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Publishing
The Past, Present, and Future
Every time a book was published, it was printed in hardcover first and then later on would come out in softcover. Today, most are softcover unless they are business books. Publishing has quite a few changes since its beginnings and according to OnlineCollege.org, it is in for many more over the next ten years. They predict that e-books will become more popular due to the technologies available. It also predicts a market increase in young adult books.
The trends of young adult fiction have changed within the past few decades and research shows where the book market is heading. Young adult fiction didn't really get much of a start until the 1960s. Below are the decades and the types of books that were popular during those times:
1980's-Nancy Drew books, mystery novels, books on suicide, murder, and parental death.
1990's-Animorphs books, Fear Street, Goosebumps, Sweet Valley High, and the late '90's, Harry Potter
2000's-Wizards, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, Pirates, Narnia, and Eragon
The book market shifted again when The Twilight series emerged
At the current time starting with 2011 to the future, the book market has changed to paranormal activity such as "I AM # 4", scenarios such as a world gone wrong theme. The future is predicted to be books with dystopian themes, dark fantasy, urban fantasy, and graphic horror.
The trends of young adult fiction have changed within the past few decades and research shows where the book market is heading. Young adult fiction didn't really get much of a start until the 1960s. Below are the decades and the types of books that were popular during those times:
1980's-Nancy Drew books, mystery novels, books on suicide, murder, and parental death.
1990's-Animorphs books, Fear Street, Goosebumps, Sweet Valley High, and the late '90's, Harry Potter
2000's-Wizards, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, Pirates, Narnia, and Eragon
The book market shifted again when The Twilight series emerged
At the current time starting with 2011 to the future, the book market has changed to paranormal activity such as "I AM # 4", scenarios such as a world gone wrong theme. The future is predicted to be books with dystopian themes, dark fantasy, urban fantasy, and graphic horror.
Steps to Publishing1. Make sure that you are finished. It may take some time to get an agent or publisher to respond but it helps to have it written and edited.
2. Get your book copyrighted. Unlike patents, book copyrights are fairly cheap and easy to file. It only costs about $30 to obtain one and has a short form to fill out.The website for this is http://loc.gov/copyright/forms/. 3. If going through an agent or publisher, start sending letters and to more than just one. If self-publishing, look at books similar to your category to figure out the cover design, binding, paper, layout, etc. "The cover outside should reflect the text inside" (Dan Poynter). 4. Decide how many to print. Publishers will usually be able to suggest and figure out how many to print. For self-publishing, estimate how many that you think could sell in the first year it is on the shelf. Usually, 500 is a good amount. Don't over print but don't underprint if you already have a lot of prepublication orders. 5.Figure out pricing. If you are going through a publisher and agent, you won't have to worry as much with this step. The cost should always end in .95 because it seems cheaper to the buyer and your books will sell more. Typically you should charge at least 8 times the production cost but be affordable for the intended customers of your book. 6. Purchase an ISBN (a worldwide id number to find and identify books). 7. Publish the book. Make sure the copyright is correct before selling it. |
CostsSelling Price on the Book-"Pricing is one of the many aspects of book production over which an author has no control."-Barbara Kingsolver
The publisher sets the price of the book, meaning whether online or in print, the publisher sets how much the selling price will be. They are often a high price due to those who have to be paid involved in the production of the book, the cost of paper has increased, and marketing costs. |