http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidvinjamuri/2014/03/04/the-strongest-brand-in-publishing-is/
Thought this was quite interesting.
It includes analysis about the difference between the author as a brand that people read versus an Internet presence people follow. But what I thought was most interesting was the stuff about reader loyalty -- how many well-known authors with market saturation are not necessarily auto-buys who have people buying their every new book -- and series-loyalty versus author-loyalty. It actually doesn't surprise me that
Or is it just that bestsellers *do* strike that chord in their niche market (that 20 percent) but are just *so* appealing that they get many readers outside of it as well? If their 20 percent of readers with loyalty is a bigger chunk of people than 100 percent of another author's readers, the bestselling author hardly has the short end of the stick.
But this also sounds like it might dovetail somewhat with the recent discussion of how authors who hit the bestseller list very well might not be able to extend that into a reliable living. Maybe mid-list authors who have better fan loyalty percentages truly are in the more desirable position in some cases.
Thoughts?
Thought this was quite interesting.
It includes analysis about the difference between the author as a brand that people read versus an Internet presence people follow. But what I thought was most interesting was the stuff about reader loyalty -- how many well-known authors with market saturation are not necessarily auto-buys who have people buying their every new book -- and series-loyalty versus author-loyalty. It actually doesn't surprise me that
because I think of the bestsellers I've read, and most were fun, easy "airport" reads, ones I enjoyed, but I never sought out the rest of the authors' books. Appealing to a broad swath of the population may sell many of one book . . . but is striking a chord with a niche of readers what will keep them coming back? (I don't know. I'm just musing.)Most bestselling authors have less than 20% fan loyalty.
Or is it just that bestsellers *do* strike that chord in their niche market (that 20 percent) but are just *so* appealing that they get many readers outside of it as well? If their 20 percent of readers with loyalty is a bigger chunk of people than 100 percent of another author's readers, the bestselling author hardly has the short end of the stick.
But this also sounds like it might dovetail somewhat with the recent discussion of how authors who hit the bestseller list very well might not be able to extend that into a reliable living. Maybe mid-list authors who have better fan loyalty percentages truly are in the more desirable position in some cases.
Thoughts?