“So, Jamie, how’s the publishing business going?”

“Well, sales are down, projects are up, and I have more ideas than I have time to implement, thanks. But I’m hoping that 2012 is the year we finally turn a profit…”

That pretty much sums it up. I’m not sure why sales are down, exactly, but I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about, since it’s only been a few days and book sales are like that. Eventually they’ll pick back up for awhile, and things will cruise along nicely again. I think that’s really the number one thing for authors to remember – sales ebb and flow, and you just kind of have to ride out the swells without panicking (too much). More books equal less noticeable sales fluctuations…

I am going to take advantage of this lull to do some pricing experiments, considering the holiday shopping season is right around the corner. I’m moving most of my books into a higher cost bracket to see if they’ll entice a slightly different audience. It’s easier to play with pricing when sales are in a natural “down cycle” (or I think so), because there’s no initial “drop” in sales…they’re already low.

This will also be in preparation for moving into my next marketing arena, which includes two major tiers:

- Electronic books on CD for tangible, signable digital gifts

- Developing a publisher catalog to send out to independent bookstores for possible brick & mortar stocking

The book CDs I hope to have up for sale by the end of this month. The catalogue will be available as of January, and I’ll start sending it out with samples then.

The anthologies have been going well, but unfortunately, the monthly workload is a bit too much. So starting in December, the anthologies will be every other month, which will ease that pressure and allow me more time to work on other projects. Like my own books, and those of the authors publishing full novels with me.

I am working to get print versions of the anthologies out earlier than I’d originally planned, in advance of the holiday season. I’ll probably go ahead and continue that, just because print gives a tangible product to promote via contests, etc, and thus a wider potential audience.

As far as books are concerned, the publishing calendar is full up right through the end of the year, with new books coming out nearly every week (that's a minimum of 7 books between now and Jan. 1 - eek!). Needless to say, the bookstore is growing nicely in terms of stock. And that’s a very good thing.

So the “state of the snake” this month is good, I’d say. There’s money in the account, and nowhere to go but up.