A New Publishing Strategy

There was an article in Saturday's Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that I found very interesting. The writer, Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg, has written on other publishing trends, which I've reported on here in the past.

The article talks about a popular thriller writer, James Swain, whose five previous novels have been issued in hardback. Mr. Swain agreed to a deal that would discourage many writers. His next two novels will be issued as $6.99 paperbacks, and they'll be released five weeks apart.

In an industry where readers are accustomed to a release-a-year by a popular author, Swain's latest deal represents a considerable change of tactics. "Some publishers are tweaking the formula further with a strategy that evokes the serialized 'pulp' publishing of decades past. They're commissioning two or more books at a time from an author and then releasing them within months of each other to get readers hooked. And they're publishing them as 'rack sized' paperbacks."

Trachtenberg says this strategy is aimed at "addictive" genres like mysteries where readers purchase books frequently. It's a great tactic for quickly building readership--especially for an author that the publisher believes has enormous potential. Ballantine released original trilogies in successive months by romantic suspense writer Mariah Stewart and fantasy writer Naomi Novik. The books include advertisements at the end, promoting the upcoming sequel and offering sample pages from the next book.

Ballantine was pleased to find that, with three books being issued in three months, bookstores offered prominent placement for all three months. The owner of a mystery bookstore in New York said that she has clients who read "as many as five books a week" and preferred the paperbacks. "It's about price and convenience." At the same time, when Ballantine offered cardboard displays of Swain's thrillers, the bookstores turned the offer down, not wanting to give up the space.

The "rack sized" paperbacks are the smaller versions popular in airports and on newstands where commuters shop.

Trachtenberg says, "Writers and their agents are wary of the format...
Writers typically earn a royalty rate of 7.5% on fancy paperbacks and 10% on rack-size paperbacks, compared with 15% of the retail price on each hardcover that is sold. In theory, writers can make up the difference by selling larger quantities."

Swain's quote puts the discussion into perspective: "The key is reaching readers. You need them to try you at least once. All the advertising in the world won't accomplish anything if a person won't pick the books up."