So the Michigan primary results are in and at 9:28 on this Tuesday evening, with only 43% and 44% of Republican and Democratic polls - respectively - reporting, the winners are already being projected. And they are... Mitt Romney & Hilary Clinton, two candidates who just weeks ago after losing in Iowa were downgraded from front-runner to underdog in record time.
Yes, my observation about politics relates to publishing. As my previous post states we as writers, and those of us who are also marketers, unfortunately don't have the luxury of projecting winners (especially with half the population not even accounted for yet). Like the surprising emergence of Mike Huckabee in Iowa, publishers are constantly wondering what will fail or sell. In fact, I bet that publishing houses the world over would love to concoct a trend predictor similar to the exit polls used by every news channel under the sun. I can almost hear the questions that would be asked.
Pollster: Are you currently a registered young adult literature, science fiction, fantasy, or historical fiction fan?
Customer: I'm undecided.
Pollster: Well, what did you purchase today?
Customer: Manga.
Pollster (scrambling to take notes while sweating at the idea of having to report back to CEOs that readers cannot be pigeonholed): Oh.
But in some ways the campaigning and voting that we've all had forced down our throats for months now (and will continue to see non-stop until this November) is very much alive children's and adult publishing houses. What do I mean you ask?
Well, even before a book is acquired it's championed by the editor who believes in the project early on, and like the proven statistics that show incumbents have more clout in elections than newbies, the higher the level the editor the more plausible it is that other departments, like sales, marketing, design, etc. are going to believe that the book in question is really, really good. I mean think about it. We're all going to put a little more stock in the statement by an Executive Editor, with a decade's worth of experience under his or her belt, who claims that this new series will be, "groundbreaking," this discovered author a, "gem," this artist a "triumph." After all, he or she has seen tons of submissions and isn't likely to fall for a gimmick or well-disguised one-dimensional character.
And even though an editor will find temporary joy in the acceptance of his or her project by the Acquisitions committee, the campaigning is far from over, which again holds true of a primary winner. Sure, Obama won Iowa but he couldn't stop there, could he?
First there are the many committee meetings (again similar to the meetings between candidates and their advisers or contributors) with numerous departments who will advise on everything from the format of the book (paperback, novelty, hardcover), to the design of the cover, to the creation of an appropriate marketing plan. Then the editors start drumming up support for their title(s) all over again at the internal "pre-sales" meeting where sales, marketing, and editorial converge to discuss the upcoming season's "focus" titles. But pre-sales is just the beginning. It isn't until the seasonal sales conference, when other departments and independent sales reps join marketing, sales, editorial and production in a total book pow-wow, that the super hard campaigning really begins. Sales conference is nearly equivalent to the super Tuesday primaries, where after the long, tedious battle for attention is finally over, nearly everyone involved feels some sense of relief and either looks toward the future or bows out and moves on. At sales conference, it's decided. What to push to retailers - from the mass market giants like Wal-Mart, to the national chains like Borders and Barnes & Noble, to the Ma & Pa store down the street.
Finally, the political process begins its last leg. In politics, this is the time when the race is no longer about fighting within the party. Now it's Democrat versus Republican. In publishing, this last step starts when sales reps sell-in titles to accounts that based on the pitch, the marketing, and the overall package -- will vote a book in or out.
In the end, as I've mentioned before, we have no choice but to leave predictions behind, although I'm sure the TV stations that rely on round-the-clock reporting would disagree. You just can't tell what will be popular and as we learned in 2000 presidential fight between Al Gore and George W. Bush, you can be the most popular one on the block and still lose.
2 comments:
Jess,
Glimpsing into the marketing world is SO useful and helpful.Thank you!
Could you expand on (unpack!) your comment:
"Sales conference is nearly equivalent to the super Tuesday primaries, where after the long, tedious battle for attention is finally over, nearly everyone involved feels some sense of relief and either looks toward the future or bows out and moves on. At sales conference, it's decided. What to push to retailers - from the mass market giants like Wal-Mart, to the national chains like Borders and Barnes & Noble, to the Ma & Pa store down the street.
"Finally, the political process begins its last leg. In politics, this is the time when the race is no longer about fighting within the party. Now it's Democrat versus Republican. In publishing, this last step starts when sales reps sell-in titles to accounts that based on the pitch, the marketing, and the overall package -- will vote a book in or out."
It also seems as if editors who trumpet a book and are declined could feel the sting that might be somewhat similar to(though not nearly, really the same as) the writers whose work is submitted and declined.
Care to comment?
Thanks!
Hi Anita,
Okay, so to further clarify my comments on sales conference... It's a long couple of days with a lot of pitching and selling going on. We, the editorial and marketing team, have to basically pump up the sales team on what they're going to sell. It's tiring and sometimes tedious but worth it when you really believe in a specific title or series.
Some books are talked about more than others, such as the "big" books for the season (usually by well-known authors or if a big price was paid for the author to publish with the house). And of course, some books are tagged more for the independent or mass-market market. For example, a chick-lit author will be much more likely to be taken in by a wal-mart than, say, a picture book with beautiful art. Mass market stores are 100% bottom line and if it's not going to appeal to the "mass," it's out.
So all this pitching goes on before the sales reps even get to their buyers which, here, I've identified as the last part of the process - or in the world of presidential politics - the last leg of the race, when the primaries are over and it's that time leading up to the first Tuesday of November when one must decide to vote Republican or Democrat.
Also, yes, you're right. Editors definitely feel the sting - especially after they've worked with a writer to fine tune his or her manuscript before bringing it to an Acquisitions meeting.
Throughout the industry it's increasingly important that editors have two mindsets -- a creative or editorially-focused one and of course, a business mind. It's much tougher to find a house that wants to "hone" a writer, though I know of many editors who would love nothing more than to help a writer develop his or her craft.
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