Authors Should Embrace The Butterfly Effect

 

Maybe authors can’t travel back to their past and change moments in time, but can they recognize their butterfly effect, that everything they do matters and has an impact on the world and their lives?

One can unleash the butterfly effect when you

**Write that book.

**Edit that book.
**Publish that book.
**Market that book.

Who knows who will read it and how it will effect those readers? Who knows how successful you will be as a writer? Who knows what other lives get impacted because your book exists?

It is hard to know while living in the moment what our words, actions, inactions, or silence could do to another. We fly blind.

 

The butterfly effect has been explored in science, industry, and elsewhere. It reflects an idea that small things can have non-linear impacts on a complex system. Could a butterfly flap its wings in Africa and cause a tornado here? No, but what happens when a seemingly small event or change occurs – can the conditions lead to a different outcome – in a game, on an exam, in business? Sure. If you want to see an example demonstrated, see the movie The Butterfly Effect.

 

Authors have an enormous power — to influence another, impact society, and implore change. Authors can empower, inspire, inform, entertain, and enlighten us.

 

Many of us read different authors and books from one another. Even established best-sellers may only be read by only 15-20,000 people. Most people read books that may have a lifetime readership of just a few thousand, maybe even a few hundred people. But each of these books makes a difference, each transforming the life of its reader.

 

As writers, we live the butterfly effect every single day. It is in everything we do, from what we choose to write about, to how we write about it, to even which words we choose to use. What we title a book, how much we market it, what we price it at — and a hundred other decisions snd tasks — will influence not only the author’s commercial success but how a book makes a contribution to touching lives and shaping society.

 

Every time you feel like not sending one more email, another tweet, or spending five more minutes on researching, editing, or writing your book, think of how your choices could alter the landscape and possibly play a significant role in the world around you.

 

Learn, Grow, Succeed!!

 

The SECRET Sauce for Book Sales!

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/the-secret-sauce-for-book-sales.html

 

Will Books Flourish Under President Joe Biden?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/will-books-flourish-under-president-joe.html

 

Authors Want Their Drop-The-Mic Moment

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/authors-want-their-drop-mic-moment.html

 

Do Writers Know The Power They Wield?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/do-writers-know-power-they-yield.html

 

How Do We Break The Red-Blue Book Bubble?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/how-do-we-break-red-blue-book-bubble.html

 

The Rights, Responsibilities, & Resources Available To Writers Today

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/the-rights-responsibilities-resources.html

 

Do Authors Plan Two Moves Ahead?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/do-authors-plan-two-moves-ahead.html

 

Why Good Authors Fail Miserably – And Often

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/why-good-authors-fail-miserably-and.html

 

How Authors Should Build A Platform

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/10/how-authors-should-build-platform.html

 

Brian Feinblum, the founder of BookMarketingBuzzBlog, can be reached at  brianfeinblum@gmail.com.  You can – and should -- follow him on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2020. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby

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. For more information, please consult: linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum. 

 

How Come Authors Starve While Obama Charges $45 For His Book?

 

 

Book publishing is a tale of two worlds, one where a handful of celebrity authors make millions and the rest earn diner money. Can the book industry survive this way?

Former President Barack Obama, who won the Nobel Prize for Peace and brought America out of The Great Recession, has come out with a book that in its first week equaled the combined sales of the memoirs of his two predecessors. He has already sold 1.7 million book units — ebooks, audiobooks and hardcovers — in just a week since being released. The cover price for his book? 45 freakin’ dollars!!

I am not sure who deserves blame here, but it pisses me off that such a price tag is attached to this book.

Is it the fault of consumers, who want the book so badly, that they will blindly pay any price for it?

Is it Obama’s fault, for demanding such a fat advance from his publisher, that it has no choice but to rip off consumers?

Is it the fault of the publisher, for seeking to exploit hungry consumers to make a buck?

Is there something inherently wrong with the process of capitalism that even during a pandemic and depressed economy, with tens of millions out of work and on the dole, that a book can be sold for a good 50 percent more than most books?

On the other hand, if you don’t want or can’t afford the book, don’t buy it. Something is worth what people are willing to spend, right?

But if books are to be accessible, they must be affordable. However, artists do not need to starve. The majority of authors do not make shit, many of them failing to exceed 1,000 copies sold. Some give away more books than they sell. Both ends of the spectrum should be concerned, even disgusted by this.

Publishers often make money from a handful of best-sellers while the majority of their list barely breaks even. So, from that perspective, high-priced books like Obama’s save the industry. Still, it seems criminal that a one-time public servant sells his story for tens of millions. Books must remain affordable to all — or the industry collapses.

Schools or libraries that want to buy copies are using up limited budgets to do so. The people he hopes to inspire and educate may not be able to afford his book. What happens then? Some people get to read affordable, less important books — and some have access to his tome. Talk about a great divide.

All of this may not matter. By next year President Donald Trump could put out a fifty-dollar book. In fact, you can count on it.

 

Learn, Grow, Succeed!!

 

The SECRET Sauce for Book Sales!

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/the-secret-sauce-for-book-sales.html

 

Will Books Flourish Under President Joe Biden?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/will-books-flourish-under-president-joe.html

 

Authors Want Their Drop-The-Mic Moment

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/authors-want-their-drop-mic-moment.html

 

Do Writers Know The Power They Wield?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/do-writers-know-power-they-yield.html

 

How Do We Break The Red-Blue Book Bubble?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/how-do-we-break-red-blue-book-bubble.html

 

The Rights, Responsibilities, & Resources Available To Writers Today

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/the-rights-responsibilities-resources.html

 

Do Authors Plan Two Moves Ahead?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/do-authors-plan-two-moves-ahead.html

 

Why Good Authors Fail Miserably – And Often

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/why-good-authors-fail-miserably-and.html

 

How Authors Should Build A Platform

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/10/how-authors-should-build-platform.html

 

Brian Feinblum, the founder of BookMarketingBuzzBlog, can be reached at  brianfeinblum@gmail.com.  You can – and should -- follow him on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2020. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby

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. For more information, please consult: linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum. 

Book Publishing Merger Threatens Choice, Jobs, & Book Prices

 

 

Simon & Schuster, founded nearly a century ago and now a major publishing house with 50 imprints, 1350 employees, ands publishing 2,000 books annually, is about to be swallowed up by the largest publisher, Penguin Random House, for $2.2 billion.

 

The Big 5, which had been the Big 6 not that long ago, will now shrink to the big 4.

 

Such a merger clearly threatens jobs, book pricing, and free speech. The German-owned Penguin Random House could be in violation of anti-trust laws.

 

So why is this a bad deal for America’s consumers, employees, and writers?

 

Let’s start with the obvious. Any merger in any industry bleeds jobs. It’s called eliminating duplication.

 

Next, let’s start with book pricing. A big behemoth wields a lot of clout in the industry. It can start to dictate higher prices for its books and lower discounts to its partnering wholesalers and book stores. As it is, former President Barack Obama’s memoir was retailing with a cover price of 45. Is this the new future for books?

 

Now let’s move on to how this impacts writers. A bigger publisher could shun certain voices or types of books, leaving such writers out in the cold. Their acquisitions editors could decide to pay less on advances and certainly it eliminates a competitor that until now would be competing for the right to publish certain books.

 

As a result of fewer people and companies deciding what gets published, free speech gets impacted as well.

 

Simon & Schuster, owned by ViacomCBS, is the publisher of Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Wolfe, and thousands of best-sellers and award-winning books.

 

Maybe this opens the door to more acquisitions. There are many small presses out there. A smart publisher could acquire dozens of them and form a modest foe to the Big 5, soon-to-be, Big 4.

 

The media has end-of-the-year consolidation taking place right now. Buzzfeed is buying Huffpost. Meanwhile, a company that owns influential trade magazines Billboard, Vibe, Deadline Hollywood, Rolling Stone, and Variety, wants to buy The Hollywood Reporter. That is messed up.

 

Mergers have been commonplace for many decades in the book and media industries. Little good has come form such mergers. We get less competition and fewer voices calling the shots, while quality journalism and book production suffers as a result.

 

The book world already is down to one main bookstore chain – Barnes & noble; one main wholesaler – Ingram; and one main online retailer – Amazon. Now we are about to be down to four publishing giants.

The book publishing landscape is turning into a scene from the classic movie,  It's A Wonderful Life, where the town's richest man, a cranky, miserable, old guy named Mr. Potter, seeks to own everything and everyone. Soon Penguin Random House will own the ideas, hearts, experiences, and souls of more writers.

 

Unhappy Holidays!

 

Learn, Grow, Succeed!!

 

The SECRET Sauce for Book Sales!

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/the-secret-sauce-for-book-sales.html

 

Will Books Flourish Under President Joe Biden?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/will-books-flourish-under-president-joe.html

 

Authors Want Their Drop-The-Mic Moment

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/authors-want-their-drop-mic-moment.html

 

Do Writers Know The Power They Wield?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/do-writers-know-power-they-yield.html

 

How Do We Break The Red-Blue Book Bubble?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/how-do-we-break-red-blue-book-bubble.html

 

The Rights, Responsibilities, & Resources Available To Writers Today

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/the-rights-responsibilities-resources.html

 

Do Authors Plan Two Moves Ahead?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/do-authors-plan-two-moves-ahead.html

 

Why Good Authors Fail Miserably – And Often

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/why-good-authors-fail-miserably-and.html

 

How Authors Should Build A Platform

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/10/how-authors-should-build-platform.html

 

Brian Feinblum, the founder of BookMarketingBuzzBlog, can be reached at  brianfeinblum@gmail.com.  You can – and should -- follow him on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2020. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby

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. For more information, please consult: linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.