Wal-Mart

Amish fiction: Put a bonnet on it
September 1, 2012

With mommy porn bestseller Fifty Shades of Grey whipping up a sadomasochistic storm in the female book market this summer, it might seem safe to assume that old-fashioned romance novels, in which the protagonists prefer hastily confessed feelings and innocent first kisses to heavy petting and handcuffs, would begin to disappear from the shelves. After all, now that someone is finally writing erotica for the estrogen set, who needs tender love stories?

The Amish, that’s who.

How to Sell to the World’s Biggest Retailer
August 31, 2012

During an interview, Duncan MacNaughton, Chief Marketing Officer at Wal-mart, U.S. said, “We are a pretty big company and our size can be daunting to potential vendors, but that isn’t true. We are constantly challenging our buyers to help us be relevant and local. And smaller suppliers play an important role in that. So if you think your company it too small to sell to Wal-mart, think again.”

Wal-mart is open for business and you can sell to them. What does it take to get on their shelves? You do not have to be a large publisher to sell your books to them, but you have to know what you are doing in order to be successful. The submission process is outlined on their website. Follow their guidelines and if your product looks promising, a buyer will contact you for a direct conversation.

Amazon is not the Wal-Mart of the Internet… Yet
August 7, 2012

Amazon is a case of mysterious and magical realism. I find myself inside a coterie of near certifiable money managers and analysts who believe Amazon is a “creative destruction” operator, hell bent on transforming retailing and book publishing, and likely to emerge as the Wal-Mart of the Internet. The Amazon story is about scale and momentum in general merchandise sales, here and abroad. I don’t care how many Kindles they deliver or their burgeoning downloads in books, music, video games and streaming of films.

Conference Recap: Taming the Giant—BISG Takes On Big Data
May 11, 2012

At the BISG ninth annual Making Information Pay Conference, held at the McGraw Hill auditorium on May 3, seven expert presenters took the assembled 200 industry professionals through a fast-paced three-and-a-half-hour session slicing Big Data down to manageable bites.

Not for the faint of heart, the event was focused on the message that Angela Bole, BISG Deputy Executive Director opened with. Citing a McKinsey Institute study’s warning of a critical shortage of expert analytical information workers she said that “It’s our belief that, as an industry, we need to harness the awesomeness of ‘deep analytical expertise’ in order to create the kind of book industry that’s truly capable of the innovation necessary to stay relevant over the coming years.”

Big Data, she said, “refers to the act of ‘taming’ the volume, variety and velocity of massive datasets.” It is what takes us to a place where we’re now able to develop holistic approaches to full-scale strategies that are analytical in the deepest sense of the term.”

How to Build a Successful Marketing Platform
March 2, 2012

Actors use a physical platform to raise themselves above their audiences, focusing the attention on themselves so that they can more easily be seen and heard. The concept of building a marketing platform is not dissimilar. Publishers generally assume that if their authors’ platforms are significant enough, potential buyers will either buy their book upon its publication or spread the word about it to others. But this is often not the case. Simply because people have heard of you or have befriended you on Facebook does not necessarily mean they will buy your book or support its introduction.

Amazon: The Elephant in the Room
March 1, 2012

In 1455 Johannes Gutenberg produced his famous "Bible"—the first book printed with moveable type—launching what would become in subsequent centuries the modern publishing industry. In 1995, Jeff Bezos sold the first book through Amazon.com, launching what would produce in less than 20 years the end of the modern publishing industry.

Hyperbole? Perhaps not, when the earth-shaking influence of the e‑commerce giant's recent moves in publishing are taken into account.

Fitting Amazon for The Black Hat?
February 13, 2012

Recently Barnes & Noble announced that it would not sell books in its brick and mortar store that are published by Amazon’s new print publishing division. Shortly after this, Books-a-Million, Canada’s largest bookseller Indigo Books and Music and the American Booksellers Association also announced that they were joining the boycott.

These are, indeed, interesting times we live in. Have you ever heard of an instance like this? In ANY industry? Competitor B launches a boycott of competitor A, paints it as being for the good of the industry, and gets support from other competitors? Not I.

Don't Maximize, Optimize: The Wonderful World of Dual Distribution
February 9, 2012

You have two possible avenues in which to sell your books: retail and non-retail outlets. As a general rule, however, it is not necessary to choose only one of the two options, because some combination of them will most likely optimize your profitability. This is the concept of dual distribution.

Your overall sales goal should be to optimize, rather than maximize, your revenue.

Will Amazon.com Stores Be Good for the Book Industry?
February 3, 2012

E-tail giant and major bookseller Amazon may be headed to a neighborhood near you if a rumor published online proves true. Question is: Would it be good or bad for the book publishing industry?

In a blog post titled “Rumor: Amazon Retail Stores Coming & Predatory Pricing Channel Destruction,” Jason Calacanis wrote, “Just heard an interesting piece of gossip from a very credible source: Amazon is going to open retail stores and will start making its own branded merchandise.”