The Fairytale Ends

Richard and Judy tried to move from primetime TV on a major channel, to an obscure new digital channel. It was soon apparent their audiences hadn’t moved with them and unless something exceptional were to happen, the curtains were coming down on their illustrious show. The question the book business had to ask itself was whether their successful Book Club could continue?

Some may say that it was little more than a brand and once the visibility waned the brand would obviously wane with it. Some may say that the backing by the industry made the Book Club and that Richard and Judy were merely the dressing. It is often easier to make a success by backing it , getting mass exposure and spending money. It is difficult to expect it with the average effort and money that is spent on most titles.

A good friend US publishing consultant and thinker James Lichtenberg once related that publishing was similar to two frogs mating. They produce thousands of spawn, which turns into hundreds of tadpoles, who eventually become tens of baby frogs swimming around avoiding their many predators. Finally, a mere handful made it to the bank and came ashore. One is kissed by Oprah and book is turned into a ‘Prince’ and a bestseller. The moral being that you needed the thousands to get to the one best seller and predicting that is often very difficult. Sometimes to get that best seller we may still need an Oprah, but Richard and Judy will no longer be Prince-makers.

Women and Money, Makes Sense

Last week we wrote about the Oprah touch and her 48 hour offer to download Suze Orman’s book ‘Women and Money’ for free.
According to reports, more than 1.1 million copies of Orman's book were downloaded in English, and another 19,000 in Spanish. The demand has been compared in the US press to other online sensations as "The 9-11 Commission Report," and Stephen King's e-novella, "Riding the Bullet.".

The offer for "Women & Money," originally released a year ago by Spiegel & Grau, has not impacted physical sales with the book ranked No. 6 on Amazon.com and with the paper edition of "The 9-11 Commission Report," published in 2004 by W.W. Norton and Co., was a best seller for months.

This month we have also reported on the HarperCollins full book promotion and other experiments by the likes of Random House. Perhaps the market is finally wakening up to the reality that you can’t have a market without content and you certainly can’t have a one without first stimulating it. Merely making another ebook reader is a waste of time. Consumers want to have content and have some offers that compel them to try. Forget the back list and new authors the market need some oomph and as Oprah has proven people will respond to the right promotion. Will Richard and Judy now follow? Will an ‘A’ list author now take the plunge and fordge their name in history as the tipping point?

Well done Suze Orman and Oprah Winfrey for boldly showing the way.