Where Is The Art Of Reading Going?

In this business, we are always looking for "a reason" as to why the market does what it does. Why do sales go down? Why do they go up? What about trends? Unfortunately, as we have talked about here in the past, we really cannot predict these. This is really a business of guessing and hoping you are right. This is actually one of those areas where I get frustrated with authors who seem to think, "the publishers should have seen this coming." Not always.

But, there are things we can see going on outside of the publishing industry that might account for shifts in sales.

Take, for example, advertisements for those tablets from any of the marketers out there. What do they hype up? The fact that you can stream movies, watch your favorite TV shows, catch up on social media, and oh by the way, you can read a book. In other words, we have placed that at such a lower level on the marketing scale, it is no wonder why the readers are simply not out there.

Consider social media. We are making every effort to get "just what you need" and get it to you fast. You can follow Twitter and click on basic links just to get the news. Ta Da! No more reading newspapers.

But now we can see what is happening in the K-12 system. Sure, they do continue to teach reading and have kids read outside of class. The book reports are still there, but there is a lot more "control" over what the students have to read. We have programs such as Accelerated Reader which have the kids read from books "only" on their list and have to take tests on these. Yes, these are an advancement from those older SRA programs where we read from cards out of a box and answered questions, but, there are still limitations. I don't care how excited a kid might be about a book, the student can't read it for credit if there is no test for it.

And now we have the Common Core. Let me first say, I am not against the Common Core. I do believe we need Outcome Based Objectives for what we do in school, but the emphasis is now on "informational texts" according to Kathryn VanArendonk, who teaches developmental reading and writing at Union County College (from an interview on summer reading on NPR on Aug. 20th). The days of reading fiction are slipping away as we make reading "practical".

Sure, the kids are reading and this is a good thing. But the days of reading for escape. Reading to really get into characters and plots seem to be pushed aside right now for the idea of "reading a book only for a specific purpose."

Maybe what we need to do is to get back to reading just because a book sounds good. But this effort has to start with the adults out there. Get those kids to the library. Get them to book stores and let them find something that "just looks good." And while they are out there getting a book, make sure to pick up a book or two for yourself.

And then, when you are at home, instead of firing up the TV to binge watch the latest episode of Zombies in Amish Land, pick up the book and read. You might be surprised. You might enjoy that book and get hooked again.

Carpe Diem in the Publishing World

Things change. In publishing, things change overnight. When you least expect it, when you thought things were going one way, the industry suddenly shifts and takes off in a new direction. It is, at those moments, that the successful writers make that quick shift and take advantage of being in the right place at the right time.

Paying attention to the things going on around you in this business is key. We listen to what the professionals are say. We watch trends happening in the world around us (outside of publishing), and when that shift happens, we jump.

But there is a catch to this.

The successful writers are not "starting" a new project when that shift in the industry occurs. IF they have something that works. IF they are in a position to move with the industry, they will move. These successful writers know they are not always going to have something or be ready to move right there and then. But if they do, they are ready.

I bring this up because I do see far too many authors who try to "seize that moment" and move with the industry, but the problem is that they are starting projects when that shift occurs. Take, for example, the sudden rise in YA and New Adult. All of a sudden, publishers saw the need to jump on this market. There were buyers of these books and the issue of supply and demand came into play. The supply of authors was low. Some authors had books that could easily be shifted to this market. A few tweaks of a current work in progress, and they were ready to go. But the vast majority of authors had nothing, but figured they would "start something."

Now many of these authors are probably not "banging out a book" in 30 days, so when they finally get that book ready for market, the editors and agents already have shelves of books ready to go. These newer authors are confused. "But I thought they wanted these new books and now they say they are already flooded with projects? What happened?"

The thing is that it took these authors too long to seize the moment.

So how do we remedy this? We go back to what all of the editors and agents have been saying for some time. Write what you know. Write what you are good at. If the market is not ready for it right now, just hang on. The odds are it will shift soon and your books will be ready to go.

It also requires you keeping an eye on things going on around you. Be ready to make those moves, and, as you are drafting that next work in progress, think of how the books has some flexibility.

Sometimes Writers Have Bad Days, (agents and editors have bad days too)

I'm reading (in my spare time which is really limited right now) a favorite author of mine. No need to bring up who, just know this is one of those authors when I see a new book on the shelf, I will want to buy it. In any case, I am really fighting through this book. It just doesn't have the zip and the zing that the other books have had. No, this isn't the latest, just one in the middle that I missed. The others have been good. Needless to say, this got me thinking about the ups and downs of writing.

As much as we have to say it, professional writers will have good books and not so good books (O.K. and maybe awful books). It will happen. There will be things going on in your real life that somehow tap into that muse you love to use and suck all of the air out of the story you are working on. No matter how hard you try, the story just won't come out the way you think. Unfortunately, when this happens, the writer may not even be aware of the problem. As far as they know, the story is plugging along just like they had planned. Still when the story hits the shelf, or maybe even before when the editor or agent reads it, the story is flat.

Now what?

When this happens, the time comes to re-evaluate. This does not mean to go out and start a new genre, or to give up your career entirely. It is really a time to think about the process that went into the story. Whether you realize it or not, you did something different this time. It is your job to figure it out.

For established writers, I honestly have to believe the thing they did differently was to not think. The writing had become a habit and the story was cranked out in auto-pilot format. The thought and energy the writer used when crafting those earlier stories simply wasn't there. I joke about this a lot when a writer has one of those "what where you thinking" books. I ask, "was this their 7th or 8th book?" In other words, by this time, the writing was in auto-pilot mode, and frankly, as a writer, you can only fly manually.

I do think this is a problem we all have in anything we do. There is a class I teach at the local college every now and then that did that for me just recently. The class was flat and I found myself really just opening my mouth and the discussions just came out. Everything was expected. So what am I doing? Next time I teach the class, whenever that might be, we will start from scratch. Do things differently and breathe life back into the sessions.

Do editors and agents face this? I am sure they do! "This is the type of story I want," turns into "If it isn't exactly like this author, I will pass on it!" A move like that is dangerous and will create stagnation in the publishing industry. I am often frustrated when I hear, "well you know, that story isn't selling right now." Honestly, is it the story or is it the authors that you have that failed with that type of story. Could it be time to get some fresh blood out there and try it a different way?

I encourage all writers, during this next full week to think about what they are doing. This is not to say to think extra hard about the sentence you write, or the way a query letter is done, but just to think in a big picture idea. If something is not working the way it should be, take the time to examine the process.

And yes, editors and agents out there, it is time for you to think of what you are doing. Are you just acquiring things because it has always worked in the past? Are you shying away from those stories that are good for a justifiable reason?

This is a big challenge. Are you up for it?

Have a great weekend.

Scott

E-Book Battle May Be a Positive Sign

I want to begin first by saying, I am still a book person. Although I love the latest gadgets out there, and I do have all of the new e-book readers on my Christmas list (will likely get the carpet cleaning that I asked for though), I am still someone that loves the feel of books. I have to say, that I do believe a lot of other people out there are in my camp as well. However, with that said, the current e-book battle raging right now might be a sign that people may take up reading again. As someone who supports literacy, this could be good.

Now, do I think this means that more and more e-publishers will start showing up and controlling the market? No, I don't think that will happen. Sure, companies will start diving on the bandwagon to market to authors wanting to ride the digital wave, but I have to say, they will not be the ones controlling the market. It will still be the larger publishers that will see the e-book market as simply an extension to their existing business.

I have to say, though, the traditional book market will have a long way to go before disappearing. Heck, when computers came out, we thought every home would have one now. This is far from the case. There is still a large population of people out there, for what ever reason, can not afford the technology. Given a choice between a Kindle and groceries, they will take groceries.

But what about the lates move by Stephen Covey marketing exclusively to Kindle? Will this cause problems? No way. There are already other companies (Harlequin being one) that have an electronic line and writers submit books only in that format? Has that detracted from their business? No way. Instead, it has increased their business. When someone buys one of those electronic books, they go out and get the others only in print format.

The ultimate change that I think we will see is the increase of readers. Maybe with these e-readers, people may simply get hooked on reading. They couldn't get to the library and they didn't ever want to be caught dead in a book store, but now, in the privacy of their own home, they can get those books.

I don't think any of us can make a prediction about the outcome. We can only wait to see once the dust settles.

And remember Santa, Scott wants a new E-Reader!

Scott

Literacy and Publishing

In recent years, we have heard a great deal about the decline in publishing. We see this not just in the book publishing industry but also in the newspaper industry. Newspapers are collapsing in record numbers. Over and over we hear numerous economic theories as to why publishers are simply selling less books. We hear people complain about the price of manufacturing the product. We hear people complain about the reduction in advertising. You name it, we hear it.

There is, unfortunately, another side that I don't think we stop and think about. We have to consider the literacy of the general public. I started thinking about this yesterday and it really struck me as one of the reasons that I think we are ignoring. After 20 years in the classroom and extensive work in the field of literacy, I finally realized it was time to blend these two worlds and see what I came up with. Unfortunately, the vision I see is extremely worrying to me.

Students are just not reading as much as they did in the past. Even when they are reading, the material the students are reading is declining in terms of the level. We refer to this as the "readability level." High school textbooks, for example, are often set for a readability level as low as 6th grade. Even at the college level, we see readability levels as low as that. If you have children in school, take a look at their textbooks. Today, the books look far different from earlier versions of textbooks. More graphics, less writing. Big words.

Even the type of questions and the placement of the questions for the chapters have changed. In the past, the questions were really deeper questions. Sure, there were some basic factual questions, but in the end there were more critical thinking questions. Today, you find more personal reflection questions and less in depth ones. Along the same lines, the questions happen at a higher frequency. Instead of the end of the chapter questions, we are now moving to questions every 2-3 pages.

Why is the frequency an issue? The students can't remember the material past a small amount of pages. (Now think about the books we are reading in fiction... smaller chapter).

Even the emphasis on reading has shifted in schools (and I should note this has been going on since the early 90's). Students read a smaller amount of novels in the class. Students are even told what level of book they should be reading and needless to say, because the readability levels of the books have declined, the books are really low level.

Now let's talk about adults. We too want things short and simple. If we read the newspaper, we scan it for the headlines we want to read and ignore the rest. Even then, we often never read the entire article. Even technology like Twitter reduces how much we have to read (140 characters only??) Emails are shorter, we live for texting?

What about the books we read. I hear time and time again that publishers want "fast" stories. Reduce the narration, go straight to dialogue and keep the pace moving. Ugh, it reminds me of those action movies my father-in-law loves. Little plot and all action. Yes, I know there are writers out there trying to do better, but there is a shift and we cannot ignore it. I will have to say, I was excited to hear that people at BEA were trying to take the books the other direction though. We'll have to wait and see about that one.

Let's face it. Even as adults, we find it hard to model what we want to see in our kids. We find it hard to model this behavior that we want to see and often complain is not out there.

Sure, the publishing industry is changing. We are apparently moving to more and more technology, but as I see it, I really do think things are going to change more and maybe in a direction that we don't want to see. As I look at publishing, I look at our kids in school. I look at my 2nd and 4th grader and see what they are reading. Fortunately for us, our kids love reading and are in a literate home, but I see the emphasis on reading and it scares me.

If we want to see the publishing industry continue then we need to start early.

Scott