Holy Statistics, Publisher-Man!

Did you know. . . .

-70% of the books published do not earn out their advance.
(Jerrold Jenkins, http://www.JenkinsGroup.com)

-A TV movie will be seen by 3-million people and will sell more books than a screen film.
(Andy Cohen, Maui Writers Conference, GradeAProd@aol.com)

from a long list of publishing "statistics" posted on Para Publishing

(originally found on Boingboing via kottke)


I haven't really had a chance to look through all the statistics (there's a lot) to judge their value, but I do know that his statistics on returns are out-of-date and somewhat inaccurate, but these are the same sources everyone else in publishing is using. So, these statistics are really telling on how the marketplace views itself more than how the business of books is run.

Art Art Bo Bart Banana fana no

So what are you doing this weekend?

60 artist, over 100 pieces- can you handle it?

Oh and as many as can be will be there on Saturday, July 8, 2006 around 2 for a gallery talk.

C'mon you know you want to see what's going on in Malden-town.

**Update**

Here's a list of the 60 artists in the show.

Steve Aishman, Cambridge, MA; Adria Arch, Arlington, MA; Resa Baltman, Somerville, MA; Sarah Banasiak, Boston, MA; April R. Behnke, Marblehead, MA; Rick Berry, Arlington, MA; David Bligh, Chestnut Hill, MA; Benjamin S. Cariens, Somerville, MA; Xiao-Wei Chen, Medford, MA; Lyn Cardinal, Somerville, MA; Michael Cirelli, Londonderry, NH; Corey Corcoran, Nahant, MA; Brian T. Corey, Medford, MA; Ann Cummings, Seattle, WA; Mary Elizabeth van der Cross, Nahant, MA; Jennifer Flores, Medford, MA; Richard Fox, Worcester, MA; Tali Gai, Cambridge, MA; Matthew Gamber, Dorchester, MA; Wendy Gonick, Arlington, MA; Joan Green, Cambridge, MA; Leigh Hall, East Boston, MA; W. James Herbert, Winchester, MA; Sara Jones, Somerville, MA; Karine Kadiyska, Boston, MA; Joe Kitsch, Brookline, MA; Kyle Larabee, Somerville, MA; Nataysha Lindemann, Winthrop, MA; Joan Loewenberg, Lexington, MA; Laura Makinen, Jamaica Plain, MA; Heidi Marston, Cambridge, MA; Julie A. T. McAskill, Somerville, MA; Michelle “Steve” McCauley, Malden, MA; Sara Hairston-Medice, Cambridge, MA; Alexia Mellor, Boston, MA; Katherine Downey Miller, Boston, MA; Ayumi Miyachi, Boston, MA; Bernadette Murch, Medford, MA; Kaz Naganuma, Cambridge, MA; Nina Pachon, Malden, MA; Samara Pearlstein, Swampscott, MA; Heather Pilchard, Ipswich, MA; Susan Tait Porcaro, Windsor, CT; Rebecca Potter, Brighton, MA; Dave Powell, Winchester, MA; Lisa Raad, Holliston, MA; Caroline Rocchetta, Boston, MA; John Rodzvilla, Malden, MA; Meaghan Schwelm, Ireland; Lisa L. Sears, Medford, MA; Christy Seibel, Palestine, TX; Marcia Sewall, Boston, MA; Jane Sherrill, Somerville, MA; Benjamin Sloat, Jamaica Plain, MA; Robert Strati, Westerville, OH; Noami Sultanik, Pawtucket, RI; Liz Campbell-Tompkins, Malden, MA; H.M. Townsend, Somerville, MA; Quyen Truong, Somerville, MA, and Bartek Walicki, Malden, MA.

Cathy's Book roundup

Not because this is really important, but because it's important that some people made a big case out if it, I present a round-up of articles about Cathy's Book, a new young adult novel coming out in fall.

NY Times article that sorta started everything
Adrant's posting of the letter from Commercial Alert. (check out the comments.)
www.beinggirl.com, the website that will promote the book.
A short entry about this from MIT Convergence Culture Consortium
Press Release from publisher
Pub Weekly pulling it all together
LA Times opinion piece by Jane Smiley (worth reading)
bookburger's mention of the article. So far, this is the only media I've found aimed at the book's core audience.
And finally, a CJR Daily piece that does as much reporting as the original Times article and does a good job at looking at how this is not that rare for the publishing industry.

I have two problems with those calling for a boycott or blacklist of the product.

1) The book always was shilling products. Before the agreement with Proctor and Gamble, the book was filled with Clinique products. I see no difference in what they originally wrote and what they changed it to due to a licensing agreement. The book always highlighted products to its intended audience (or mentioned products that its audience would naturally use, if we go with the whole defense of the Southern realist writers from the 80s that had their characters drinking Coca-Cola, popping Advil, and driving Ford Mustangs.)

2) Yet the industry has no real problems with book that are tie-ins to products and shows like the Simpsons or Seinfeld or The Sopranos. The consumer already sees this in their television, movies, video games, magazines, internet sites and schools, but when an author starts to use product placement, then it's time to put a stop to this? The audience for this book grew up in a world of advertisements. Read No Logo or Branded to see how much product a teenager encounters in a day. What this really shows is publishing's age. Suddenly the industry becomes the overprotective parent that does not trust their children to make good choices. Remember the hubbub about Rainbow Parties? Oh, but it never really happened, did it?

(Disclosure: I work for part of the publishing company that is publishing this book. I was never a fan of the book, but then again I'm not the main audience for the book. The most interesting fact I've culled from all of this is that the authors were the people responsible for that annoying meme for Halo 2.)

Why does this image seem to sum up JT Leroy?

from yuckbananas fickr page. Originally found on Wooster Collective