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Micro-Genres: The Next Big Thing in Publishing
by: Penny C. Sansevieri
Welcome to the world of publishing, an ever- changing dynamic that seems to reinvent itself nearly every season, some might even say everyday. The latest of these reinventions is what I call the "micro- genre." It's a way of niching a book in such a finite way that it feeds into a category within a category. An example of this is the micro-genre of chick-lit. Now we have hen-lit, mommy-lit and a few brave UK publishers are even dipping their toes into the daddy- lit category. So why are publishers pushing micro- genres? Well, the world of publishing faces its biggest hurdle ever: a lack of readers. We're publishing more books than ever but overall readership is down. Combine that with the scourge of the publishing industry: book returns and you've got a recipe for publishing peril. Micro-genres give publishers a focus group of readers they can hone in on. No longer marketing a book to the "chick-lit" reader, they can now break this down even further into sub- genres. But this doesn't stop at the chick-lit market, just about every genre is seeing this breakdown and authors are being asked what micro-genre their book belongs in. But there's an even bigger reason for this in my opinion. In a world of digital-on-demand everything we want what we want when we want it. This trend started when Napster entered the scene some years ago offering digital downloads of the songs you wanted, when you wanted them - now in their revamped form (read: legal) Napster and other music download sites are giving us what we want, no more no less. Enter TiVo, Podcasting and RSS, we're now becoming more discerning saying we simply won't be sold a bag of goods we don't use. We won't buy a CD for just one song, we won't watch a show when the networks want us to watch it and we won't buy books that are "sort of" what we want to read. We live in an on-demand society, micro-genres is part of that trend. Look for your very own micro- genre, coming to a bookstore near you. About the author: Penny C. Sansevieri The Cliffhanger was published in June of 2000. After a strategic marketing campaign it quickly climbed the ranks at Amazon.com to the ##1 best selling book in San Diego. Her most recent book: From Book to Bestseller was released in 2005 to rave reviews and is being called the “roadmap to publishing success.” Penny is a book marketing and media relations specialist. She also coaches authors on projects, manuscripts and marketing plans and instructs a variety of coursing on publishing and promotion. To learn more about her books or her promotional services, you can visit her web site at www.amarketingexpert.comTo subscribe to her free ezine, send a blank email to: mailto:subscribe@booksbypen.com Copyright ã 2005 Penny C. Sansevieri

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