Great explanation. As a digital journalist who has written her share of book round-ups for large pubs (most that still exist in print and web), can absolutely attest to the hit-or-miss success rate of not only the piece entirely, but the click-through rates (and thus, the mystical affiliate dollars) associated. What's more, the success of the piece, and therefore the visibility of said article, has just as much to do with how well the article is optimized for SEO, social promo, newsletter inclusion, etc. as it does with the writer's genuine review and recommendation of the books. Pair with catering to your audience and publishing timing (and let's be real, if your'e a freelancer, having the outlet publish the piece at all, even after commissioning), more times than not, you're up a creek without a paddle. It's interesting to see which journalists are now taking to Substack (cough, yours truly) in order to write thoughtful reviews to an engaged audience, which is more than half the battle in traditional digital media, to talk about the subject that compelled them to become a journalist in the first place.
Thank you. I recently had a discussion with an author who insisted I tell media that their audiences would be interested in the topic he wrote about. My response was: They know their audience because they know the click through rate of each story. If that particular topic historically doesn't perform well, then there's a good chance it won't get covered. I try to get people to think in reverse.
It really seemed like a lot of folks forgot S&S was still for sale after PRH lost. But someone was going to buy it, and KKR seems like a better buyer to me than News Corp or Amazon.
Love your newsletter and am featuring it in my newsletter to encourage my audience to subscribe to you. Finally someone who writes about the business of publihsing!
I’m so glad I found your newsletter! I have one question: can you say a little more about selling their distribution business? Do you mean distribution services they provide to indie publishers or something else?
Hi! I was referring to their client distribution business--so yes, the services they provide for indie publishers. If someone like Ingram wanted to buy it, I can see KKR selling it.
Really? Typically, distribution contracts are not assignable in a sale or a merger, unlike other assets like author contracts. But maybe I'm misunderstanding.
Just a bit further on this front, I negotiated distribution agreements with major publishers in the the past and advised potential distribution clients as a consultant. I've never seen a distribution agreement that was assignable to a buyer of the parent company without the consent of the distribution client.
That's my point, distribution contracts are not an asset as the distribution client has to agree to any assignment. I don't mean this to sound snippy but please do your homework before offering assessments of publishing biz strategy and logistics.
Just to be clear it's one thing to sell a distribution company it's another thing to assure that the revenues contributed by the distribution clients will be transferable.
Great explanation. As a digital journalist who has written her share of book round-ups for large pubs (most that still exist in print and web), can absolutely attest to the hit-or-miss success rate of not only the piece entirely, but the click-through rates (and thus, the mystical affiliate dollars) associated. What's more, the success of the piece, and therefore the visibility of said article, has just as much to do with how well the article is optimized for SEO, social promo, newsletter inclusion, etc. as it does with the writer's genuine review and recommendation of the books. Pair with catering to your audience and publishing timing (and let's be real, if your'e a freelancer, having the outlet publish the piece at all, even after commissioning), more times than not, you're up a creek without a paddle. It's interesting to see which journalists are now taking to Substack (cough, yours truly) in order to write thoughtful reviews to an engaged audience, which is more than half the battle in traditional digital media, to talk about the subject that compelled them to become a journalist in the first place.
Thank you. I recently had a discussion with an author who insisted I tell media that their audiences would be interested in the topic he wrote about. My response was: They know their audience because they know the click through rate of each story. If that particular topic historically doesn't perform well, then there's a good chance it won't get covered. I try to get people to think in reverse.
It really seemed like a lot of folks forgot S&S was still for sale after PRH lost. But someone was going to buy it, and KKR seems like a better buyer to me than News Corp or Amazon.
"It took me a long time to figure out that I preferred the business of book publishing to the creative side of it."
ME TOO, Kathleen!
Thanks for this excellent breakdown - much appreciated!
Love your newsletter and am featuring it in my newsletter to encourage my audience to subscribe to you. Finally someone who writes about the business of publihsing!
https://www.powerhouse-strategy.com/join-momentum
Thank you for this! It's so fascinating to understand the publishing industry in terms of business.
I’m so glad I found your newsletter! I have one question: can you say a little more about selling their distribution business? Do you mean distribution services they provide to indie publishers or something else?
Hi! I was referring to their client distribution business--so yes, the services they provide for indie publishers. If someone like Ingram wanted to buy it, I can see KKR selling it.
Really? Typically, distribution contracts are not assignable in a sale or a merger, unlike other assets like author contracts. But maybe I'm misunderstanding.
It’s been done before. When Perseus was acquired by Hachette, they sold Perseus Distribution to Ingram.
Just a bit further on this front, I negotiated distribution agreements with major publishers in the the past and advised potential distribution clients as a consultant. I've never seen a distribution agreement that was assignable to a buyer of the parent company without the consent of the distribution client.
I’m not sure how exactly Perseus managed that. I imagine their distro clients signed off on it.
That's my point, distribution contracts are not an asset as the distribution client has to agree to any assignment. I don't mean this to sound snippy but please do your homework before offering assessments of publishing biz strategy and logistics.
Just to be clear it's one thing to sell a distribution company it's another thing to assure that the revenues contributed by the distribution clients will be transferable.
It was simply a hypothetical scenario. I’m not saying that’s what they’ll do. It’s something they can consider, though, if needed.
Right but the distribution clients had to approve the assignment, no?