Publishing house's goose isn't cooked thanks to new strategies
Published Saturday January 3rd, 2009
Book industry | Resale market poses challenges for Goose Lane Editions
Local publishing company Goose Lane Editions is battling a changing industry and a reduced interest in reading by selecting the right projects and learning about its audience.
Susanne Alexander, publisher of the Fredericton-based company, said those two strategies are helping it remain successful in the face of changing reading habits.
A recent study commissioned by Canadian Heritage discovered that more than half of this country's citizens are unable to name a Canadian author without prompting.
Twelve per cent reported they spend no time reading books.
Alexander said the key to generating interest in her company's books is formulating a solid business plan that considers the subject and public interest.
"We've attempted to be as knowledgeable as possible about the readers of our books - both here and in other parts of the country," she said.
"We try to understand their taste and ensure that the books that we publish are of sufficient interest."
She said the company has also learned to take advantage of new technologies when marketing its products.
The company still relies heavily on mainstream media and traditional book signings for promotional purposes, but Goose Lane also gave readers the chance to download excerpts of some titles before their official release dates.
"We're doing everything that we can to make sure that people can hear about our books in the way that they expect to hear about them," said Alexander.
"But it's early days for us to measure the financial results from (things such as downloadable excerpts)."
The publishing house also sent copies of books to local bloggers and created a Facebook page to promote signing appearances.
It has also partnered with a consortium of Canadian universities to allow students access to many of its books in electronic format.
But Alexander said Goose Lane hasn't been completely insulated from Canada's economic downturn.
"I think it's a tough time for everyone right now," she said.
"I don't think that anyone is really immune to it. Although we've had a great fall season, you never really know until the end of March when all the books that didn't sell come back."
She said choosing the right projects to publish will be even more essential in the coming fiscal year.
Technology is creating another problem for people working in Canada's publishing industry.
Websites such as Amazon or EBay give people the chance to re-sell books to people across the globe without allowing the publishing company or the author to see any profit from the second sale.
That means texts can often be purchased for yard-sale prices if a person is willing to surf the web in search of a cheaper copy.
Alexander said those websites can be valuable in helping people find out-of-print editions, but it's true that buying secondhand books can have an impact on a book's earning power.
"In that particular instance, the re-selling of books (does take away those profits)," she said. "There's always been re-selling of books through secondhand book dealers but now it's actually becoming much, much more pervasive."
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