Usually
in December or January we see lots of prognostications for the new year or
predictions for a five-year period or something on book publishing trends. Why wait until then to gain insight on what
is or could be happening in the future when it comes to book marketing?
Here
are my 2020 book marketing guesses, uh, trends:
1.
Little changes – That’s a safe
bet with book marketing, though anything
could happen to change the book ecosystem, especially with technology. Right now, things seem to be stable and
growing overall, so the book publishing industry doesn’t need to reshape things
to solve a non-existing crisis.
2.
More books get
published
– The trend has been for more new books, primarily self-published, to grow
year-to-year. So how does this impact
you? There's no more competition for shelf space or
consumer attention. The imperative to
promote your book has never been greater.
3.
Authors promote books
when sales are not a priority – You may think that authors who don’t
care about sales are nuts, but authors are becoming more realistic. They understand that many best-sellers only
sell a few thousand copies and they know that one has to invest time and money
to establish his or her brand, via media, even if it means they won’t recoup
all of it directly in sales of that book.
A good branding campaign helps authors lay the ground work to launch
future books, sell backlist, and position them
to be seen as an authority that can be commoditized with speaking
engagements, online courses, and other programs.
4.
Old methods become
new again
– For those frustrated by social media or feeling isolated, they will take up
with a vengeance, an approach that is old school: e-mailing books out to people,
e-mail blasts, telemarketing, and attending networking events. Sure there are plenty of connections to be
found via social media platforms, but sometimes we need to get out of our
digital sandboxes and interact on other levels.
5.
At least one new
platform will step forward – For the past few years everyone has
been on Goodreads, submitted review copies to Publishers Weekly, and
posts on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
We’re ready for a new media outlet, website, or service to present
itself. Too many authors are fighting
over limited resources to have their voices heard.
6.
The number of book
readers will decline – Studies show the number of Americans who consumed a
book last year, in any form, is down.
This is horrible news. For the
industry to grow -- and society to thrive – we must create programs that
encourage, nurture, and promote book reading at all ages. Part of the problem is that many schools
devalue the book as an authoritative source by not providing textbooks
(physical or even digital). How does the
new generation see a book as important when blogs, articles, and videos form
their tutorials?
7.
More political and
social issues books flood the market – We are a little more than a year away
from a huge election in a year that will debate guns, immigration, climate,
healthcare, Iran, N. Korea, and the fate of our nation. Expect to see a zillion books on topics of
concern to the public.
8.
Look for
anniversary books galore – What happened 10, 25, 50, 100 years ago? Look it up and that will tell you what books
will be coming out in the next 12-15 months.
I’ll give you a head start:
1920 -- women vote for the first time; 1970 – Earth Day was launched; 1995 –
Oklahoma City Bombing; 2010 – Obamacare legislation enacted; 1980 – Reagan elected;
1945 – WWII ends; 1820 – the Land Act passes and moves the U.S. westward; 1620 –
Pilgrims dock in America from England.
9.
Indies will
continue to thrive until a recession – Indie bookstores will hit a 10-year
growth spurt in 2020 in terms of more stores existing and more sales from such
stores. However, books though one of the
least expensive forms of entertainment, could suffer if a sustained recession
hits.
10.
Classic books will
be honored and discussed – Agatha Christie’s first mystery was
published a century ago (1920). Fifty
years ago brought us Are You There, God?
It’s Me Margaret by Judy Blume.
A hundred and fifty years ago, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules
Verne was published. Four centuries ago,
the second part of Don Quixote was published in English.
Aside
from what might happen, here’s what I hope will happen:
1.
The
book world will expand and grow. We will
instill the treasure of reading books in more people and those who already read
books, will read more often. The battle
of literacy can’t be won by the Internet, where free, inaccurate, biased, untrustworthy
information circulates. Books,
researched, edited, and vetted, written by qualified writers, are valuable
tools for society.
2.
The
local, state, and federal governments will expand their funding of programs
that support libraries, education and literacy.
Books benefit from government investments – and citizens are the
ultimate winners.
3.
Books
will continue to inform, enlighten, entertain and inspire the masses, leading
us to a better world.
Let’s
hope -- and expect – 2020 to be a great year for book publishing and authors
marketing books.
“Death is not evil,
for it frees man from all ills and takes away his desires along with desire’s
rewards. Old age is the supreme evil,
for it deprives man of all pleasures while allowing his appetites to remain,
and it brings with it every possible sorrow.
Yet men fear death and desire old age.”
--Giacomo
Leopardi
“We protest against
unjust criticism, but we accept unearned applause.”
--Jose
Narosky
“Live your life. Don’t be lived by it.”
--Fernando
Pessoa
“The man who sticks
to his plan will become what he used to want to be.”
--James
Richardson
DON”T MISS THESE!!!
How authors get their book marketing
mojo – and avoid failure
Authors
cannot succeed without the right attitude
So what
is needed to be a champion book marketer?
Should
You Promote Your Book By Yourself?
The Book Marketing Strategies Of
Best-Sellers
How authors can sell more books
No. 1 Book Publicity Resource: 2019
Toolkit For Authors -- FREE
Brian Feinblum’s insightful views, provocative opinions,
and interesting ideas expressed in this terrific blog are his alone and not
that of his employer or anyone else. You can – and should -- follow him on
Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels
much more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by
BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2019. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in
Westchester. His writings are often featured in The Writer and
IBPA’s Independent. This was named one of the best book marketing
blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2018 as one of the
top book marketing blogs. Also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best
resource.” He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America.
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