Hello, dear readers!
Recently, a number of authors—particularly those who have left the Romance Writers of America—have requested that the Authors Guild create a subchapter devoted to romance. It appears that will indeed happen this year.
Which raises the question: Is the RWA shedding so many members or affiliated chapters that it may not remain viable? Contributor Emily Wenstrom talks with the organization’s leadership to get a current picture of the RWA’s health.
Also in this issue:
- Traditional publishers and booksellers are very worried about having sufficient stock on hand for the fall and holiday season—which is always the biggest time of year for book sales. Book wholesalers and distributors are encouraging everyone to order early and print more, before it’s too late.
- A recent book marketing discussion encouraged authors to stop obsessing over social media and instead examine the bigger picture of how books get discovered by readers.
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Hot Shots
Recently in the headlines
Penguin Random House sees best profits in 19 years
Bertelsmann, the parent company of Penguin Random House (the largest of the Big Five), recently reported results for the first half of 2021. PRH sales are up 10.8 percent in 2021; profits are up by a whopping 55 percent from a year ago. An international publishing company, PRH saw its best performance in the United States. Sales weren’t driven by any particular title but by strong performance across the list. Bertelsmann saw overall sales up by 10.7 percent and profits up 40 percent. Katy Hershberger in Publishers Lunch writes (subscription required), “PRH’s results confirm and cap a simply extraordinary period of sales for trade publishers—probably the best six- and 12-month periods ever.”
Amanda Gorman’s forthcoming poetry collection gets a price increase
Booksellers were somewhat alarmed when Penguin Random House announced an unexpected price increase for the hardcover edition of Call Us What We Carry—Gorman’s poetry collection due out December 7—from $19.99 to $24.99. Presumably that price increase is directly tied to the recent shift in page count from 120 pages to 240. But stores have been accepting pre-orders at the lower price ever since January.
As concerns mounted, PRH released a statement, saying, “PRH will honor the original price for all customers who pre-ordered the book prior to the price change, which was effective on August 25, 2021. PRH is currently reaching out to booksellers to discuss the process and logistics for honoring these pre-paid pre-orders. We value our bookselling partners and look forward to launching this rich and timeless collection with them, which explores themes of identity, grief and memory.” According to NPD BookScan, Gorman’s The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country has sold more than 475,000 hardcovers since publication in March, making it the fourth best-selling new release of the year so far.
Amazon to open larger physical retail outlets
Amazon opened its first brick-and-mortar bookstore in fall 2015 in Seattle’s University Village; it stocked a modest 5,000 to 6,000 titles. Before long other Amazon stores opened across the country; some focused on books, while others were mall pop-ups. Now The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon is planning to open larger department stores of about 30,000 square feet to sell a range of goods and to facilitate exchanges.
Book sales update
Barnes & Noble’s sales are up by 5 to 6 percent this year compared to 2019, according to CEO James Daunt in an interview with Publishers Weekly. Michael Cader of Publishers Lunch (subscription required) says, “To put that in context, given BN’s long steady decline prior to Daunt’s tenure, sales look to have come back to a point slightly ahead of where they were in 2018, and still well below the levels in 2017 and 2016. That recovery has also lagged the overall market, as the pandemic lifted online book sales and hurt physical outlets.” That means Barnes & Noble has lost market share.
Meanwhile, the Association of American Publishers released their latest StatShot report for June 2021; it includes an assessment for the first half of 2021. Net adult sales increased 18.9 percent, driven by gains in hardcover sales, which were up 31.6 percent. Children’s and YA sales were up 14.6 percent, again driven by hardcovers. All combined, consumer/trade sales are up by 17.6 percent, which is pretty close to what NPD BookScan now reports for the print market overall: a gain of 18.4 percent for the first half of the year.
In Australia, online retailer Booktopia reports (subscription required) a sales increase of 35 percent for fiscal year 2021 (ending June 30, 2021). Profits grew 125 percent over fiscal 2020.
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Where Does RWA Go from Here?
In the face of declining membership and controversy, the RWA board attempts to rebuild the organization’s strength
By Emily Wenstrom
Romance Writers of America (RWA) is the leading organization for a genre that is a force within publishing. Romance titles consist of a third of all book sales and bring in over $1 billion a year—and that was before the pandemic triggered 17 percent growth.
Yet, RWA has recurringly experienced explosive public reckonings over systemic racism issues. Although a new board in March 2020 and swift actions for diversity prompted optimism, issues resurfaced when the newly rehauled awards program, the Vivians, resulted in a problematic category winner.
Amid these issues, what is RWA’s future? Does it have one? Current board leaders—authors of color who emphasized they know exactly how hard it is for marginalized authors in the industry—still say yes.
RWA’s public conflicts have been not only a diversity issue but also an organizational health issue. Membership shrank from 9,259 in 2019 to 6,467 in 2020 to 4,822 in 2021. Over this same period, the number of chapters declined from 110 to 105 to 78. As seen across Twitter, many publicly tied their lapsed memberships to the organization’s diversity issue failures.
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The RITA Awards once brought in as much as $100,000 for RWA. But the program was cancelled in 2020 before resetting with the Vivian Awards in 2021. To create a level playing field and encourage entries, 2021 Vivian submissions were free.
“The decision behind that was to help restore the faith, gain awareness of RWA beyond just the people who are already in it, benefit Romancelandia and the publishing industry as a whole … our way of, okay, we’ve retired the RITA. This is the Vivian, this is what it’s meant to do. We want to be inclusive. We welcome all your voices,” said C. Chilove, RWA secretary.
Still, submissions were down, although a portion of this was likely due to a new rule to limit how many books an author could enter. After two years with no awards revenue, RWA expects to return to an entry fee for future years.
Then there’s the annual conference. A major sponsor cancelled due to the December 2019 to March 2020 fallout, even before the event turned virtual due to the pandemic. With this shift, RWA reduced registration fees. Though participation was better than anticipated, the virtual conference brought in about 1,000 participants, compared to the 1,900 to 2,100 attendees that typically attend. The conference will be virtual for 2021 as well.
Meanwhile, a number of the remaining chapters reduced their membership dues. Since a portion of chapter dues is passed on to the national organization annually, reduced dues means reduced funds for both chapters and national.
“There were a lot of our members who, they were seeing what was happening. And they were contemplating, should they stay in the organization? And as leaders, we were contemplating,” said Laurel Cremant, President of the Cultural, Interracial, and Multicultural Special Interest Chapter (CIMRWA). “We didn’t want to tell our members, ‘Hey, we know that this is a crisis of conscience; pay us anyway.’ We wanted to lower it to a point where they could still wait and see with us.”
CIMRWA was one of many chapters that considered disbanding following the events of winter 2019–2020 and even held a member vote that resulted in a decision in favor. But between the time of the vote and the results, the full RWA board had resigned and been replaced, and CIMRWA opted to “wait and see.”
In the aftermath of these impacts, RWA weighed its options. Among these considerations, bankruptcy was explored. “The executive committee discussed the option, but it was just like any discussion. We kind of weighed the pros and cons, and we’re still weighing the pros and cons,” said Leslie Scantlebury, executive director. “It’s not on the table to be done.”
Chilove stated bankruptcy “has never been a formal discussion amongst the board.”
RWA membership continues to be a heated issue among romance authors. In an early August thread in the Authors Guild forums, a romance writer sought to connect with others in the genre as she let her RWA membership lapse. Many weighed in, mostly saying they had also left RWA or intended to. The thread soon turned to the organization’s financial challenges and the “train wreck” of events in the organization’s past. At one point, an Authors Guild moderator reminded contributors to stay respectful as they discussed “some hot-button issues.” Contributors recommended the Authors Guild, NINC, and Women’s Fiction Writers of America as replacements for RWA. Ultimately, the group worked with Authors Guild to create a new romance chapter.
Yet RWA remains a sizable organization, even if not as sizable as in the past. RWA president LaQuette credited the sustained membership to the organization’s connections and pull within the industry and cited Cockygate as an example in which RWA was able to advocate on behalf of romance authors. Liv Rancourt, President of Rainbow Romance Writers, cited RWA’s advocacy for authors with DreamSpinner Press to secure missing author payments as another such example.
“RWA has a larger voice. We can pick up the phone and call Amazon; we can email some of the publishers. That’s not something that some of these small groups can do to advocate on behalf of larger authors’ rights,” said Chilove.
RWA also offers professional network and education opportunities, which current leadership expressed a commitment to building upon with an emphasis on opportunities for marginalized authors. A Pathways Program currently in development will offer authors of color education on how to market their work, approach submissions, and otherwise cultivate a mindset to work with a publisher. Another, Pen to Paper, will educate new writers on the craft of writing romance. Rancourt alluded to another program in development and said she believed Rainbow Romance Writers members “will find it very cool and interesting.”
The board set in place in March 2020 did a “deep clean” of the organization’s policies and procedures and restructured the code of ethics. They created a diversity task force and hired a DEI consultant to provide education to members. Even before the Vivian winners were announced, a task force was scheduled to assess the first year of successes and failings and set a course for continued improvement. “RWA is in no way asking the world to give us a pass. We have made some really great strides. But we also have made some huge mistakes. And we obviously want the opportunity to go back and see where we made the missteps,” LaQuette said.
RWA is hardly the only organization to experience fracturing as a result of a push for diversity, Dr. Christine Larson, assistant professor of journalism at University of Colorado Boulder, observed, citing the film industry, Silicon Valley, and the Women’s March. Within publishing, the Sad Puppies plagued the Science Fiction Writers Association’s (SFWA) Hugo Awards. “Systemic racism and bigotry is baked into the infrastructure of our society. So of course, publishing is going to be the same; of course, any organization like RWA is going to be the same.” said LaQuette. “But my job is not to give up. Because if I give up, they win.”
But some (like this former member) felt the issues with this year’s Vivian Awards were the same problems all over again.
But Larson disagrees.
“I found it heartening to contrast how this board dealt with this controversy, compared to the way the old board dealt with Courtney,” she said. “The board reacted quickly and clearly. They immediately rescinded the award. And that’s very different than what happened in the Courtney Milan controversy … just the fact that this board saw what was wrong and took … quick, strong powerful steps to send a message, I think that says a lot.”
Bottom line: At RWA, the leaders who contributed to this story were less worried about a future without RWA and more worried about a future RWA that didn’t make space for marginalized authors. “If none of us [marginalized authors] are at the table to help make these decisions, the same rules and policies that have been in place for so long will keep us out. So, I have a chance to elevate my voice in a space that has been condemned eminently white,” said Chilove. Where does RWA go from here? LaQuette said: “My goal is to make sure that whatever foundation I’m setting, that it’s strong enough that when the next person comes, they get to continue to build on it until we can see some real change.”
Emily Wenstrom is a freelance writer and platforming expert and writes award-winning speculative fiction for teens and adults as E. J. Wenstrom.
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Trendspotting: Supply Chain Woes
Where there’s smoke …
I happen to know more about the ins and outs of publishing’s supply chain because I’m married to a former production guy. He not only worked in book production for 20 years at a mid-size publisher, he also visited Hong Kong to meet the printing team he worked with. Whenever there were worker strikes or supply chain problems that affected how quickly books could be printed, shipped, and delivered to the warehouse, his number was on every executive’s speed dial. Because if books don’t arrive on time, book sales don’t happen as projected, and revenue goals get missed.
These days, he is happy to be out of production, given that the supply chain issues have never been so dire for book publishers. Partly this is pandemic related and caused by a shortage of workers, but it’s also the result of years-long contraction in the printing market. (I last wrote about these various factors in March 2021.)
This month, the biggest US book wholesaler and distributor, Ingram, released several statements to its customers warning about the challenges ahead. They warn, “This fall, the global publishing business can expect disruption in shipping, increases in costs throughout the supply chain, shortages in consumables used for packing and shipping, and shortages in manufacturing supplies for books and printed matter. Like many other companies that rely on warehouses, trucking, and manufacturing, IngramSpark expects to be challenged by labor shortages and transportation challenges. We expect to have difficulty finding available workers in many of our warehouse locations and manufacturing plants. We may also lack enough transportation assets to keep books moving at our typical speed.” (I’ve seen anecdotal reports on social media of slowdowns at Ingram warehouses; no one wishes to go on the record.)
Small press founder Anne Trubek of Belt Publishing wrote extensively about the supply chain situation she faces in her July 27 newsletter, Publishing Is Broken Part 59. Two years ago, she says, she could get a book printed in two weeks; now it takes eight weeks. Because of supply chain problems, she has been pressured by her distributor to print more books than she needs right now, as it may be near impossible to print, ship, and stock later in the year. But the solution to “print more now” isn’t a good one, she says: “Deciding to simply print twice as many copies as you think you need, for fear of running out, can be a disastrous financial decision.”
The aggravating factor is that booksellers, including Amazon, are worried they will run out of books over the holiday season—and placing earlier and larger orders than they would otherwise. Ingram has suggested bookstores order as early as possible and in quantities of 15 units or more; Shelf Awareness notes, “In addition to stocking up early, Ingram also recommends that customers review excess inventory early and make room for new stock, and speak to publishing reps about anticipated titles, which will help Ingram predict demand.”
I heard from Michigan-based bookseller Chanda Stafford, at Parallel 45 Books and Gifts, who says she’s been ordering earlier and more than usual—and has already received her first shipment of holiday books. “There have been so many delays this year, not just in books but in other products we carry, that we feel we can’t wait or we’ll miss out,” she wrote me. “It all affects our bottom line, and by ordering earlier, we can ensure we have the books our customers want the most.”
Small publishers that run close to the margins are just as worried about their bottom line. I reached out to Meg Reid of Hub City Press, who said if customers over-order and Amazon behaves like it always does in the fourth quarter—and buys up as much stock as possible—then “You still have no books in the warehouses for those who actually want them and face massive returns in January of 2022. That’s when we get paid for our fall sales. So heavy returns in January can basically knock out our entire fall season, or worse, put us upside down.”
Reid said that last year, when she went back to press on a book in November, the shipment didn’t arrive in December as expected due to printing delays. When the reprint landed in January, it was welcomed alongside the same amount of returned books. “So, the compromise I’ve had to make,” she said, “is deciding to print what I believe will sell and not upping my orders or rushing large reprints to accommodate for inflated ordering around the holidays.”
Reid said she’s not sure why the forecast this year is predicted to be worse than before, since she’s been dealing with these issues for over two years. “I wonder if it’s just that corporate publishers are now feeling the pain of running out of books and not being able to get more?” she said.
I did hear from one agent who said that a printer cut the volume of books it will print for Big Five publisher Macmillan, who will now have to determine which titles will take the hit before the holiday season. Another agent, Kate McKean, told us, “It feels like the calm before the storm. I have my eye on my graphic novels, because I bet those are going to be trouble.” In other words: full-color books, often printed internationally, might take the hardest hit. ICv2, which covers the comics and graphic novel market, recently reported that DC is delaying 35 titles, with more shifts likely to come.
Bottom line: When the Los Angeles Times recently came out with a rather optimistic look at book publishing’s fall season, author Sarah Weinman (who once reported for Publishers Lunch), commented, “I, too, would love to see ‘hot books fall’, but am fearing ‘hot mess supply chain fall’ will actually happen.” For a broader perspective on supply chain issues across every industry, I suggest reading this New York Times piece on how the problem may get worse heading into the holidays.
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Yes, You Can Sell Your Book without Social Media
But if you have a comfortable presence on social media, it still helps
One of the biggest anxieties and preoccupations of authors today is social media. How big does your following have to be? Will your book sell if you don’t get on social media and talk about it? Which platforms should you use? What if you hate using it?
Last month, the Authors Guild hosted a panel of four authors who discussed what marketing and promotion efforts have moved the needle on book sales, what they would and would not do again, and how they use (or don’t use, rather) social media. Probably the loudest and clearest message was: Social media is not as critical as most authors seem to think, and you can do plenty of effective marketing and promotion without it. Most panelists’ social media use was portrayed as modest, with the possible exception of the one panelist who self-publishes his work. Two traditionally published authors discussed deactivating some accounts and pulling back their activity.
Even authors with a strong online presence rarely make social media the focal point of their efforts. Rather, they’re tapping existing relationships and community. A tool to reach that community might be social media, a blog, or an email newsletter. For example, Kevin L. Matthews II, a two-time self-published author and former financial advisor, is the author of From Burning to Blueprint, the story of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre in the context of rebuilding a Black Wall Street. Most of his investment was put into his existing community, the people who helped him develop the book in the first place. Before writing a single line, he asked his readership of 5,000 via email what he should focus on; that became an important part of the marketing. Once he knew what people were actually looking for, he knew how to set his book apart from everything else on the market.
Matthews brought his community along on the journey that followed, getting them to spread the word about each win along the way. He’s had success in securing media coverage, which he then shares through social media: “I like to say, ‘We did it as a community.’” In turn, that sparks re-sharing and engagement from his readers, which lead to sales. Oftentimes when people reach out to Matthews for speaking engagements, it’s because someone from his community shared one of his media wins.
Similar to Matthews, Cait Flanders, the author of Wall Street Journal bestseller The Year of Less (Hay House), was able to sell her book by appealing to her 10,000 email newsletter subscribers. She had been blogging for seven years by that point, with about 50,000 visitors to her site every month. She was able to secure 3,500 pre-orders for the book, which set the tone for the entire marketing campaign. She said that without her own email list, she doesn’t know who she would’ve marketed the book to.
For new authors of fiction, it often makes more sense to market your book and not yourself as the author. Jessica Goodman, author of YA thrillers They Wish They Were Us and They’ll Never Catch Us (Razorbill / Penguin Teen) said you have to think much bigger and outside yourself. As far as social media, Goodman uses only Instagram and doesn’t have a big following. So for her first book, the publisher’s strategy was to get the book to as many people as possible through an influencer campaign, some of which was paid. “When books take off on these [social] platforms, it’s not necessarily because the author is there singing their own praises and promoting their own work,” she said—especially since most authors don’t have a big enough following that it would make a difference anyway. Instead, the energy and excitement comes from others who have loved the book and evangelize the book for everybody else. To complement her publisher’s investment in an influencer campaign, Goodman reached out to her own strong list of contacts in the media world, based on her experience working at Cosmopolitan and Entertainment Weekly. “We sent the book out to every media outlet that we thought might cover YA fiction about young women,” she said.
Panelists had mixed feelings about investing in a physical book tour. Flanders financially supported her own tour for her first book and said that while she has some “incredible memories” from it, she wouldn’t bother again unless her publisher was paying. However, she did compliment Powell’s in Portland, Oregon, for both event turnout and sales. Moderator Erin Lowry, who writes personal finance books, said she would invest in a tour again, but she hosted ticketed events that included a copy of the book, a swag bag, plus drinks and food—which meant guaranteed sales. But how do you get people to buy tickets to such events? “That’s a different conversation,” she said. Goodman said that one thing not to overlook is the importance of cultivating relationships with independent bookstores even if the sales aren’t there at the event. She said having a long-term career as an author means having those relationships that you can call back on year after year, book after book.
Should you hire marketing or publicity help? The answer is complicated and experiences vary, but here are some helpful takeaways from the panel:
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Matthews did spend money on hiring a consultant to offer him a structure and template for how to tackle his marketing campaign. Based on the guidance he received, Matthews built his pitches around existing anniversaries and current events, such as Black History Month and Juneteenth; this strategy was very effective.
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Flanders hired a publicist who helped land her some interviews and excerpts, but some of the coverage wasn’t worth it. Making matters worse, the publicist sometimes pitched the book in a way that was misleading; then Flanders would have to explain to the interviewer what the book was really about. Her lesson learned was that if you do hire someone, you need to really work with that person and not just hand things off. For her second book, Flanders hired someone who focused only on pitching her as a podcast guest. “That was incredibly well worth it. It was a lot cheaper than a full-on publicist.”
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As someone who spent years on the other end of publicity pitches, Goodman said it was rare to receive an effective pitch from a publicist she didn’t know. Make sure you carefully vet any publicist you hire, she said. “See what success they’ve had; ask for case studies—the kinds of books they’ve done, the publicity they’ve done and how that translated to sales.”
Bottom line: When asked about the return on investment for social media, Goodman said that word of mouth—not primarily through authors’ social media accounts—is how books make their way around the world and into readers’ hands. She said if social media is a negative drain on your life, “Ditch it. It really doesn’t matter.” Matthews, probably the most avid user of social media on the panel aside from the moderator, said an author’s ideal use will depend on where they currently and naturally reside online. “If I’m already on Twitter, what is it I can say about my book or my life that I would already post anyway? It should fit with me and who I am. I don’t force myself into a box because it’s popular. It’s always about posting on your own schedule.” If social media flows naturally for you and is not a chore, do it. Otherwise, don’t stress about it.
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Trailblazes
Opportunities, launches, and startups
New literary agency and services firm: BBH Literary
BBH Literary is a publicity firm, literary agency, and editorial services company founded by David Bratt and Laura Bardolph Hubers. Both formerly worked at Eerdmans Publishing, a publisher of religious books and academic works in theology. They represent primarily nonfiction.
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Links of Interest
News
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Libraries have a once-in-a-lifetime chance for a funding boost. The US House of Representatives just passed a $3.5 trillion budget, and legislators now must earmark how that money will be spent. The American Library Association is urging supporters to contact their representatives to encourage funding for libraries. Read Andrew Albanese in Publishers Weekly.
Traditional Publishing
Marketing Toolbox
Amazon
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Two book publishers have filed a class action lawsuit against Audible. This is part of the ongoing #audiblegate scandal from last year. Both publishers are business entities owned by self-publishing authors. Read Kendal Enz at Law Street.
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Amazon is moving to podcasts for the advertising dollars. It recently acquired podcast network Wondery as well as distribution rights to SmartLess. Read Lucas Shaw at Bloomberg Businessweek.
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Amazon is believed to be investing in live audio. Currently, the focus is on live music and events; talk radio and podcasts may enter into the mix. Read Sara Fischer at Axios.
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JRR Tolkien and Amazon’s fight for a franchise. Amazon analyst Tim Carmody says Amazon is spending a huge amount of money on its new Lord of the Rings TV series to not only create a boost in subscriptions and sales but also to build its reputation in Hollywood. But Amazon’s rights are limited to a very narrow slice of the LOTR canon. Read at the Amazon Chronicles.
Comics & Graphic Novels
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Manga picking up momentum in North America. NPD BookScan reports that sales of comics and graphic novels have increased 178 percent over last year and represent 20 percent of adult fiction sales in 2021. BookNet Canada reports a sales increase of 106 percent from 2016 to 2020. Read Aline Zara at BookNet Canada.
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A deep dive into what NPD BookScan says about graphic novel sales in 2020. A staffer at The Beat parses the data to show what’s happening in the market. Read Brian Hibbs.
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DC and Webtoon partner up on webcomics. The companies will collaborate on several webcomic series set in the DC universe. Read Calvin Reid at Publishers Weekly.
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Meanwhile, DC and Marvel are facing contract scrutiny. Partly that’s because Substack has been making deals with big names in comics. Read Gita Jackson at Vice.
Culture and Politics
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Police officer involved in Breonna Taylor’s shooting looks for another publisher. Jonathan Mattingly originally signed with Post Hill Press, but Post Hill’s distributor, Simon & Schuster, announced they would not distribute the book—a highly unusual move. Now Mattingly has returned his advance and seeks another publisher. Read Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg at The Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
- What do fiction writers owe their real-life inspiration? People whose lives have been fictionalized are protesting their treatment at the hands of writers. Read Alice Bolin at Vulture.
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Closing image: The Association of American Publishers has released their latest StatShot report, which allows for a comparison of 2021 versus 2020. In 2020, publishers were already enjoying significant sales growth versus 2019. This year, the growth is compounded upon growth.
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Exclusive Authors Guild offer for Hot Sheet Subscribers: Save 35% when you join the Guild today. Since 1912, the Guild has been advocating for working writers at all levels of their careers. Use promo code HOTSHEET35.
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Contributor: Emily Wenstrom
Copy editor: Nicole R. Klungle
Production coordinator: Mark F. Griffin
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