CONFERENCE INSIGHTS

As we get further into a new year with many conferences ahead to attend, I encourage you to listen carefully at those conferences for information that will keep you tuned into what is happening in the industry. I am constantly on the lookout for information that will help you in your marketing endeavors. Following is some of the inside information I picked up recently:

* Marketing people are looking for products that are easy to sell. They don't want to have to work to sell an odd product/topic with no definable market.

* Over 50% of all books published never earn back their advance.

* Publishers want authors to earn back their advance within the first 18 months.

* Publishers have to pay extra to put your book on an end cap at the bookstores. They must feel that your book is worth it.

* If you hold out for a higher advance, that money could come out of the marketing budget for your book.

* The high advances paid to top authors do not have an impact on a new author's advance.

* Most publisher's don't break even until your book has sold 7,500-8,000 copies.

* Even if you sell a lot of books yourself, it does not register on the sales count for your book. The only sales the publisher counts are those that come through bookstores.