Posts Tagged ‘Business’
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
Every year Beloit College creates a “Mindset List” which reflects the culture that the incoming Freshman class have grown up experiencing. It helps their faculty know how to relate to these incoming students. Click here for this year’s Mindset List.
I download this list every year and read it with increasing wonder at the speed of our cultural changes.
The college graduating class of 2014 was born in 1992. Think about that for a second. If you are a writer, you can no longer assume that your audience will understand your cultural references. In a mere six years, today’s 18-year-olds will be adults…possibly with families and jobs and children…they will be reading your books and articles.
And you will only be six years older than you are now.
Think about it …
For the class of 2014 Czechoslovakia has never existed.
For the class of 2014 Ruth Bader Ginsburg has always sat on the Supreme Court.
For the class of 2014 Clint Eastwood is better known as a sensitive director than as Dirty Harry.
There are 72 other observations in this year’s list.
Earlier lists illustrate things even more dramatically.
For this generation of future readers:
MTV has never featured music videos.
They have never used a card catalog to find a book.
Wal-Mart has always been a larger retailer than Sears.
Tiananmen Square is a 2008 Olympics venue, not the scene of a massacre.
Bobby Cox has always managed the Atlanta Braves.
The Green Giant has always been Shrek, not the big guy picking vegetables.
They have never seen “Magic” Johnson play an NBA basketball game since he has always been HIV-positive
They have grown up with bottled water.
Google has become a verb.
Smoking has never been allowed on a US airplane flight
Food packaging has always included nutritional labeling
It also dawned on me that, for these incoming Freshman, 9/11 happened when they were nine years old. Pause for a moment and try to remember what major world changing event occurred when you were nine or ten? Then ask if it really changed the way you saw the world. Of course it didn’t…you were nine. (For me it was the assassination of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy in the same year, 1968.) Your parents were effected but you weren’t, at least not as much. This means we have a new generation of readers who were only tangentially affected by 9/11.
So, the next time you visualize the audience to which you are writing, realize that they don’t think like you, process information like you, or see the world the same way you do.
With all this change it is comforting to know that our Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)
Tags: Business, Trends, Writing
Posted in Trends, Writing | 11 Comments »
Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010
Major news in the bookselling world. Today the board of directors for Barnes & Noble have announced they are going to “evaluate strategic alternatives.”
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!
Tags: Bookselling, Business, E-Books
Posted in Business, Publishing | 3 Comments »
Monday, July 26th, 2010
The writing profession starts off as a private venture. Creating ideas and stories in the privacy of your own home. But those of you who become serious about the work and slowly become more visible the issue of personal protection needs to be addressed.
I cannot emphasize this enough. Eighteen years ago I began working as an editor for Bethany House, but I worked from home. I never considered the need to keep my home address out of the public eye until I had three separate writers show up at my front door with manuscript in hand asking to see me. Very quickly I secured a mail box at a local mail service, changed my business cards, and have never made that mistake again.
I thought it appropriate to discuss a few of the simple steps you can take to protect yourself from your adoring public. I asked Ellie Kay to write down some of the ideas she has used. She started writing books for Bethany House in 1998 as a stay-at-home mom, since that time her platform has grown to national proportions.
“Be as wise as serpents and gentle as doves.” As many of you know, I’m on national, mainstream media weekly (both radio and TV) and I’m so thankful I have these safeguards set up. Before I did this, I was stalked a couple of times!
I would encourage writers to do a few basic security checks:
1) Set up a PO Box – Or use a mail service (like a UPS store) that has a physical address where you can received FEDEX and UPS packages. You should never list your physical address on any promo materials.
2) Set up an Online Contact Form — This uses code that the person will have to enter in order to send your office (or you) a note. Never have your email address listed openly on a website as there are cyber-spiders that crawl the internet, harvesting these addresses and sells them to spammers. If you do list your email, have your webmaster put a space in it somewhere and indicate to the reader that they will have to adjust the script when they mail it. I.E. assistant @ elliekay.com or [assistant at elliekay.com].
3) Set up an Assistant Account — This should be where your online contact form sends mail. Even if you cannot afford a assistant, set up this account. Then, if you feel compelled to respond to fringe people, then your assistant can do it first and there’s another layer of protection.
4) Set up Caller ID – Our phone won’t accept blocked calls. The caller has to leave a message and wait, if their ID is blocked.
5) Do Not Engage — Chuck Swindoll says he never reads an anonymous letter, I take his advice. He said, “If they don’t have the courage to put their name on it, then it’s not worth my time.” The same applies to email, you don’t have to respond or engage a looney. If you get a bad feeling about the person, then do not feel you (or your assistant) has to respond to the fringe. Pray for wisdom and act accordingly.”
Thank you Ellie! Those are excellent ideas. The one about the email is very important unless you want to be deluged by s.p.a.m. I made that mistake in the early 90s and had to change my email address to escape the flood.
In addition, consider setting up your writing business under an LLC (limited liability corporation). This will help separate your personal income from your business income. I did this for our agency at the very beginning. Ask your tax accountant for advice on how to set it up and use it. The easiest book to digest on this subject is Limited Liability Companies for Dummies by Jennifer Reuting.
A couple of our clients have gone a step further and created and S-Corporation (Inc.). This is a much more complicated procedure but has distinct advantages and protections, especially if you get sued. Again, consult experts in these areas before doing anything on your own. The best book I’ve read on the subject is Inc. Yourself by Judith McQuown . Make sure to buy the Tenth edition (published 2004) as the laws changed a few years ago.
If you plan to sell books from your home or office don’t forget to obtain a sales license for your city and state (each city and state have different laws and procedures on this). Why? Because if you sell books to anyone in your state you must collect state and local sales tax. Even if you don’t want to charge tax at your book table, you are still liable for those taxes. Again, this varies widely by state. Just make sure you are doing the right thing where you live.
If there are other idea you have or questions on these issues feel free to post below and I will try my best to help.
Tags: Business, Contracts, Internet Usage, Writing
Posted in Business, Writing | 10 Comments »
Every year Beloit College creates a “Mindset List” which reflects the culture that the incoming Freshman class have grown up experiencing. It helps their faculty know how to relate to these incoming students. Click here for this year’s Mindset List.
