, the carnage was visible. Today, we literary agents are working with the survivors. The difference is that, out of necessity, most publishers are now in the business of risk management. They must be careful with their publishing decisions. Few can afford to “experiment.”

But this is a cycle we’ve seen before, with many nuances that make this era quite unique.

And yet we continue to work in an industry that is like no other. The words we write, the ideas we conceive, the truth we impart can make a difference.

Let me leave you with something Ursula LeGuin once wrote:
“In reading a novel, any novel, we have to know perfectly well that the whole thing is nonsense, and then, while reading, believe every word of it.  Finally, when we’re done with it, we may find–if it’s a good novel–that we’re a bit different from what we were before we read it, that we have been changed a little, as if by having met a new face, crossed a street we never crossed before.  But it’s very hard to ‘say’ just what we learned, how we were changed.”
(Language of the Night: Essays on Fantasy and Science Fiction, second edition, Putnam, 1979. Page 158. Available on Google Books.)

Some folks are dismayed by this, and others see it as opportunity. But, as usual, a middle ground can be found. And that middle ground is displayed in the video below.

But first, the articles to read:

The New York Magazine proclaimed “The End” on September 14, 2008 in an article by Boris Kachka.

Publishers Weekly agreed on January 5, 2009 in an article by Peter Olson, former chairman and CEO of Random House .

Mike Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson, chimed in on December 10, 2009 in his insightful blog.

Richard Nash continued the assault on January 5, 2010 in an interview on GalleyCat. More was added the next day.

The below video originally prepared for a recent Penguin sales conference by the UK branch of Dorling Kindersley Books. Watch the entire piece without interruption.

Let me know what you think!

210 billion emails sent per day? I think I get half of those. <!>
20 hours of YouTube videos uploaded every minute?

We swim in a sea of data. So how do you discern what to read or view? In other words, what makes you buy or click?

Take that same mindset and apply it to your next book idea or article. What would make the consumer buy or click it, especially when faced with a plethora of competing options? If your idea, your novel, your insight, can withstand  competitive scrutiny then you have a chance to impact this world. Obscurity equals no audience. That is why publishers are pushing agents and authors to make their “platform” bigger.

Via: Online Schools

Thank you to Tim Challies‘ blog for posting this information.

To fully explain I need to start with the music industry.
The impression is that all sales are now digital. And iTunes has killed the physical CD. This is not true.

Approximately 12 songs fit on a CD. And since individual songs can be downloaded, the only way to compare physical CD sales with download sales is to divide the number of songs downloaded by 12. That way you have a one-to-one comparison.

With that assumption in place, Apple is the #1 retailer of CDs in America. No surprise. The surprise is that they only comprise 25% of sales. Walmart is #2 at 14% and Best Buy is #3 (my guess is that Amazon.com is #4 but wasn’t mentioned in the article).

Why is that surprising? Because that means 75% of all sales are still “hard copy.” Physical CDs. It is significant that Apple’s share has increased as a percentage of all sales from 21% in 2008, up from 14% in 2007. But it still means the physical product is outselling the digital by 3 to 1. (In total dollars, across all forms of music, digital downloads comprise only 35% of all music sales.)

Turn that same conversation to the book industry. The Amazon Kindle has impact primarily because they were first and did create a pretty cool device (I bought one the week it came out in Fall 2007 and upgraded in 2008). The Barnes & Noble Nook is shipping with reports of modest success. The Sony Reader has its followers. Plastic Logic just announced their cool tablet sized reader. And everyone is wondering what Apple will announce in the near(?) future regarding their answer to the “hardware” question.  But despite this we really don’t have an “iPod” equivalent. Mike Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, wrote in 2005 that we are “one device away from a digital revolution.” In my opinion we are still waiting for that device. The iPhone is not the answer for most people. The screen is simply too small. And for someone like myself who reads rather fast it can be very annoying…

Don’t get me wrong. My head isn’t buried in the sand. That revolution is coming and some would say it is already here. But the “tipping point” has yet to occur.

Amazon had a lot of fun announcing that they sold more digital books than physical books on Christmas Day 2009. Think about it. On Christmas Day recipients of the Kindle opened their gift and downloaded stuff while playing with their new toy. But who else would be shopping on Christmas Day? No one. So while it made a fun press release it really isn’t as astounding as it first sounded.

I see the royalty statements. I know exactly how many digital versions of my client’s books are being sold. And while there are a lot more sold than there were two years ago (of course there would be) the volume is still less than 1% of the print version sold. LESS THAN ONE PERCENT.

So let’s do some math. Let’s say that e-books have 100% growth in the next year. That would mean they would comprise 2% of all sales. Then let’s say it grows by 100% again, to 4%. We have to keep doubling the number for 4 years before we get to a little less than 20% of all print sales. But that still means that 80% of all sales are still hard copy. Eighty percent.

Certainly this revolution could happen and is quite likely. The implications are huge, especially for the newspaper and magazine community. But it does not mean that print books are dead.

It is even possible that in one generation (twenty years) that the conversion will take place..at least in some form or fashion. If the e-book reader cost drops to under $100. If the device is in every home, on each family member’s nightstand. If the younger generation’s textbooks are placed into e-book format and that generation becomes used to it. A lot of “ifs.”

It is a very exciting time to be in the publishing industry. I almost get giddy when thinking about the possibilities.

If you want to read someone who will challenge every assumption you’ve ever made about “curling up” with your favorite book, get a copy of Print is Dead by Jeff Gomez. Get a group of friends together to talk about his conclusions, I guarantee a rousing discussion. If you want to learn how the music industry was ambushed by technology read Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age by Steve Knopper.

All I’m trying to say is that we need to stop buying into the myth that books are dead. It simply is not true. We are being influenced by the flood of media attention on the “new” and the “cool” and not looking past the sound bite. It is like relatives or friends writing to say “I saw that there was a flood in Phoenix…are you okay?” Yes. It flooded…in an area with a river wash and someone tried to drive thru it and got stuck. That picture hit the national news. The media gave the impression that the entire city was under water with their breathless coverage. So when you read that publishers are going under, and print books are dinosaurs, and all authors need to rethink everything…take a deep breath. It  is different. It is a time of careful consideration. No publisher wants a repeat of what happened to the record industry. But it is not as bad as you think.

In the end I implore you not to be one who helps perpetuate the myths and misinformation.

That does not include the myriad of email submissions we get (many simply ignoring our guidelines regarding email submissions)…inquiries from those who use the contact form on our web site (many of those ignoring the request to “Please do not copy and paste your entire manuscript into this form.“)

Or the poor soul that failed to proofread their email before sending this sentence, “I would like to send you my quarry letter….”

Nor does it include those that do an Internet search and call us. Recently we got a call that went something  like this:
Agency: This is the Steve Laube Agency…
Caller: What kind of agency are you?
Agency: We are a literary agency.
Caller: What does that mean?
Agency: It means we represent books to publishers on behalf of our clients and manage our client’s careers.
Caller: Oh good. I do comic strips…and they are really unique…  [caller's voice gets faster and louder as they talk]
Agency: Well, we don’t represent artists or comic strip artists.
Caller: But I’m a philosopher too! ….. [further explanation followed]
Agency: Well, we [caller interrupts]
Caller: And I’m also a musician with over 500 songs to my credit.
Agency: Unfortunately we do not represent musicians at this time.
Caller: But I was named Rock musician of the year…
Agency: We’re sorry but it does not appear that our agency would be a good fit for you.
Caller: You want to listen to my stuff for free on Myspace?
Agency: I don’t see how that would be a good use of our time.
Caller: Someday someone will discover it and make millions.
Agency: We wish you the best in all your endeavors…

The day before, the office received a call from an aspiring author who was a psychic who had an “amazing” personal story to tell…oh, and by the way, they also have two novels done and five children’s books ready and waiting.

Meanwhile I look at my to-do list compiled last weekend in preparation for hitting the ground running on Monday January 4th:

• We are waiting for final contract paperwork on four new book deals.
• We have three authors whose proposals will get thumbs up or thumbs down at a pub board in the next week or two.
• We are waiting for proposals from fifteen clients (all in development over the last couple months).
• We need to have “career counsel” conversations with at least ten other clients. (All very different in scope and intensity.)
• We need to make the “do we represent?” decision on five successful and published authors who have approached us and the same decision on at least a half dozen excellent unpublished authors whose full manuscripts have been reviewed and now sit on the floor near my desk…staring at me (they are not in the picture above).

And that was just the to-do list and does not include the review of cover designs and marketing plans for forthcoming titles. Nor does it include the contracted clients who are wrangling with their editors over any number of issues (everything from copy edit/grammar questions to editors not returning a phone call). Don’t get me wrong! I’m not complaining. In fact this is quite an exciting time. But this post is for those who wonder why agents take so long to make representation decisions. I’ve written about rejection before and no agent takes the process lightly. But a little understanding and self education would make every writer’s experience while approaching an agent a little more tolerable.

I fully expect that at least 90% of that stack pictured above isn’t ready yet. It doesn’t mean it isn’t good. Only that it isn’t ready. The competition is fierce and a little extra effort to learn the industry (read Rachelle Gardner’s and Chip MacGregor’s blogs), learn the craft by going to a good writers conference in 2010, and realize this is a marathon, not a sprint.

This was a hard year for many as the economy touched everyone in some way. And yet, despite the ominous cloud of doom and gloom, there were many exciting things to celebrate.

On a personal level our middle daughter was married at the end of June. What a joy to see God at the center of the ceremony. And our oldest daughter had a blast playing keyboards for Alice Cooper (singing “School’s Out”) in front of 50,000 people at the ASU graduation ceremony in May.

On a professional level we had some authors receive wonderful recognition:

• Susan May Warren won the RITA award for best inspirational fiction.
• Margaret Daley won the Holt Medallion award for best short inspirational novel.
• Both Tracey Bateman and Marlo Schalesky won the Christy Award for best Christian fiction in their respective categories.
• John Olson, Pamela Tracy, and Sharon Hinck won four ACFW Book of the Year awards (Sharon won for two different titles).
• I was honored as the Agent of the Year at the ACFW banquet in September.
• Cindy Woodsmall was featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal and hit #24 on the NY Times bestseller list. She was also featured in segment on Nightline.
• Ellie Kay was featured in two separate segments on ABC’s “Nightline”.

But even more exciting is to see a finished book in print. There is such a long time from idea to contract to writing to publication that we can forget the “birth” itself! Therefore I would like present a list of books published in 2009 by authors represented by The Steve Laube Agency. It is really great to see this list all in one place and to think of the hundreds of thousands of readers who have been inspired by these words. It is truly a privilege to work for such incredible writers.

The books are grouped by fiction, children’s/YA, and non-fiction. They are listed in approximate order of their release starting with January. (Note that in some cases we represented only one of the co-authors or collaborators.)

FICTION

The Someday List – Stacy Hawkins Adams (Revell)

Daddy for Keeps – Pamela Tracy (Steeple Hill)

According to Their Deeds – Paul Robertson (Bethany House Publishers)

City of the Dead – T.L. Higley (B&H Publishing Group)

Play it Again, SAHM – Meredith Efken (Steeple Hill Cafe)

Insight – Deborah Raney (Steeple Hill)

If Tomorrow Never Comes – Marlo Schalesky (Multnomah)

Road to Nowhere (paperback release) – Paul Robertson (Bethany House Publishers)

Everybody’s Suspect in Georgia – Cecil Murphey (Barbour Publishing)

Yesterday’s Embers – Deborah Raney (Howard Books)

Nothing But Trouble – Susan May Warren (Tyndale)

Miss Match – Sara Mills (Moody Publishing)

Enduring Love – Bonnie Leon (Revell)

Certain Jeopardy – Jeff Struecker with Alton Gansky (B&H Publishing Group)

Breathe – Lisa Bergren (David C. Cook)

Above All Things – Deborah Raney (Steeple Hill)

You Make Me Feel Like Dancing – Allison Bottke (David C. Cook)

Worth a Thousand Words – Stacy Hawkins Adams (Zondervan)

Return Policy – Michael Snyder (Zondervan)

The Enclave – Karen Hancock (Bethany House Publishers)

The Great Christmas Bowl – Susan May Warren (Tyndale)

The Hope of Refuge – Cindy Woodsmall (Waterbrook)

Meltdown – Chuck Holton (Multnomah)

Sweet Waters – Julie Carobini (B&H Publishing Group)

Fugitive Family – Pamela Tracy (Steeple Hill)

The Sound of Sleigh Bells - Cindy Woodsmall (Waterbrook)

Bride Backfire – Kelly Hake (Barbour Publishing)

Thirsty – Tracey Bateman (Waterbrook)

Blessed (paperback release) – Lisa Bergren (Berkley)

Guardian of the Flame – T.L. Higley (B&H Publishing Group)

Christmas Lamp – Lori Copeland (Zondervan)

Powers – John B. Olson (B&H Publishing Group)

Christmas Peril: Merry MayhemYule Die – Margaret Daley & Debbie Gusti (Steeple Hill)

Clandestine Cover-up – Pamela Tracy (Steeple Hill)

CHILDREN’S / YA

Sir Bentley and Holbrook Court - Chuck Black (Multnomah)

Sir Kendrick and the Castle of Bel Lione (AUDIO) – Chuck Black (Oasis Audio)

Sir Bentley and Holbrook Court (AUDIO) – Chuck Black (Oasis Audio)

Sir Dalton and the Shadow Heart – Chuck Black (Multnomah)

God Found Us You - Lisa Bergren (HarperCollins)

God Gave Us Love – Lisa Bergren (Waterbrook)

NON-FICTION

Only Nuns Change Habits Overnight – Karen Linamen (Waterbrook)

How Can I Run a Tight Ship When I’m Surrounded by Loose Cannons? – Kathi Macias (New Hope)

The Life of A.W. Tozer: In Pursuit of God – James Snyder (Regal Books)

The Purpose of Man: Designed to Worship - A.W. Tozer, edited by James Snyder (Regal Books)

Marriage 101: Building a Life Together by Faith – Jewell Powell (Revell)

Thrive, Don’t Simply Survive – Karol Ladd (Howard Books)

The Jesus of the Bible – Stephen M. Miller (Barbour Publishing)

Life on Planet Mom – Lisa Bergren (Revell)

American Heroes: In the Fight Against Radical Islam – Oliver North and Chuck Holton (B&H Publishing Group)

Reclaiming Christianity: A Call to Authentic Faith – A.W. Tozer, edited by James Snyder (Regal Books)

Your Jesus Is Too Safe: Outgrowing a Drive-Thru, Feel-Good Savior – Jared Wilson (Kregel)

The Diseasing of America’s Children (paperback release) – John Rosemond (Thomas Nelson)

When God Takes Too Long (Book & DVD package) – Joseph Bentz (Beacon Hill)

LT & Me: What Raising a Champion Taught Me about Life, Faith, and Listening to Your Dreams - Loreane Tomlinson with Ginger Kolbaba and Patti Britton

The Little Book of Big Savings – Ellie Kay (Waterbrook)

And He Dwelt Among Us: Teachings from the Gospel of John- A.W. Tozer, edited by James Snyder (Regal Books)

Thrive: Dare to Live Like God- Kevin Johnson (Zondervan/Youth Specialties)

Soar: Sail into God’s Plan for Your Future – Kevin Johnson (Zondervan/Youth Specialties)

Follow: Walk in the Rhythm of Jesus – Kevin Johnson (Zondervan/Youth Specialties)

Think: Figure Out What You Believe and Why – Kevin Johnson (Zondervan/Youth Specialties)

Lord, I Just Want to Be Happy – Leslie Vernick (Harvest House )

The Well Behaved Child: Discipline That Really Works – John Rosemond (Thomas Nelson)

God is Great, God is Good: Why Believing in God is Reasonable and Responsible – William Lane Craig and Chad Meister, general editors (IVP)