beyond the bestseller list: filling patron demand for great ebooks without the "big 6...
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Finding books patrons will love, outside the big 6 - it's not just possible, but patrons will love what you find! Presented by Marlene Harris at the 24th annual COMO 2012 Conference in Macon, GA.TRANSCRIPT
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Beyond the Bestseller List
Filling patron demand for great ebooks without
the ‘Big 6’ publishers
1 2012 SELA/Georgia COMO Conference
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Recognize these?
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2012 RITA Winner for Romance
Novella
I Love the Earl by
Caroline Linden
First time an ebook
only title won
All the other
nominees were
Avon Impulse is an
ebook only division
of Avon
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2012 RITA Winner for Contemporary
Single Title Romance
Boomerang Bride
by Fiona Lowe
First time an ebook
only title won
All the other
nominees were
Carina Press is the
ebook only division
of Harlequin
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Not those guys, these guys.
Hachette Book Group
Harper Collins
Macmillan
Penguin Group
Random House
Simon and Schuster
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Not that there isn’t a lot to say
about the “Big 6” problem… But that’s not all there is to ebook
collection development.
Formats do have slightly different
audiences.
In architecture (and engineering) the
principal is “form follows function”
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Print books, Large print,
audiobooks, ebooks Same content but different format
serves different purposes for different
people
The same title will have differing levels
of popularity depending on format.
Would we expect this to be any
different with a new format?
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Your patrons will tell you what
they want.
Statistics are your
friend!
Reports show that
patrons who read
ebooks read a lot.
Figure out what are
they reading!
Then buy more of
it!
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Books beyond the bestseller list
Ebooks are
different!
Sometimes that’s a
good thing.
You can collect the
set. You can collect
all the sets and
never worry about
shelf space.
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Two most popular ebook genres,
generally speaking
Mystery/Suspense/
Thriller
Romance
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At my LPOW (Last Place of
Work) 1.Romance (double-plus) the
circulation of the next largest category,
month in, month out, still true)
2.Fantasy (Game of Thrones probably
has a lot to answer for)
3.Non-fiction (the pundits are not
always right)
4.Thriller
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YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY
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Some rules of
thumb for selecting
ebooks
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What’s hot and what’s not
EBOOK HOTS
Genre fiction, not
just romance
Novellas and short
stories
Biography
Self-help
EBOOK NOTS
Literary fiction
Books with lots of
pictures
Including kids
books
Books with lots of
deep research
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Mysteries are series based
One complaint
libraries often get is
that we don’t have
the whole series.
Ebooks don’t take
shelf space, they
don’t wear out and
they can’t be
stolen. Go ahead
and collect the set.
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The “Teaser Novella” is Hot!
Odd Thomas looks
like triplets, doesn’t
he?
And did patrons
ask for the
prequel?
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And the book.5 series
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Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Book 3.5
Book 4.5 Book 4
Book 4.6 Book 5
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Romance, ereaders and privacy
When you read on an ereader, no one sees the cover.
No embarrassment on the train, at the sales counter in the store, in the lunchroom, or on your bookshelf at home.
Readers explore boundaries they might not otherwise.
And yes, there’s an irony here.
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Discoverability
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Ebook-only imprints on
OverDrive, etc. Supply met demand,
and there are tons of ebook-only romance publishers.
Many are available on OverDrive and from other library suppliers.
The books are usually less a paperback
Sometimes a LOT less
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Romance fiction and the problem
of reviews
Romance readers
have taken to the
internet like ducks
to water.
Romance readers
probably read more
books faster than
any other genre
readers.
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And the reviews are, where?
Library Journal
Xpress Reviews
Goodreads
Amazon
Romance Blogs
Ebook Review
Central
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How do people find good books
to read? 96% because they’ve read the author
before
79% because a friend recommended the book
58% saw it at a bookstore
54% saw it at a library
(Statistics from Goodreads May newsletter)
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About those book blogs..
Readers passionate about their genre
Ready, willing and able to write
reviews
Courted by publishers and authors to
be that “friend” that recommends an
author’s first title
Niche genres that get little to no
coverage in traditional reviewing
media get tons of blog reviews
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Book blogs worth looking at
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Book Lovers Inc
Smart Bitches,
Trashy Books
The Book
Pushers
Dear Author
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Why ebooks matter
1. Ebook is the dominant sales format
for adult fiction in the U.S. Right
now.
2. Publishers make more money per
copy on ebooks than on mass
market paperbacks.
3. So do authors. This is true for
traditional publishing, not just self-
publishing.
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Following what’s happening
Dear Author (best summary of the
DOJ suit (www.dearauthor.com)
Passive Guy (terrific info aggregator
about the book business
(http://www.thepassivevoice.com/)
Mike Shatzkin (he’s been in the book
business forever. His dad was in the
book business
(http://www.idealog.com/)
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In case you’re wondering…
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I am a Librarian (MSLS, Univ. of Kentucky)
15+ years Collection Services experience at
Public Libraries, including digital collections
As Technical Services Division Director at the
Alachua County Library District (Gainesville, FL) I
fostered the growth of the digital collection from
circulation into the system’s 4th largest branch
At Reading Reality, I publish Ebook Review Central, a
service that collects reviews of titles from major ebook
publishers available on OverDrive and from other library
ebook providers.
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THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE!
Marlene Harris
Reading Reality, LLC
Twitter: @readingreality
www.readingreality.net
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