CS4W: Welcome, Jerry and thank you for joining us! Please tell us about your book, What Writers Need to Know About Publishing.
Jerry: After leaving New York I started writing about my experience over the previous 25 years. It became my therapy and a way of bringing closure to that part of my life. After nine months of writing some friends asked me to send them a copy and when they read it, recommended I turn it into a book.
Since I was opposed to becoming “part of the system” about which I wrote, I rejected the notion of publishing with a big publisher and decided to do it myself. My book is the result and I am hopeful it will answer many of the questions writers have about New York publishing. It was written from an insider’s perspective and gives the reader a sense of what it’s like to have your manuscript published by one of the big companies.
CS4W: Why did you decide to write this book?
Jerry: It was not a conscience decision to write this book or any book, it became a way for me to express the frustrations of big time publishing. The business is not what it was when I started in the late 1970’s. It has become a business where unsuspecting writers and their works can be driven into the ground, never to emerge and in the process end the careers of writers before it has a chance to begin. New York publishers are not the places for writers who do not understand the business of marketing and publishing books.
CS4W: What are some of the changes you see in publishing today?
Jerry: The biggest and most disturbing change is that publishing is no longer about great writing, it’s about good stories and clever marketing. You can’t sell great writing to the public; it has to be a good story. Editors are looking for writers who can sell and write a good story. If the writer isn’t someone that can sell their own story to the public then it’s unlikely their manuscript will be acquired. Every author has to have the ability to meet the public, speak intelligently about their book, and sell every step of the way. If you are a writer and you want nothing to do with marketing or meeting the public, your chance of becoming a published author does not exist. Even if you have the ability to meet the public and sell, as well as write a good story, you must understand the process of how your book becomes published and the business behind it all really works. You have a slim chance of becoming a successfully published author, one whose career extends beyond one book, if you don’t have a basic understanding. The new young authors who survive have the ability to extend their readership beyond the bookstore, write a good story every six months, understand the business of publishing, how to work the system, and know the marketplace. It requires so much more to be successful today as an author than merely being a good storyteller.
CS4W: Can you please explain Independent publishing to us and the role/impact it will have in the future?
Jerry: Independent publishing, often referred to as self-publishing, is the wave of the future. It is the single biggest growth area in publishing and will largely determine how books are published in the future. The old ways of doing business in publishing are in decline, sales are down and have been on a steady track south for more than ten years. Readers are tired of the same old things, they want new and different, unique categories, special interest books, niche titles, all the things the biggest publishers oppose.
The cost of getting a book published is dropping with the introduction of print-on-demand technology. The cost of producing a single title in small print runs has dropped. This creates tremendous opportunities for Independent authors IF they understand the fact that the biggest publishers control the marketplace and learn how to stop wasting time and money trying to create a place for themselves in the traditional market.
The only way for Independent authors to sell books is collectively create a voice and bring attention to what they are doing. Few can afford to do this on their own, the cost is prohibitive. IF independent authors gather in one place then they can generate the kind of collective publicity it takes to sell books on a recognizable scale. Once they accomplish this, their introduction to the traditional market will be welcomed, but you can’t force your way into something the biggest publishers control and that is the market for retail book sales.
CS4W: In addition to an editor, who are some of the key in-house people you should build a relationship with, and why?
Jerry: Writers who sign contracts with a big publisher must create a relationship with someone in every department in the company that has a role in publishing their manuscript. Editorial, publicity, advertising, production, marketing, sales, virtually every department. There are various ways to go about this and I introduce what I feel is the most effective in my book. Failure to recognize the process of getting a book to print can be disastrous for an author and in 25 years of working in New York I can tell that 99.9% do not have a clue! This is often a fatal mistake for many writers, so don’t make it!
The reason an author needs this relationship is because publishers are in the business of producing products, i.e. books. Your individual title is one of thousands. If you don’t learn how to separate yourself and your book from all the others on the list, you have little chance of being successful at selling copies. In order to survive as an author and continue your career as a writer, you need to be smart about the business.
CS4W: You’ve worked with so many bestsellers. Is there a formula for creating one?
Jerry: I’ve been asked this question many times and the truth is no, there is no formula. Certainly there are many factors that enter into a book becoming a bestseller, but the most important, and the one publishers have the least control over is timing. A book can be a great story, with a fantastic cover, edited brilliantly, is supported by the most creative marketing, advertising and promotion campaign imaginable, and still fail to sell copies.
This is what makes book sales and publishing so much fun, it’s a mystery! The problem is, there is little creativity in publishing so those familiar with the process see the same things over and over and often the results are the same.
The best prediction of a certain bestseller is the brand name, the author. The biggest names will sell copies and that is probably the only certain thing about publishing. However timing can greatly impact exactly how many copies are sold, so again, this factor is beyond the control of the forces in the industry.
There are obviously things you need to know when trying to create a bestseller and they include understanding the seasonal aspects of a book release, understanding what works in the marketplace, pricing, cover design and especially editorial. If you fail in any one of those areas, you greatly diminish your chances of successfully selling any book.
CS4W: What are the realities of getting into a bookstore, especially for a first time author?
Jerry: For an Independently published title the realities of getting your book into a bookstore is not good. Especially if you want a large distribution, meaning many bookstores over a large geographic area. Bookstores are controlled by the largest publishers. They have difficulty getting their own titles into a large number of bookstores across a wide portion of the country. They are the ones that will keep your book out of stores and they do this by paying for the shelf space, and through an assortment of subsidies to retailers.
Writers who expect bookstore placement for their book will be in for a big surprise, it won’t happen. The key for the self-published title is to avoid wasting time and spending money on programs the so-called experts sell under the banner “we can help you sell books.” My recommendation is authors invest $20, buy my book, and read what it’s really like. Then be smart about how you market your own title.
There are many advantages to being a self-published author, IF you understand the business of publishing.
CS4W: In the past, self-published authors didn’t seem to get the respect they deserved. Thankfully, that has changed. Would you agree with this? If yes, why?
Jerry: To some extent, self-published authors are starting to gain more respect, but there is still a very long way to go. One way the big publishers have intentionally hurt the self-published market is to label all self-published books as being of “inferior quality.” To a large extent this is true and what I mean by that is easily 75% of all self-published titles are not professionally edited. I don’t care how good a writer you are, everyone who wants to become a published author, MUST utilize the skills of a professional freelance editor. There are no exceptions to this rule!
Regardless of whether your friend or neighbor is a high school English teacher or your sister reads a lot of books, they are not professional editors. If self-published authors are serious about selling books, and want to be taken as serious writers, they MUST hire a professional editor. You don’t realize how important this is if you ever expect to gain the respect and credibility of the overall marketplace. If every self-published book was professionally edited, you would see a dramatic increase in overall book sales of Independently published titles.
CS4W: If an author is looking to self-publish, what would you say is the most important thing to look for when choosing a publisher?
Jerry: The single most important thing is to gauge the quality of the books they publish, both in production and editorial. Price is certainly a consideration, but every author should do some research and ask (1) if the publisher prints their own books? (2) if not, who does their printing? Then ask to see copies of previously published titles. Look at bindings, page layout, cover design. Take the books to the bookstore and compare to the titles on the shelves. When comparing side by side can you easily distinguish the big publisher from the one you are considering? If your answer is yes, you might want to keep looking. You should also consider if your publisher has experience in publishing your particular type of book. A company that focuses on mysteries may not be the best choice for a non-fiction title on parenting. Don’t choose the least expensive or the quickest to delivery, quality control is the key.
CS4W: I love the idea of Nothing Binding. Please tell our readers about the site and the many benefits offered.
Jerry: Nothing Binding was created as a global stage for writers and authors. The site is the place where you can introduce yourself as an author and your title to readers, editors, and agents from around the world. Create a free profile of yourself, upload your book cover, your personal photo, write your bio, your inspiration, and basically create a presentation either in audio or video of who you are and what you write. Nothing Binding is using today’s technology to bring readers from around the world to one web site where they can see, hear, and read about books that cannot be found in the traditional bookstores.
The self-publishing or Independent market is highly fractured. There are millions of authors, individual web sites, mixtures of a variety of web sites selling products and services but not one single location where it all comes together and that is Nothing Binding. It was created as the single biggest social networking site for writers, regardless of whether they are published authors. Editors and agents are constantly looking for talent, Nothing Binding is the stage where new talent can be found, and the best part is the site is free for writers, authors, readers, anyone interested in discovering new titles, new writers, what we call voices never heard and stories never told.
CS4W: I had the pleasure of hearing you speak at the Infinity conference. Could you please share the story of the author whose book was first being sold at a car wash?
Jerry: One of the most successful books in the history of publishing, started as a self-published book that wouldn’t sell.
This gentleman who became financially successful at a young age wrote this book and decided to self-publish. After months of failing to sell copies, a friend who felt sorry for him decided to take a few copies and try to sell them at his car wash. Now if you listed the top 100 retail locations for selling books, a car wash wouldn’t make the list.
After a few months of this book sitting on a shelf in a car wash without success, a gentleman happened in, picked the book up, began reading, bought a copy and took it home. He was so inspired by the writing that he called the author and bought his entire inventory. This man happened to be an Amway distributor and wanted all of his employees to read this book.
That one sale caught the attention of the Wall Street Journal and eventually the book hit the bottom of their bestseller list. Once that happened the book started appearing on more and more bestsellers to the point where big publishers were pursing this author for the rights to publish the book.
The title is “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” and the author is Robert Kiyosaki. Today, over seven years later, that book has sold over 23 million copies, and it started in a car wash.
CS4W: I’m sure you’ll be attending conferences this year. Will you be presenting workshops? If so, please tell us where and when.
Jerry: My next major conference is in Henderson, Nevada in April. Then I travel to Michigan in May and New York City in August. Anyone interested can email me ( jerry@writersreaders.com ) or visit my web site ( www.WritersReaders.com )for dates and locations.
CS4W: Where can our readers purchase What Writers Need to Know About Publishing?
Jerry: The only place to purchase my book is at one of my seminars, or on my web site ( www.WritersReaders.com ). At this point in time I have not listed my book on Amazon or any other major online bookseller, so visit my site and buy your copy, you’ll find the information helpful and surprising.
CS4W: Before we part, would you mind sharing a piece of advice that you, yourself have found useful on your journey to becoming a published author?
Jerry: Learn patience, its easy today to get a book published but selling books is difficult. You will spend a lot of money and waste a lot of time if you don’t understand the business and learn the marketplace. This is critical for success no matter how you decide to publish.
Be realistic in your goals as an author, we all want success, but it should be grounded in reality. Everyone has a chance of getting a shot at becoming a bestseller but you can greatly improve your chances if you understand what’s possible. Work the system to your advantage, you need information to make that happen.
Finally, be smart about marketing…do not try to compete against the big publishers, it won’t work. There are tricks of the trade and the most important is learning how to compete effectively. This will save you time, money, and avoid frustration. Be smart about how you sell your book.
Anything is possible, if you understand how to gather the information and make informed decisions. That is what my web sites and book are all about.
CS4W: Thank you again, Jerry for being with us! We appreciate your time and most of all, your knowledge and encouragement.
About Jerry Simmons
My career in publishing began in the fall of 1977 as a Sales Representative for Random House. In 1979 I joined the book division at Warner Communications, where I spent more than twenty-three years in sales and management. During that time the company expanded to become The Time Warner Book Group (sold in 2006 to Hachette Book Group USA, a French Company). Our sales team distributed over a thousand titles a year from a number of large publishing houses including Little, Brown; Warner Books; Hyperion; Miramax Books; Bulfinch; Back Bay; Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; and Disney. I sold books to some of the largest independent booksellers and mass merchants in the country as well as managing a sales force nationwide. I retired as Vice-President, Director Field Sales in 2003.
Now I spend my time writing, teaching, and speaking with writers about the importance of understanding the marketplace for selling books and the business of publishing. My commitment is to provide essential information writers need for achieving success. My goal is to help writers become successfully published authors by educating them about the business of publishing and revealing the secrets of the largest booksellers and publishers in the world.
