thanks chris - I'm finding this all v. interesting as a myth-busting
exercise.
e
>From: Chris Hamilton-Emery <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Chris Hamilton-Emery <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Talking in Greek
>Date: Mon, 7 May 2007 19:08:43 +0100
>
>I'll write properly on all this during the week. Just to say that outside
>of
>author sales (people purchasing their own books), I'd guess that sales to
>poets accounts for less than 5% of our turnover, perhaps even less than 1%.
>I don't think poets tend to buy new books. Many though are voracious second
>hand book buyers. I think there's a lot of mythology around peer to peer
>sales. Some subscription models can work well in this way, where 200 people
>subscribe and each subscriber gets a turn to be published at some point.
>Most readers are non-poets. My initial target of 200 is a weakness rather
>than an aim, Cape, Picador and Faber are often selling 2,000 copies (going
>to customers not bookstore stock). HarperCollins identifies seven types of
>reader, which it classifies (bizarrely) as sheep. I can't remember them
>now.
>Most people meet readers when touring, blogging, using MySpace, BeBo and
>Facebook, at festivals, open mic sessions and so on. The biggest generator
>of author profile remains the book publicist, and the priceless work they
>do
>in creating and farming stories, getting column inches, air time and word
>of
>mouth. The latter being the most potent driver in book sales. In the main,
>reviews don't sell books. Advertising isn't clearly measurable, and largely
>doesn't impact on individual titles. Fame/celebrity matter, of course.
>Prizes can help a little, but they're variable, big prizes matter, little
>ones don't. Reading groups and writers circles form an important
>constituency, as do some libraries and their reader development programmes,
>but largely for fiction. YouTube works well. Launches, on the whole, don't
>matter, except to celebrate. Events don't sell books. Workshops, talks,
>presentations, help. Journalism helps develop readers. Readings on the
>whole
>aren't cost effective in finding readers -- average sales are seven copies
>per event, though it varies from none to eighty copies, weighted to the
>bottom end. Local readerships can be key. Online reviews don't work, no
>matter how good. Small press reviews don't work. Very broadly there are two
>distinct communities, 18-24 year olds still interested after reading poetry
>for GCSEs and A levels and perhaps at Uni, and those over 50 and in
>semi-retirement. In between most people don't read poetry, they're having
>children and building careers, buying property and accumulating wealth,
>security and so on.
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