After spending a week reading my marketing book, I have had my fill of the jargon that's being used. I know every industry has it, but online marketing terminology seems a little showy to me. I'm willing to admit that maybe it's just my perception--I mean, I work in an industry that commonly refers to an entire excavator as a shovel. The language in the construction industry tends to get more simplified over time, easier for everyone to understand, rather than disguising itself behind words that seem to obscure the meaning rather than enhance it.
Ironically, the one I'm most tired of, due to its intentional ambiguity and overusage, is transparent. This word is being thrown around in all of the business world, as well as politics, which immediately raises a red flag in my mind. Okay, so my understanding is that it is being used in place of the word honest, which we all know cannot be used directly. It seems that the minute you assert that you are an honest person or business, the immediate question is, "why did you feel the need to say that?" Being honest is supposed to be expected. It's like this guy on the bus who was trying to pick up on me by literally bragging that he "doesn't hit women".
I think the other thing the word transparent is trying to convey is that its business practices are visible to all. That makes sense, especially in light of the recent fiasco in the banking and mortage industries. But still... I feel sure that I have heard or read the word transparent more times in the last month than any other time in my life. Enough already.
In the same vein, (regarding word choices, anyway), it's also interesting to note the differences between the preferred terms of corporations and the words used by consumers. One such example, from my book Online Marketing Heroes is that Southwest Airlines advertised their discounted fares as red hot airfares!. But nobody types that into a search engine, so they weren't getting as much traffic as they expected. Consumers liked to use the term cheap airfare or cheap airline, but the executives at Southwest Airlines were reluctant to use that term. The obvious connotation with the word cheap is a sense of worthlessness and low quality. But it was brought to the airline's attention that, if Southwest did not use the word cheap, it will certainly be used by some other airline who will get the customer's business.
So I guess the point of my ramblings today has to do with the power of words and how they affect people. Now if you'll excuse me, I must prepare for a date with my new boyfriend who never hits me.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
Publishing 10 years from now...
Ten years from now... (in my imagination)
There will certainly be continued growth in Print-on-Demand and online material. These options will be the preferable choice just for the lower overhead and lack of need for storage for the printed book. Consequently, there will likely be a smaller need for distributors.
I'm not sure about this whole e-book thing. I'm wondering if the Kindle will go through so many versions that it will require users to upgrade their devices in order to enjoy better technology, and then will be subject to the kind of frustration that we experienced with the Nintendo system-- that eventually, you have to upgrade (or change to a whole new manufacturer for the better procudt) because all the new stuff is only supported by the newest version of the reader. If that happens, I feel like people will eventually get wise to that game and give up on it.
Walking past a music store last weekend, I stopped to ponder how it would be if the printed book went the way of the vinyl record--relics, cool and retro, still existing as the truest media for the artform. But I feel pretty sure it won't happen in the next 10 years, because there are still too many types of books whose content do not lend themselves easily (or at all) to electronic media. Picture books and board books come to mind, and books on photography and art would just not sell well as images on a screen. The tactile aspect feels appropriate and necessary for image-laden books. For these, I do think the small presses are more fit to handle the demand. Maybe this is wishful thinking, but I think in the long run, small publishers are better suited to determine readers' changing demands and respond to them, much like Kelley was sayimg.
On further speculation, how would it be if something happened that wiped out the internet--completely, irreversably destroyed it? What if this event rendered all computers useless? We would have bigger problems than book publishing , that's for sure, but perhaps this would be the only circumstance under which we as a society would get back to creating things by hand, without the aid of electronic devices. We are hopelessly dependent upon the digital world. But without it, we would still have books. We would still share stories. We could still look up information in printed format. I feel more secure just knowing that there are books around us, and the presence and rediscovery of books I knew as a child give me a warm and happy feeling. It makes me sad to think about a child who would not have the opportunity to feel this way about a favorite book. The experience is just not the same with an electronic screen.
Of course, I do believe it will be well over 10 years before any of the giant publishers close thier doors or fail to meet public demand. The three will likley remain strong, and become more competetive with each other over time. Personally, I look forward to the day when the small presses join forces to slay the ugly conglomerate corporations.
*sigh*
There will certainly be continued growth in Print-on-Demand and online material. These options will be the preferable choice just for the lower overhead and lack of need for storage for the printed book. Consequently, there will likely be a smaller need for distributors.
I'm not sure about this whole e-book thing. I'm wondering if the Kindle will go through so many versions that it will require users to upgrade their devices in order to enjoy better technology, and then will be subject to the kind of frustration that we experienced with the Nintendo system-- that eventually, you have to upgrade (or change to a whole new manufacturer for the better procudt) because all the new stuff is only supported by the newest version of the reader. If that happens, I feel like people will eventually get wise to that game and give up on it.
Walking past a music store last weekend, I stopped to ponder how it would be if the printed book went the way of the vinyl record--relics, cool and retro, still existing as the truest media for the artform. But I feel pretty sure it won't happen in the next 10 years, because there are still too many types of books whose content do not lend themselves easily (or at all) to electronic media. Picture books and board books come to mind, and books on photography and art would just not sell well as images on a screen. The tactile aspect feels appropriate and necessary for image-laden books. For these, I do think the small presses are more fit to handle the demand. Maybe this is wishful thinking, but I think in the long run, small publishers are better suited to determine readers' changing demands and respond to them, much like Kelley was sayimg.
On further speculation, how would it be if something happened that wiped out the internet--completely, irreversably destroyed it? What if this event rendered all computers useless? We would have bigger problems than book publishing , that's for sure, but perhaps this would be the only circumstance under which we as a society would get back to creating things by hand, without the aid of electronic devices. We are hopelessly dependent upon the digital world. But without it, we would still have books. We would still share stories. We could still look up information in printed format. I feel more secure just knowing that there are books around us, and the presence and rediscovery of books I knew as a child give me a warm and happy feeling. It makes me sad to think about a child who would not have the opportunity to feel this way about a favorite book. The experience is just not the same with an electronic screen.
Of course, I do believe it will be well over 10 years before any of the giant publishers close thier doors or fail to meet public demand. The three will likley remain strong, and become more competetive with each other over time. Personally, I look forward to the day when the small presses join forces to slay the ugly conglomerate corporations.
*sigh*
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Books and Childhood, continued
Since I really enjoyed the last blog assignment to talk about books that changed our lives, I thought I would say more about the topic of childhood and books.
As soon as I could read, I was enamoured with books. Fiction was my favorite, but if someone's real life had an engaging story to it, I was into that as well (Anne Frank and Helen Keller come to mind here). I liked to feel like I really understood the characters and was with them during their adventures, and I aspired to create fun characters and situations for myself when I wrote.
I didn't grow up with parents who read. My dad liked Isaac Asimov and had some of his novels on his bookshelf, but I don't recall ever really observing my parents reading. In fact, I would go so far as to say that my mom is an anti-reader, and says that she doesn't have time to sit around and "do nothing". I thought about that recently, and I asked her why she never got into reading as a child, and I discovered something interesting and sad. I knew that as a child, my mom spent five years in Doernbecher's Children's Hospital with a chronic kidney condition, and her parents visited her on the weekends. But my mom said that she doesn't remember there being very many books around the ward when she was there. That would have been during the late 1950's or early 1960's. That seems terribly sad to me. I had other questions, too, that I couldn't bring myself to ask, especially the question about why didn't her parents bring her some books, or read them to her when they came to visit?
I worked as a nanny for four and a half years, and I read to the kids every day I was there. I chose funny and interesting picture books and middle grade novels, and fell in love with those books myself. I loved the reactions the kids had, and the discussions it sparked. I read to them at dinner every night, which we all looked forward to. It was such a gratifying exchange between us, and I am sad that my mother missed out on that in her own childhood. For myself, I still feel a strong connection with my childhood when I read and write. It may be the reason I am drawn to children's books. I'm right there with Whitney when she talks about her love of YA literature, and that's why I want to be involved in some capacity with creating/publishing/editing books for kids. It still feels like home to me.
As soon as I could read, I was enamoured with books. Fiction was my favorite, but if someone's real life had an engaging story to it, I was into that as well (Anne Frank and Helen Keller come to mind here). I liked to feel like I really understood the characters and was with them during their adventures, and I aspired to create fun characters and situations for myself when I wrote.
I didn't grow up with parents who read. My dad liked Isaac Asimov and had some of his novels on his bookshelf, but I don't recall ever really observing my parents reading. In fact, I would go so far as to say that my mom is an anti-reader, and says that she doesn't have time to sit around and "do nothing". I thought about that recently, and I asked her why she never got into reading as a child, and I discovered something interesting and sad. I knew that as a child, my mom spent five years in Doernbecher's Children's Hospital with a chronic kidney condition, and her parents visited her on the weekends. But my mom said that she doesn't remember there being very many books around the ward when she was there. That would have been during the late 1950's or early 1960's. That seems terribly sad to me. I had other questions, too, that I couldn't bring myself to ask, especially the question about why didn't her parents bring her some books, or read them to her when they came to visit?
I worked as a nanny for four and a half years, and I read to the kids every day I was there. I chose funny and interesting picture books and middle grade novels, and fell in love with those books myself. I loved the reactions the kids had, and the discussions it sparked. I read to them at dinner every night, which we all looked forward to. It was such a gratifying exchange between us, and I am sad that my mother missed out on that in her own childhood. For myself, I still feel a strong connection with my childhood when I read and write. It may be the reason I am drawn to children's books. I'm right there with Whitney when she talks about her love of YA literature, and that's why I want to be involved in some capacity with creating/publishing/editing books for kids. It still feels like home to me.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Thank you, E.B. White
The first book that ever changed my life would have to be Charlotte's Webb. I think I was in third or fourth grade when I read it, and it was during silent reading time in the afternoon, after recess (my teacher always thought reading was a good way for us to calm down after the chaos of recess).
So, there I was, reading away, never anticipating how this story would end. Maybe I was so focused on the threat on Wilbur's life that I didn't see it coming. But really, I wasn't one to try to anticipate the endings. I liked to be surprised. Well, this one just pulled the rug out from under me... I couldn't believe one of the main characters DIED! It was the first book I had ever read that was sad. I was really embarrassed that I was the only kid in the class who was crying while reading, and my teacher pulled me aside to make sure I was okay. I had not yet known anyone who died, I was so affected by the permanence of death, and more particularly by Charlotte's sacrifice for her friend. It was so moving to me.
Reading that book affected my writing. I loved to write, and had always been in the habit of creating books with drawings and giving them to my parents, teachers, and friends to look at. I enjoyed getting some kind of reaction, hopefully entertaining the reader, or making them laugh. This time, I tried writing a sad story. My characters were a horse and a cat who were friends, and the cat died during some fight trying to defend his friend. What was the reaction? My teacher was concerned about the violence, and my parents were openly disapproving. They asked me why there needed to be a fight, and why the character died. So, I went back and rewrote the end! It was hand written, of course, so just above the drawing on the last page, I squeezed in a line that said something like, "But wait, what's that around the corner? It's Charlie! He was alive!"
But even at the age of seven or eight, I knew that was lame. This was my story! My readers don't get to tell me how it ends! So as a future editor, I have complete respect that a story belongs to the author first, and that my job as an editor is to help with how it's told, to help the author shape it, and to help them come up with the best version of the story they want to tell.
As a side note, I later discovered that my parents have an issue with sad endings in general. They get uncomfortable during movies that end sadly, and if they know a movie will be sad, they will choose not to watch it. So last year, I took a sick satisfaction in making them watch "Million Dollar Baby", which they knew nothing about. They were pissed!
So, there I was, reading away, never anticipating how this story would end. Maybe I was so focused on the threat on Wilbur's life that I didn't see it coming. But really, I wasn't one to try to anticipate the endings. I liked to be surprised. Well, this one just pulled the rug out from under me... I couldn't believe one of the main characters DIED! It was the first book I had ever read that was sad. I was really embarrassed that I was the only kid in the class who was crying while reading, and my teacher pulled me aside to make sure I was okay. I had not yet known anyone who died, I was so affected by the permanence of death, and more particularly by Charlotte's sacrifice for her friend. It was so moving to me.
Reading that book affected my writing. I loved to write, and had always been in the habit of creating books with drawings and giving them to my parents, teachers, and friends to look at. I enjoyed getting some kind of reaction, hopefully entertaining the reader, or making them laugh. This time, I tried writing a sad story. My characters were a horse and a cat who were friends, and the cat died during some fight trying to defend his friend. What was the reaction? My teacher was concerned about the violence, and my parents were openly disapproving. They asked me why there needed to be a fight, and why the character died. So, I went back and rewrote the end! It was hand written, of course, so just above the drawing on the last page, I squeezed in a line that said something like, "But wait, what's that around the corner? It's Charlie! He was alive!"
But even at the age of seven or eight, I knew that was lame. This was my story! My readers don't get to tell me how it ends! So as a future editor, I have complete respect that a story belongs to the author first, and that my job as an editor is to help with how it's told, to help the author shape it, and to help them come up with the best version of the story they want to tell.
As a side note, I later discovered that my parents have an issue with sad endings in general. They get uncomfortable during movies that end sadly, and if they know a movie will be sad, they will choose not to watch it. So last year, I took a sick satisfaction in making them watch "Million Dollar Baby", which they knew nothing about. They were pissed!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Scholastic's "book" clubs
I read this article that Brian posted in his comments on Whitney's last blog:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/books/10scho.html?_r=2&scp=2&sq=Scholastic&st=cse
It was about how 1/3 of the items sold in Scholastic's brochures were either nonbook items or books packaged with other items. That's a rather high proportion, and it was called into question whether Scholastic was misusing its book clubs to market other types of retail items in schools.
In my opinion, the strongest statement that was made in that article came from the director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. She said that these items send the wrong message to kids-- that a book alone is not enough, and that children may start choosing books by what they receive with it rather than for the book itself. I believe she's right, and it's a bit offensive to see books marketed this way. It seems, to me, the ugly side of marketing. A "we'll do anything that works" attitude. I'm also turned off by the greediness of the publisher who raked in the money from publishing Harry Potter. I mean, how much money is enough of a profit? Doesn't this publishing house make enough revenue not to have to resort to such obvious marketing tactics?
On the other hand, it does work. Kids will get excited about the stuff they'll get with the books, and it will get books into the hand of kids. But effective sales is no measure of ethics. How do we know the kids won't toss the book aside with the packaging, just to get to the "fun stuff"? It scares me to think of books being devalued this way.
It reminds me of how much things have changed since I was a child reader. I used to LOVE getting the Scholastic brochures, bringing them home to peruse through and circling all the things I wanted. I was allowed to get only one book each time, so I would use pencil and start circling all the ones I wanted. Then I'd go back through and erase the ones I had decided against until I finally left only one book circled, and then I gave it to my mother to place the order. I wonder how much stickers and posters and such would have influenced my choices? It's a hard question to answer retrospectively.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/books/10scho.html?_r=2&scp=2&sq=Scholastic&st=cse
It was about how 1/3 of the items sold in Scholastic's brochures were either nonbook items or books packaged with other items. That's a rather high proportion, and it was called into question whether Scholastic was misusing its book clubs to market other types of retail items in schools.
In my opinion, the strongest statement that was made in that article came from the director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. She said that these items send the wrong message to kids-- that a book alone is not enough, and that children may start choosing books by what they receive with it rather than for the book itself. I believe she's right, and it's a bit offensive to see books marketed this way. It seems, to me, the ugly side of marketing. A "we'll do anything that works" attitude. I'm also turned off by the greediness of the publisher who raked in the money from publishing Harry Potter. I mean, how much money is enough of a profit? Doesn't this publishing house make enough revenue not to have to resort to such obvious marketing tactics?
On the other hand, it does work. Kids will get excited about the stuff they'll get with the books, and it will get books into the hand of kids. But effective sales is no measure of ethics. How do we know the kids won't toss the book aside with the packaging, just to get to the "fun stuff"? It scares me to think of books being devalued this way.
It reminds me of how much things have changed since I was a child reader. I used to LOVE getting the Scholastic brochures, bringing them home to peruse through and circling all the things I wanted. I was allowed to get only one book each time, so I would use pencil and start circling all the ones I wanted. Then I'd go back through and erase the ones I had decided against until I finally left only one book circled, and then I gave it to my mother to place the order. I wonder how much stickers and posters and such would have influenced my choices? It's a hard question to answer retrospectively.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Okay, Amazon. You win THIS time...
Just as I was about to smugly declare that I couldn't remember the last time I even bought anything online (even without online promotions)...that's when Amazon reared its ugly head.
There it was, a message in my e-mail box as if they knew what the blog topic was going to be. The subject line declared innocently, "Amazon recommends 'Caroline in the City, Second Season' and more..." This was a TV show from 13 years ago that I loved, and it was impossibly hard to find. Six months ago, I did find the first season by searching on Amazon, and I put the second season on my wish list. So, I made it easy for them.
I clicked on the link and filled in my info, and on the way through this process, I had two more offers: The first one was if I signed up for a free trial membership of Amazon Prime, I would get free shipping. I didn't even stick around long enough to find out that the little program was all about, because I do not like signing up for things and having to remember to cancel them later, once they are no longer free. Plus, for me, free shipping is not enough incentive because I'm not in a hurry and will pay a couple bucks for the slowest shipping they have.
The second offer was for an Amazon credit card, and if I applied, I would get a $30 credit on my order which would bring the total down to almost nothing. (I suppose the combination of both these offers would have made my purchase "free"). But I categorically decline all credit card offers because I like to shop for my own credit card terms (I worked for a credit card company for 5 years, so I'm very specific about what I want).
So, the total for this order was something like $32.00, which was both Cheap (Commerce) and Convenient. But I didn't get to feel like part of a Community like I would if I bought something at Powell's (of whom I'm a fan on Facebook). But I rationalized that Powell's doesn't sell DVD's, so I have to buy from the evil corporation who knows what I want.
There it was, a message in my e-mail box as if they knew what the blog topic was going to be. The subject line declared innocently, "Amazon recommends 'Caroline in the City, Second Season' and more..." This was a TV show from 13 years ago that I loved, and it was impossibly hard to find. Six months ago, I did find the first season by searching on Amazon, and I put the second season on my wish list. So, I made it easy for them.
I clicked on the link and filled in my info, and on the way through this process, I had two more offers: The first one was if I signed up for a free trial membership of Amazon Prime, I would get free shipping. I didn't even stick around long enough to find out that the little program was all about, because I do not like signing up for things and having to remember to cancel them later, once they are no longer free. Plus, for me, free shipping is not enough incentive because I'm not in a hurry and will pay a couple bucks for the slowest shipping they have.
The second offer was for an Amazon credit card, and if I applied, I would get a $30 credit on my order which would bring the total down to almost nothing. (I suppose the combination of both these offers would have made my purchase "free"). But I categorically decline all credit card offers because I like to shop for my own credit card terms (I worked for a credit card company for 5 years, so I'm very specific about what I want).
So, the total for this order was something like $32.00, which was both Cheap (Commerce) and Convenient. But I didn't get to feel like part of a Community like I would if I bought something at Powell's (of whom I'm a fan on Facebook). But I rationalized that Powell's doesn't sell DVD's, so I have to buy from the evil corporation who knows what I want.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Fun with Print-on-Demand, recreationally speaking
A week ago, I spent the entire weekend writing and illustrating a short children's book for my library media class. It was one of those times where a great idea occurs to you almost too late, and you have to rush to make it happen. In short, my instructor was going to Guatemala (leaving on Friday the 13th) for a literacy conference, and had mentioned to our class that the schools in Guatemala have very few books. Therefore, she was taking with her as many books in Spanish as she could carry in her suitcase. Since we are required to complete a creative project for that class, I decided to make a book to be translated to Spanish by my friend who is a native speaker.
Because the schools in Guatemala have no climate control, my teacher advised that if we were to find any books to donate, they needed to be hard backed. That's when I knew I'd have to find a printing service to print my book, and so I looked into the options through an online company called Blurb (http://www.blurb.com/). They have a free software program called Booksmart that you can download on your computer, and then you can upload your scanned images into the file to create your own book.
The software was easy to download and incredibly easy to use. I am confident that a child could use it. And the finished products are pleasing--I spent some time perusing some of the other children's books that other people created. Blurb even has a feature to set your own price, so that you can mark up your book and make a profit. I did not choose to utilize this feature, as I made this book for a specific purpose and felt that it had limited marketability. But for those who choose to market their creations, the site provides a number of avenues, including starting a blog through blurb's website, linking to social networking sites, and using Google tools.
This was a unique experience for me. When I discussed it with my teacher, and worried about if finished product would be good enough, she said to me, "Just do your best. In a school that doesn't have enough books, the difference between something and nothing is a lot." That changed my perspective. So then, for me, the appeal of this assignment was that I did not have to feel the pressure of creating a saleable product. My focus was entirely upon creating a simple book with an easy storyline and interesting pictures. For the purpose of that assignment, once the finished product was done, so was my work, as the marketing aspect was completely removed.
On a side note, the other missing piece was editing. Of course, I had my friend's translation edited by a Spanish professor for grammatical accuracy, but no one edited the content. Since I was using the story of the three pigs, it was not really necessary, but I still felt the void. I feel that editing by a third party is an important and crucial step for every piece of writing, and regardless of a story's simplicity, it will never be as good as it could be without the input of a good editor. Looking at the other people's work, I could also recognize the creativity that had not been fine-tuned, and the resulting rawness that these books exhibited. That is why I feel a strong attraction to becoming an editor.
As another experiment, I am considering creating another simple project, perhaps one more heavily laden with photos/imagery rather than writing, and putting it on the Blurb's website just to play with the marketing aspects.
Anybody have any ideas for a generic and simple, image-focused book I could create for this purpose?
Because the schools in Guatemala have no climate control, my teacher advised that if we were to find any books to donate, they needed to be hard backed. That's when I knew I'd have to find a printing service to print my book, and so I looked into the options through an online company called Blurb (http://www.blurb.com/). They have a free software program called Booksmart that you can download on your computer, and then you can upload your scanned images into the file to create your own book.
The software was easy to download and incredibly easy to use. I am confident that a child could use it. And the finished products are pleasing--I spent some time perusing some of the other children's books that other people created. Blurb even has a feature to set your own price, so that you can mark up your book and make a profit. I did not choose to utilize this feature, as I made this book for a specific purpose and felt that it had limited marketability. But for those who choose to market their creations, the site provides a number of avenues, including starting a blog through blurb's website, linking to social networking sites, and using Google tools.
This was a unique experience for me. When I discussed it with my teacher, and worried about if finished product would be good enough, she said to me, "Just do your best. In a school that doesn't have enough books, the difference between something and nothing is a lot." That changed my perspective. So then, for me, the appeal of this assignment was that I did not have to feel the pressure of creating a saleable product. My focus was entirely upon creating a simple book with an easy storyline and interesting pictures. For the purpose of that assignment, once the finished product was done, so was my work, as the marketing aspect was completely removed.
On a side note, the other missing piece was editing. Of course, I had my friend's translation edited by a Spanish professor for grammatical accuracy, but no one edited the content. Since I was using the story of the three pigs, it was not really necessary, but I still felt the void. I feel that editing by a third party is an important and crucial step for every piece of writing, and regardless of a story's simplicity, it will never be as good as it could be without the input of a good editor. Looking at the other people's work, I could also recognize the creativity that had not been fine-tuned, and the resulting rawness that these books exhibited. That is why I feel a strong attraction to becoming an editor.
As another experiment, I am considering creating another simple project, perhaps one more heavily laden with photos/imagery rather than writing, and putting it on the Blurb's website just to play with the marketing aspects.
Anybody have any ideas for a generic and simple, image-focused book I could create for this purpose?
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