http://www.toccon.com/toc2013/public/schedule/detail/26726 Larger publishers and distributors are often unwilling to take a chance on what they consider “niche.” Yet consumers want specialization and more advanced content rather than lowest common denominator material. What’s a creative professional to do? Using the example of knit publishing and its evolving presence in the e-book market, as well as best practices for designers and creatives relating to publishing, we’ll explore ways to increase creators’ revenue and buck the established publishing system. Presented by Shannon Okey of Cooperative Press. TOC NYC 2013.

1. Knitting a Long
Tail in Niche
Publishing
Shannon Okey, Cooperative Press

2. Why "niche"?
For our purposes, niche publishing = publishing on any
topic that isn't readily seen as commercially viable, either
because the topic is too narrow/specialized or because
the publishers haven't caught up to YOU yet!
Sadly, the latter is usually the case.

3. Doing the [publisher] math
The last major-publisher project I turned down:
$15,000 advance offered
- $2250 to agent (15%)
- $7000 from our pocket to pay photographer chosen by publisher
- $4000 to pay technical editor and sample knitters
- $500 minimum for shipping & various expenses
= $1250, divided by 2 authors, for a year of work.
(and unlikely to earn more via royalties!)

4. The fiction side
A good friend of mine got a 3-book deal (fiction) for $110,000 at
auction.
Less 40% tax/SEP = $66,000
Less 15% agent commission, $56,100
That $56,100 is divided over three years, in nine separate payments
(signing, delivery/acceptance, and publish date).
She earns $18,700 per year (in the Bay Area!) before she even goes to
any writing conferences or promotional events.
Needless to say, she still works 80 hours a week at her day job.

5. Release the numbers!
Writing as a profession doesn't pay much as a general
rule. Even the lucrative romance novel market... see
http://brendahiatt.com/show-me-the-money
for one of the only publisher-by-publisher breakdowns
available for a specific genre widely available to the
public.

6. The long tail
The one on the left, not the one on the right.

7. Essential info
Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail: Why The Future of Business
is Selling Less of More:
"The average Barnes & Noble carries 130,000 titles. Yet more than half
of Amazon's book sales come from outside its top 130,000 titles."
Rules of the Long Tail according to Anderson:
One: make everything available
Two: cut the price in half, then lower it even more
Three: help them [consumers] find it

8. However...
Anderson's rule one: make everything available.
Before you can do that, you need to have
something to MAKE available!

9. Identifying YOUR niche
Research/read available books and media on your topic
that are already on the market.
For my book The Knitgrrl Guide to Professional Knitwear
Design, there were no other books on the business of
creating and selling patterns for hand knitting.
(Chances are good you probably aren't as specialized. Do
your research!)

10. You take the good, you take
the bad...
Where are there deficiencies in the existing market?
ARE there any books on your topic already?
Whose books are ok, but not the greatest?
What can you add to the conversation?

11. Content development
YOU DON'T HAVE TO START FROM
SCRATCH!
Dig through your files: old presentations, blog posts, one-
off articles or pieces, even long emails are all content-
fodder for a book.
(For the purposes of our conversation, we'll assume you're creating a
book/ebook, though it could also be an online class, app or any other
kind of published content that's for sale)

12. Format War II
Remember who won the Great Music Format War? (MP3).
We're still in the middle of a digital format war for books
and ebooks, and there isn't a clear winner yet.
ePub (Apple iBookstore, etc)
.azw/.mobi (Amazon Kindle)
and many many more
Count on making your book available in both major
formats, plus PDF.

13. ebook software
Adobe InDesign tagging/export to ePub
Calibre (http://calibre-ebook.com)
Sigil (http://code.google.com/p/sigil)
Apple authoring software
plain old HTML markup
and many, many more (changing every day)
If time is tight? Pay a specialist!
(http://ebookarchitects.com is one, and a good source of
info, too, though they were recently acquired by
Firebrand)

14. Don't forget PDF!
PDF remains the most readily-accessible format for most
consumers, and doesn't rely on owning a particular
device.
PDF also offers the greatest possible control for layout
options, which is critical when producing something
graphically-intensive.
(ebooks aren't quite there yet in terms of layout control)

15. To DRM or not to DRM?
No.

16. Really, what about DRM?
If the point of the long tail is to make more items available
and sell them automatically (thus creating a consistent
stream of revenue), do you really want to be doing tech
support when the DRM goes wonky?
Save yourself the trouble!
However, if you INSIST: e-junkie.com has an option to
stamp purchaser information into the header of purchased
files. It's less obnoxious than traditional DRM.

17. Sales options
Automated download systems (e-junkie, Payloadz, etc)
Amazon Kindle Store (70% royalty if priced at $9.99 or less)
Apple iBookstore (similar to Kindle, harder to get in)
B&N Nook sales
Smashwords.com (probably the most popular ebook sales site)
Don't neglect...
Your own website (can embed cart from e-junkie or the like)
Specialty sites: for knitting, it's Ravelry.com (2 million users!)
What specialty sites exist in YOUR niche?

18. Developing a process
Content development is a process.
Sales development is a process.
Anderson's rule two: cut price in half, then lower it again
Lesson to learn: You may have to adjust prices based on sales outlet
Example: if you price over $9.99, you lower your Kindle sales royalty
from 70% to 30%).

19. Why less CAN be more
Amanda Hocking has sold well over 1.5 million books
(and earned $2.5 million PLUS) selling her ebooks on
Kindle.
She sells her books from 99 cents to $2.99 (first one in
the series is cheaper, a loss leader, and sequels = more)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jan/12/amanda-
hocking-self-publishing

20. Anderson's rule three?
Help consumers find your work.
This means consistency in
branding (look, feel: TEMPLATE for ease of production)
availability (multiple formats, where available)
It also means staying in touch!
Mailchimp or other mailing list software
(why not embed a live link in the ebook?) Use groups feature to find out what
books/products of yours people have already & mail them when new/related items
come out!)

21. Stay flexible
Track what platform/site/etc does best for you and
concentrate your efforts, or
Make sure every book you create is available on every
platform
(The spirit of the long tail would advise the latter.
If opportunity cost is not too high, go for it!)
I netted $200 on old patterns in one week by listing
them on a new pattern sales site!

22. Actively promote
1. Link to your sales page or other info in your email
footer/website sidebar/Twitter 'about,' wherever you can.
2. Leading potential readers to your work is easy if you let
them know it's there!
3. Encourage fans to share with people they think would
like it (offer a free or cheap teaser, first chapter, etc).

23. Be the specialist
Make sure relevant online communities know about your
work through active participation, not spamming. One of
our bestselling books was top-selling for two reasons:
1. It made Library Journal's year-end Best Of lists
but more importantly...
2. The author moderates a community group ON
THAT TOPIC and made sure everyone knew it was
coming out.

24. The long haul of the long tail
The nature of the long tail is such that sales may not
immediately take off.
Give it time, and be patient.
In the words of an infamous infomercial:
SET IT AND FORGET IT.

25. Go on to new content
The more books/content vehicles you have available, the
easier it will be to earn money in the long run.
After you've set up one or more books, don't obsess over
their sales numbers...move on and create more.
Use sales numbers and feedback to dictate new content if
you have too much to choose from: engage your
community, ask questions, solicit participation.
http://chrisguillebeau.com books good examples of
soliciting material from community + repackaging.

26. You are awesome.
You have awesome things to share with us.
Make that happen!
Don't settle for a 10% share of your own hard work when
you have technology on your side.

27. Thank you!
Find me online & let me know how it goes!
Shannon Okey, publisher, Cooperative Press
info@cooperativepress.com
@knitgrrl (personal)
@CoopPress (business)
cooperativepress.com