E-Publish or National Publish? I'll Take Option 3

Two weeks ago, my wife and I spent about 20 minutes in Barnes and Noble, wiling away some time before meeting others for dinner. She had some things to find; I was doing research.

I wanted to find current middle grade and young adult fantasy books that target my current audience. I had two goals: 1. See what is currently competing successfully for market share; 2. Cover analysis.

It took me a while. Things have changed in Barnes and Noble in the last year. I did manage to find a display table toward the back of the store that had plenty to review, but I also noticed that there wasn't quite the selection I had wanted. There were too many nicknacks and doodads.

Still, I didn't think much of it until a conversation with Tracy Hickman this week in which he commented on the same thing. He said that Barnes and Noble, in an attempt to reinvent itself, is becoming a nicknack store as much as anything.

Then there was this interesting post by Kristine Kathryn Rusch: The Business Rusch: Bookstore Observations.

She makes essentially the same observation, only the implications are worse than I had considered. Her conservative estimate is that over the last 10 months (between visits to a B&N) 20% of shelf space has disappeared. But it might be as high as 30%, replaced by the nicknacks, fewer shelves, books placed face out instead of spine out, and much more physical space devoted to Nooks. The result is that there is a lot less room for new authors, older titles by current authors, and even back list by the major hitters.

Sure, more space for Nooks might help sales, despite the irony, but it means less space for physical books.

Woah.

Yeah. Makes me think long and hard about what I want out of a national publisher, or even if I want one. I mean, if I did manage to gain an agent, and then gain a national publisher, and did accept the likely paltry 4 digit advance with no advertising dollars, where would they place the book? Who would find it? How would they sell it?

People aren't browsing in Barnes and Noble like they used to, and the store isn't even catering to that clientele like they did even a year ago.

On the other hand, e-publishing still requires a readership and a target audience of some size. There are some challenges for newbie writers. Even after footing the bill for a professional, market-quality cover (for middle grade fantasy, the market demands art, and that can run $3,000 or more), editing, page layout, and more, I may not have enough e-readers to make a difference or to sell to.

And, my marketing plan needs to get really ramped up to make inroads into buyers.

These are challenges we all face.

So what's the next best option if national publishing isn't going to happen, and e-publishing on its own, even with a POD hard copy available through a source like Createspace.com?

I believe the answer lies somewhere else. One possible solution is a subscription-based serial version of my product.

But I'm not so sure that would work for this age audience. I think they need the benefit of the entire product. Or rather, that's what they will want, whether as a hard copy or e-version.

Option 3? Well, it's a highly unusual venture, something I'd not thought about at all until talking it over with my guru.

I'm not quite ready to tell you what it is--I need a couple of weeks of research and strategic planning to see how viable it is. But I think I may have just found an opportunity that will change the current field. Revolutionary? Yes, and no, and perhaps not a permanent solution, either. But it might be the silver lining I've been looking for--and if it works for me, it should work for you.