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BRITISH-IRISH-POETS  May 2007

BRITISH-IRISH-POETS May 2007

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Subject:

Re: Talking in Greek

From:

Chris Hamilton-Emery <[log in to unmask]>

Reply-To:

Chris Hamilton-Emery <[log in to unmask]>

Date:

Mon, 7 May 2007 19:08:43 +0100

Content-Type:

text/plain

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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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