A modest proposal for book marketing – The Shatzkin Files

A modest proposal for book marketing – The Shatzkin Files:

A proposal to publishers on book marketing backed up with a sound principle and suggestion from publishing consultant, Mike Shatzkin…

“There are two questions big publishers need to be asking about all of this. One is “does it scale?” The other is “does it adequately replace the stack on the front table of a highly-trafficked bookstore as a way to generate attention for a new publication?”

If marketing efforts don’t scale, then a newcomer or a smaller press isn’t handicapped competing against a major. And if the new techniques don’t compensate for the lost front table spaces, then publishers are going to need something more. And effort that doesn’t scale takes time, which costs money. Publishing margins have never been robust enough to allow publishers to increase the percentage of revenue allocated to marketing and remain profitable.”