Essential reading: George Mann on packaging the SF & Fantasy genres

George Mann of Solaris Books has posted an insightful piece on the Solaris approach towards the design, packaging and presentation of their genre fiction book covers, in a feature called 'Marrying Authors to their Market: a Genre Perspective', over on the Solaris Books main website.

He opens with a couple of paragraphs that neatly explain the two principle strategies that are open to genre publishers when it comes to choosing a cover design, along with the primary risks associated with each:

1) Attempt to reach as wide an audience as theoretically possible - primarily by 'neutralising' the cover in order to avoid scaring away potential mainstream book-buyers - which runs the risk that the book might get lost in a no-mans'-land somewhere between the two.

2) Target the 'core' genre fiction audience - by making it blatantly obvious through the design of the book cover that this is a genre title with little or no pretensions to mainstream appeal whatsoever - which runs the risk of limiting the sales potential to a relatively small segment of the overall market.

Solaris Books, since their inception and launch earlier this year, have stuck determinedly to option 2) and it's an approach which has paid handsome dividends, as George tells us:

"For Solaris, this approach has so far served us proud. The list is defiantly midlist, aimed at a core readership, and as both individuals and publishers we revel in the genre, in all its aspects and forms – novels, movies, manga, comics. We celebrate our inner geeks. Although we recognise there are other successful ways to package books and appeal to readers, we've chosen to go in this direction. Our books look like science fiction and fantasy novels, with all the stereotypical trappings, and we've received a great deal of praise from both critics and readers for our celebration and support of the genre. Our lists – both Solaris and The Black Library – go from strength-to-strength, and for now, our strategy remains steadfast: we publish books for SF/F fans, for the SF/F section of the bookshop."

Of course, just sticking any old space ship or dragon on a book cover won't guarantee success. You still have to come up with a design that's striking, appeals to the right audience, and yet isn't so crushingly, embarrassingly awful that even the most die-hard genre fiction fan will be too embarrassed to be seen reading the book on public transport. Which is something else that Solaris have managed quite brilliantly to-date, with a selection of (imho) extremely good covers, like these:

Solaris book of New Science Fiction ed. by George Mann   Solaris book of New Fantasy ed. by George Mann
The Blood King by Gail Martin   Deadstock by Jeffrey Thomas

I think this is absolutely the right approach to take, and the roaring success of Solaris is something that every genre publisher should be paying attention to. But the 'packaging and cover design' riff only tells half the story.

We live in an age of increasingly influential Long Tail economics (see Wikipedia for a useful summary: "products that are in low demand or have low sales volume can collectively make up a market share that rivals or exceeds the relatively few current bestsellers and blockbusters, if the store or distribution channel is large enough"), and genre fiction is a product area that's massively impacted by the principles of the theory.

As students of the Long Tail know and as Chris Anderson makes clear in his book of the same title (which, incidentally, every publisher and author working in genre fiction needs to read): in this Internet-enabled information age, data on the variety and wide availability of a range of products in a given product area is - for practical purposes - both limitless and free.

From the point of view of the Long Tail audience for a particular product, the most pressing task is therefore to filter that vast flood of data in order to select the products that offer the best fit for the customer's needs. In short: they need to boost the signal-to-noise ratio to the point where they can reach an informed purchasing decision. Similarly, from the point of view of the producer, the trick is to somehow rise above the vast sea of info-noise; to make their product stand out and be noticed, yet to do so in a manner that emphasises its authentic appeal to the potential customer.

One of the best ways to accomplish both these tasks is via the medium of key, relevant information aggregators; those processes and processors who cut through the noise, pick out the best products on offer and then tell other people about them. Customers need to find trusted aggregators whose taste coincides with their own and who can be relied upon to tell it to them straight. Producers need to develop strong relationships with those same aggregators, in order to keep their products in focus and secure as much quality, targeted coverage as possible.

In the case of genre fiction, the aggregators take the shape of genre news websites, regular bloggers, knowledgeable booksellers, reputable critics and reviewers. Publishers and authors who understand the theories and forces involved are already tapping the ability of these aggregators to filter, disseminate and broadcast their knowledge-backed recommendations to a targeted, relevant, interested audience, and as a result they are driving forward sales of their titles.

George and the Solaris crew understand the Long Tail principle (along with a whole bunch of others to do with permission-based marketing, inherent remarkability and concepts like the ideavirus) which is why you'll always see them at genre conventions and gatherings of fans, why they maintain a regularly-updated and interesting blog (When Gravity Fails) and why if you're a reviewer, or a blogger, or a web 'zine editor, and you drop them a line, there's a good chance - if your site is professionally presented, or well enough regarded in terms of its Technorati authority, or if your enthusiasm is just incredibly obvious and obviously genuine - that they'll get right back to you with whatever information you need, perhaps a review copy of the book you're interested in, maybe even a promise to pass on your questions to one of their authors for an email interview.

All this is because at Solaris they know that by reaching out to those key aggregators they're potentially talking to many more (two, or three, or a dozen, or a few thousand) interested, enthusiastic, switched-on potential book-buyers. As a result, you'll find reviews and general coverage of Solaris titles all over the blogosphere and wider genre-flavoured corners of the Internet: 40,600+ hits on Google for "Solaris Books", and counting...

The Solaris crew aren't alone out there, either: there are publishers and business managers and publicists at many other independent presses - and even some of the larger genre imprints - who have an equal eye for and appreciation of the possibilities on offer. But alas, some of those guys are hamstrung by the corporate rule-book; locked into dictated, old-school ways of doing business which haven't changed much since Amazon appeared on the scene; which is why they might not seem quite so active (although dammit, they're doing their best).

And then there are those guys who, for whatever reason - sheer disinterest, the corporate grind, a genuine lack of time to read and re-train, higher-ups who don't give a shit about genre fiction and don't care who knows it, whatever - just don't seem to get it. If you're a genre author who's stuck with one of those guys as your publisher / editor / publicist, then all is not lost; but you probably are going to have to roll your sleeves up and get stuck in yourself. But then, that's no bad thing either, providing you do it well and do it with enthusiasm and genuine interest.

Anyhow, to return (at last) to the original topic of cover-design and offer a quick summary:

As a matter of policy, Solaris Books have declared that they're very firmly targeted at the 'core' genre market, and the 'core' genre market has responsed well, by buying Solaris titles. But I think the essential 'genre-ness' - and high quality - of their cover design is just one key ingredient of their overall recipe for success; their aesthetic excellence is backed up by the whole gestalt attitude of everyone at Solaris Books, one that says: "We're genre fiction fans, and we're publishing for genre fiction fans, which is why we want to talk to them and find out about the sort of books they want to read; so we can make sure that those are the books we publish..."

I think it's a great policy, indeed quite possibly the only one that really makes any sort of Long Tail sense. After all, why waste money, effort and a book's increasingly limited and precious exposure-time (one senior genre fiction editor revealed at a panel at this year's Fantasycon that most UK bookstores now only give titles a six week lead-time before they insist on returning them to the publisher for full credit) on a scatter-shot approach that you hope will result in increased sales and market-share, when instead you could focus all your energy on a key segment of the overall audience; one that's that's already receptive and ready to hear what you have to say?

In short: until you know you've talked to as many fans and regular readers of a given book's relevant genre(s) as you can possibly reach - as many interested, excited, purchase-pre-disposed, potential book-buyers as you can find - then why on Earth would you want to take the gamble of trying to talk to just anyone? Especially when it ought to be painfully obvious by now that most non genre-fiction readers and fans just aren't listening...

So, yes, I look forward to seeing many more fine and very definite genre fiction titles with well-designed, eye-catching genre-fiction artwork on their covers, from Solaris and all the other publishers with a similarly switched-on outlook. I hope those same books will continue to fly off the bookstore shelves and online catalogues. And, speaking as one of those aforementioned information aggregators, I hope to continue to play my own small part in that process...

October 18, 2007 | Filed Under Miscellania | 2 Comments 

More follow-ups and reaction to the current 'quality fantasy' debate

UK fantasy author Joe Abercrombie has added his own thoughts on the topic, highlighting George R.R. Martin's ongoing Song of Ice and Fire series as a good example of how a concentrated, focused dose of innovation within a narrative that's structured on familiar fantasy themes and tropes can produce impressive results. As Joe says: "Epic fantasy is, in book terms, extremely successful and so it tends also to be conservative. But that doesn't mean you can't offer something new while still working within the form," and adds a few pithy thoughts on the non-desirability of too much innovation, which will do nothing to diminish his burgeoning reputation as a notorious potty-mouth...

Meanwhile, in the comments on my previous post, Mark Newton - of the UK's Solaris Books - points out the hard commercial realities afflicting the publishing industry at the moment, due to the mergers of various conglomerates into even larger super-conglomerates and the internal pressures that this generates, which he hopes will allow mid-list publishers - like, say, the UK's Solaris Books - to step in and offer a wider range of material to exactly those readers who are crying out for more than just the same-old, same-old.

And in the same thread, David Hebblethwaite wonders: "...how many writers of unchallenging fantasy actually do make a comfortable living from their writing? Are there any writers of good quality material who make a living; and, if so, what differentiates them from writers of similar stuff who do not?" Good questions. Any writers out there care to comment?

Also, SF Diplomat, pondering the issue further, asks whether the problem only applies to fantasy and why, indeed, that should be the case: "...why is it fantasy's job to be weird and different? Isn't the problem, from Harrison's perspective, that there aren't enough genre publications in general that are all that interested in The Other?" And he's rewarded in the comments on that piece with a visit from the man himself, who elucidates further on his original polemic: "To me, the very word 'fantasy' is what's at issue here, & my rant really asks the question, 'How do we bring the fantastic back to fantasy?' ... It's my contention that, by normalising and rationalising 'myth' and 'magic' the sub-genre you call 'non-weird populist' fantasy has become actually anti-fantastic. As a result, the appetite for the genuinely fantastic is less well served."

And finally, a certain Mr GBH Hornswoggler, Gent. is terribly, terribly bored by yet another debate on the death of quality genre fiction. Well dammit Mr Hornswoggler, but if we all spent as much time reading and writing blogs as you do then we'd all be just as well-informed and just as adroitly cynical about the whole jejune mess, I'm sure. But until that happy day, you'll just have to excuse some of us for being shallow... ;)

Mind you, our Mr H also makes a rather important point, opening with: "Insert my standard rant about the world primarily needing books that real readers will want to spend their own money on." Yes, this is exactly what we do need. As I posted in the comments thread back on Mr Chadbourn's original piece this morning: 'Without a receptive audience, any brave pioneers leaving the beaten track will run the risk of ending up in the literary wilderness - legends in their own literary lifetime, perhaps, but more than likely unable to sustain a decent income.'

So what we need to do is prime the readers to be more receptive to the sort of quality work that we're all pretty much in agreement here about wanting to see.

Again, more on that later in the week. Hopefully.

October 9, 2007 | Filed Under Writing | 5 Comments 

Exo-review: Dave Hebblethwaite on The Solaris Book of New SF

David Hebblethwaite, a fine fellow who used to contribute regular and always-thoughtful reviews to the old TAO site, has a review of The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction - which I mentioned myself a while back - posted over at SFSite.com.

'The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction' ed. by George Mann - Click for ordering info from Amazon.co.ukIt's interesting to note that we seem to share pretty much the same opinion about most of the content; particularly in the case of James Lovegrove's 'The Bowdler Strain' and Stephen Baxter's 'Last Contact'. Although in the case of the latter, whilst Dave and I both agree that it was an extremely powerful tale from an emotional and cathartic point of view, he had problems with the inherent science of the story, which I had to admit wasn't something that even crossed my radar when I was reading it.

I confess, though: I do have an extremely un-scientific background and so I do tend to read short fiction - even short science fiction - much more for the interaction of the characters than for whatever speculative and / or extrapolative scientific elements might be used to support the narrative. To be honest, I'm generally quite happy if everything is black-boxed neatly away, just so long as the principle protagonists are interesting.

All-in-all it's a very fair and well-balanced review with some good, solid analysis from Dave; worth reading if you're contemplating
picking up the anthology (which you jolly well should be...)

Edit, 17.04.07 Via the always-excellent Velcro City Tourist Board, a link to a David Soyka penned Strange Horizons review that compares and contrasts the Solaris Book of New Science Fiction with Pyr's Fast Forward 1: Future Fiction from the Cutting Edge. Interesting reading again, well worth a look.

April 16, 2007 | Filed Under Books | Leave a Comment 

Recommended Reading: The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction

'The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction' ed. by George Mann - Click for ordering info from Amazon.co.ukThe Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, the debut release from Games Workshop's Solaris Books imprint, is a very good collection indeed: a good selection of varied and (on the whole) interesting stories, themes and tropes. The anthology also acts as a showcase for some of the best British authors currently writing in the field, with the honourable inclusion of one or two overseas guests to provide a shot of alternative flavour.

Personal highlights included James Lovegrove's wittily amusing 'The Bowlder Strain', Paul Di Filippo's 'Personal Jesus' - an eye-opening tale of techno-spirituality for the Apple age - the exotic and colourful 'Bioship' by Neal Asher, the vividly visceral 'The Wedding Party' by Simon Ings and Eric Brown's 'Last Party', which rounded things off quite nicely, and had me pining for a proper local pub to call my own. But my absolute favourite was Stephen Baxter's powerfully cathartic end of the world offering, 'Last Contact', which stayed with me long after I'd finished the rest of the anthology.

There was a couple of flat notes - based purely on my own subjective opinion etc. - as you'd expect from so wide and varied a selection of work, including what I couldn't help feeling was a rather indulgently self-referential piece, 'Jellyfish' from Mike Resnick and David Gerrold. Another one was Brian Aldiss' 'Four Ladies of the Apocalypse' snippet. I'm probably showing my ignorance here, and I fully expect that those better-read than me will look down their noses with utter disdain for my having the temerity to say so, but I really didn't get much out of it apart from a density-induced headache.

Definitely worth tracking this antho down if you'd like to sample a good selection of current writing, and I do hope that it goes on to become a regular feature of the Solaris list, preferably with companion Fantasy and Horror volumes to match: it's not like the market isn't big enough. It was published on Feb 5th so should be available right now from all good bookstores, Amazon.co.uk etc.

February 16, 2007 | Filed Under Books | 7 Comments 

New arrivals: Proofs from Solaris

Spent a very pleasant yesterday evening in the company of George Mann and Christian Dunn of Solaris Books, as well as my old mucker Mike Rowley of Waterstone's and author Andy Remic, whose new novel will be published by Solaris in October next year.

Over food, drink and good conversation, George and Christian (whe were not at all distracted by the Christmas party on the next table that seemed to consist of nine or ten young ladies wearing tinsel-trimmed red-satin negligées, fishnet stockings, pointy hats and the occasional bauble) told me about the new Solaris titles scheduled for next year, and gave me a trio of proofs (that's ARCs for any American readers who may have strayed in here) to take away and read. So I've now got the following titles to add to the 'to be read' shelf and peruse at my leisure. Do feel free to click on the cover images to go to Amazon.co.uk and pre-order the ones that take your fancy (sorry Mike, but your lot don't do an affiliate scheme to the best of my knowledge):

'The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction' ed. by George Mann - Click for ordering info from Amazon.co.ukThe Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, edited by George Mann.

This short fiction collection, which will be published in February as one of Solaris' two launch titles, is already getting great press all over the Internet. And so it should, when you take a look at the stellar line-up of (mainly-British) talent included:

Brian Aldiss, Neal Asher, Tony Ballantyne, Keith Brooke, Eric Brown, Paul Di Filippo, Peter F. Hamilton, Simon Ings, Jay Lake & Greg van Eekhout, James Lovegrove, Mike Resnick & David Gerrold, Adam Roberts, Jeffrey Thomas, Mary Turzillo and Ian Watson.

Hell of a line-up, and let's hope this sort of antho becomes an annual feature of the Solaris list.

'The Summoner' by Gail Martin - Click for ordering info from Amazon.co.ukThe Summoner by Gail Martin

The second of the Solaris launch titles, also due in February next year. The Summoner is the first part of an epic fantasy tale of vengeance and necromancy, as prince Martis Drayke is forced into exile when his brother murders their father and seizes the throne. Bereft of living allies and beset by enemies, Martis realizes there is only one place he can turn for support: to the ranks of the dead...

Sounds like my sort of fantasy: dark, sinister, dripping in blood and intrigue. Great cover art as well, which is actually turning into something of a major strong-point for Solaris, judging by the full-size covers in their current catalogue (drop the team a line via their website, I'm sure they'll be happy to send you a copy, and some of them really do have to be seen full-size to be fully appreciated).

[Edit, Dec 7th: As Marc from Solaris pointed out in a comment, you can also download a pdf version of the catalogue from the Solaris website.]

'Deadstock' by Jeffrey Thomas - Click for ordering info from Amazon.co.ukDeadstock by Jeffrey Thomas

Solaris' third release, due in March '07 (along with Dante's Girl by Natasha Rhodes), Deadstock is the fifth novel from American author Thomas, whose previous credits include Letters From Hades, Boneland, Everybody Scream! and the Stoker-nominated Monstrocity, as well as the collection Punktown.

This new novel, an old-school cyberpunk whodunnit by the sound of things, has a great cover-quote from no less a luminary than China Miéville and stars Jeremy Stake, "the private detective with chameleon-like abilities he does not want and cannot control", who is sent to retrieve the living-doll daughter of a wealthy cyberneticist from the pit of depravity into which she has disappeared - Punktown.

--
I'm hoping to get the chance to check out all three of those as soon as I get the chance, starting with The Summoner, I reckon. Look for a report at a later date.

December 5, 2006 | Filed Under Books | 3 Comments 



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