by Kimberly A. Cook (Twitter@ WarriorTales)
Read a fascinating article in Publishers Weekly magazine about the changing world for reference writers and publishers. Seems the demise of the Oxford English Dictionary and Encyclopedia Britannica print editions did not spell the end of reference works, just the paper format.
The long and short of it is that non-fiction or reference writers need to cater their content delivery vehicle to the age and target market of their reader. Now this has always been true in publishing, but even more so now with the digital publishing revolution as it relates to reference works, which includes how to write books.
But some reference titles are still selling quite well in print, so as the saying goes, there is never just one answer to a publishing question. Some reference publishers are targeting parents of college students and the students themselves according to the article. So once again a niche market divides into smaller niches by need and age group.
For the non-fiction author this is another great source about markets to study and trends to watch when considering how to publish your how to or how not to book to readers. The article talks about the importance of libraries in the digital reference migration and how libraries have pushed the reference publishers to adapt to their needs as library users demand more online resources.
The only thing constant in publishing is change and right now we keep seeing the rise of the author and that readers are Queen. Take the time to consider the best way to have your non-fiction work meet your readers and do some research, you might be surprised!
Read the article here: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/new-titles/adult-announcements/article/56795-the-changing-world-of-reference-focus-on-reference-2012.html
Interesting article. One thing for certain, moving an electronic set of encyclopedias takes a lot fewer boxes!
I’m laughing over Cindy’s comment!!!