A few weeks ago, the publisher pushed back releasing The Last Track from August 25, 2009 to a later date. I held off announcing anything until the new date was firm. Since it is, I can talk about it and why it was done.
The obvious concern with launching any new title ( or product ) is the economic landscape at the time of its release. This year has been pretty rough year on adult fiction. Lots of releases underwhelmed this year for no other reason than the economic back draft.
Proof of the trend, earlier this week the big seven publishers released their numbers and with the exception of Lagardere, who has Stephanie Meyer, every single major house had lower sales than during the same time period last year. Adjusting for the benefit of foreign currency exchange rates, which favor the big houses with a worldwide presence, sales at some houses ratcheted down as much as 20 percent.
Now here’s the good news amidst the bad. Despite all the bleeding in publishing, the broader market is flashing signs that the bottom is here or in the very near distance. The publisher feels, and I agree, that holiday sales and an extremely strong fall list from the majors will buoy spending on books. Spending in general seems to be on the uptick.
So that covers the macro view behind the reasoning for the new date.
Yet there are micro concerns justifying a later release. When I signed on, the marketing strategy and distribution hinged on a very simple concept: price. Originally the plan was a single trade paperback release, with electronic ( Kindle, Sony and Scribe ) to follow. The model was similar to Boondock Saints, which had a very brief theatrical release in three markets before landing as a $9.99 DVD. At the time, DVD’s averaged $17.99, so a lot of people gave that movie a try. I consider that a good thing, by the way. Now that the title has proven itself over time, the distributors charge more.
The only bad thing about the all trade paperback release is that it sidestepped the libraries. Initially that seemed OK, given that it was a first book, but the publisher sold me on looking at it another way.
Strong sales in the library market can propel a book into the land of mid-list very quickly. Because the publisher controls costs better than any business I’ve ever been inside, coming anywhere close to mid-list means everyone makes money. That also means I come back for round two. That makes me happy and hopefully people who like my writing happy.
In order to get into libraries, it takes two things: a hardcover release and a write up from one of the big review services. Major review services will only cover hardcover releases. And getting a review out of a review service takes 2-4 months. So then it becomes chicken and the egg. Currently the publisher is doing what’s necessary to get that review coverage. More on that in the coming weeks.
Speaking of release, the publisher is doing something unprecedented. A simultaneous hardcover, paperback and electronic release. The thinking is, if anyone wants a copy, they can pick whatever medium they prefer right then and there, rather than waiting for the paperback or Kindle. I’m honored to be the industry guinea pig.
And now the new release date. The publisher gave me a choice of two months, February or March. I opted for the sooner month. Then by the process of elimination, we picked the actual day.
Anyone who knows me well can probably guess how this negotiation ended. Yep, February 13th, 2010. My birthday.
Now if that doesn’t make up for getting pushed back, I don’t know what will.