Bookstore Events - Your Thoughts?

The Cadence Group is doing some research in to bookstore events and we'd love your thoughts!

As we know, the landscape of book marketing is changing on a daily basis. Budgets are being slashed at all ends of the publishing process from advances to marketing to promotional placements to author tours. Publishers and authors are trying to figure out how to best reach their readers.

The avenue that we're currently exploring is the author tour, book signings, and/or bookstore events.

Do they work? The Cadence Group has interviewed a number of authors, independent retailers, publishers and chain bookstores. We'd love to get your thoughts and feedback as well.

What's your experience?

Results coming soon....

Old Friends, New Faces

The Cadence Group, like several of our friends, is preparing for next week's book extravaganza in New York at BEA. 

This year, the face of the show may look a little different. Many of our old friends will not be attending. Some won't go at all, others will be sending a limited staff. The show is expected to be a little smaller and a little less attended than years past.

We do believe, however, that getting together with a great group of book lovers will be a time of excitement for our industry. We're looking forward to perusing some of the new technologies, new titles, and "out of the box" concepts--those that have been announced and those that will surprise us on the show floor.

While we will miss some of our old friends, we're excited to "meet" several of our new friends and clients.  And most importantly, we're looking forward to seeing what great things the book industry has planned for the future.

Are things turning around for Borders?

Three months ago, it was announced that Borders was seeking to combine existing stocks in an attempt to bolster their stock prices to above a dollar. Three weeks ago, they announced that their stocks had risen above a dollar all on their own. The cost cutting and new management policies put into place by Ron Marshall seemed to be working. Investors were impressed and the stock has been rising ever since. Last closing, BGI was traded at $2.62.

Business journals that had recently written off the book retailer are now pointing to BGI's possible rejuvenation. Reporters, who in February named Borders as one of the top 10 companies guaranteed to fail in 2009, are now heralding a new day at BGI.

Will Marshall's changes be good for the company? What do you think of Borders' "turn-around"?

Do You Go To Author Events?

One of the things we do here at the Cadence Group is set up author tours.

It is getting harder and harder to convince stores to agree to host our touring authors. It's not that they don't want to offer their customers an event, it's just that they cannot afford to.

Staff at bookstores nation-wide has been cut very deeply and stores do not have the staff to work an author event.

It is hard to convince a cash-strapped bookstore owner to staff up for an event when there is a good chance no one will show up. The extra staffing costs for even one disappointing evening can kill a store's profit.

So... my question for you is.... do you go to events at bookstores?

Educated by the Audience

Last weekend I had the pleasure of traveling to sunny Florida to conduct a workshop for the Space Coast Writers' Guild. While I may have been the presenter, I also learned a lot from this really fantastic group of writers.

In fact, I came home with a smart list of questions about the market and industry that I thought needed some extra research. These writers are really on top of their game.

We talked about marketing, positioning, platforms and social networking. They wanted to know category sales trends, competition and how to differentiate themselves from other books on the shelf. They asked smart questions about self-publishing, e-books and grass roots publicity.

While we spend a lot of time talking about the changing landscape of what's happening with publishers, this group taught me another important lesson.

Savvy writers are learning to navigate our industry just as well....if not better...than the rest of us.

Special thanks to IBPA

This month The Cadence Group published our very first article in the IBPA Independent. We're grateful to have had such a wonderful experience with a fantastic organization.

If you're not familiar with IBPA (the Independent Booksellers Association), you should check them out. We're huge fans.

IBPA is an organization that has the utmost integrity and works very hard to provide good information to independent book publishers. Bravo!

If you'd like to take a look at our article, please feel free to check it out:

http://www.ibpa-online.org/articles/shownews.aspx?id=2771

And special thanks again to IBPA from those of us who learn so much from your organization.

Careful What You Wish For

This week, The Cadence Group received an order for 30,000 units of our first book. It is the kind of order that could make my year.... it could also destroy my company when and if they all come back.

So here is the question. Do I print and ship books to a company that will send the books back in lieu of payment?

It breaks my heart to say it, but here is the answer: No.

My very first big order of my new publishing program and I am going to turn it down.

Sheesh.

Borders Layoffs more Corporate Staff

The net is strangely quiet about this layoff round.... if anyone has news about who got cut and who is left, please leave it here or twitter it to @thecadencegrp. Thanks!

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Feb. 19, 2009—Borders Group today announced that it has reduced its corporate workforce by another 136 positions, which were eliminated effective today. The majority of the jobs, which represent about 12% of the corporate workforce but less than 1% of the company’s total workforce, are based at the company’s headquarters in Ann Arbor. The workforce reduction was spread across virtually all business areas, including marketing, human resources, field management and corporate sales. The reductions were made at various ranks, ranging from entry level to middle management. Affected employees are being offered transition pay, severance and job placement assistance.

Today’s changes follow the company’s announcement just over two weeks ago that several top-level corporate positions had been eliminated to reduce management layers and help drive expense reductions.

“While reducing payroll is never easy and we respect the impact it has on employees and their families, it is one of the necessary steps we must take along with other non-payroll expense reductions to help get this company back on track financially,” said Chief Executive Officer Ron Marshall. “In this time of transition, I greatly admire the tenacity and focus that employees at all levels here have shown as we drive to significantly reduce expenses and bring other key financial measures in line. We will continue to move forward with deliberate speed to make the changes required to get Borders back on firm financial footing.”

A Game of "Chicken"

I got a call from a publisher pal the other day asking me to help him rework his 2009 sales estimates.

Book #1? 1500 units. Book #2? 1000 units Book #? 2000 units....

As I go through the list it becomes clear that he cannot afford to publish most of his Fall line.

Looking over his list again, I see wonderfully written, smart, quirky books that in 2006 would have charmed the socks off of the media. At least one of them would have become a minor sensation and carefully nurtured by a score of pr and marketing people. The books would have sold between 5000 - 10000 in the first year to the bookstores and libraries who support new authors and small presses.

Today, the books are not going to receive any pr or marketing outside of the author's efforts and a few press releases from the publisher's office. In addition, while the publisher is realizing he has no money to promote, bookstores are realizing that they have no money to risk on smaller books without promotion.

It is a vicious game of chicken... publishers lament the lack of distribution and bookstores bewail the lack of promotion. And more and more consumers go on line. How are small publishers going to get the word out about new authors with print media crumbling in on itself and the online cacophony rising with each passing day?

The Power of an Apology

Last month I messed up. I mean REALLY messed up. Never mind what I did, but suffice it to say... It was bad. It was an error, not an omission, but should not have happened and it impacted a client's book launch.

My client (let's call her Rebecca) called to let me know that she was beside herself and she rightfully let me have it. She wanted her money back. She wanted my head on a platter. And then she wanted me to really suffer.

Today Rebecca is my happiest client and has just signed up for another 6 months of service.

What happened?

I apologized.

When Rebecca called up last week yelling, my first instinct was to defend myself. I wanted to explain that there were extenuating circumstances. Iwanted to remind her that she was just as much to blame.

But I bit back the urge to interrupt and fight back. I ignored the voice in my head telling me that it was not FAIR to be blamed. I listened to what she had to say and then I completely copped to it. No excuses, no defense. I took full responsibility and promised to do everything in my power to make it right.

As I apologized and made a commitment to fix what I could, I gave Rebecca the only thing I could at that moment... I honored her by admitting she was right to be upset without a defensive tone or throwing around passive-aggressive blame. In an instant, I was once again her partner and would work with her to make things right.

There is strength in admitting that we are wrong. No one is perfect. Admitting we are wrong without justification can help us lose our fear of imperfection. No matter how unfair we think it may be or what other circumstances are to blame, when something goes wrong, it is best to take a deep breath, look at the situation honestly and take responsibility for the parts of which you are responsible.

.... and then not do it again.