The long tail was the big buzz at BEA this year. Some of the stats were interesting and somewhat unexpected but I only heard a miniscule bit of discussion of the difference between the long tail for nonfiction and fiction.
We are experienced in seeing the long tail in nonfiction. In the mid 90s we left our clinical practice which specialized in helping stepfamilies make the adjustment to their new family status. We had a very successful model to use because we were national experts in stepfamily dynamics and had worked with the core people for almost twenty years. Unfortunately managed care was running the show and we could not practice ethically with them calling the shots.
Parenthetically, what happened with managed care is another indicator that simply turning free market forces loose as the Bush administration wants is not always the best idea. Our health system has never recovered from the depredations of the health care industry which has now largely departed from the market they ruined. Mental health in particular was devastated.
Anyway, we did not want to leave without at least documenting what we had learned and knew worked. We had the profile of the most vulnerable stepfamily and knew that it was crucial to begin work with the couple to shore up this shakey family. We knew not to put stepmothers in therapy and in most instances not the more troubled children either. It was a very successful episodic couples based model which worked very well. So, we put what we knew in a book which was published. It came out at a good time and the company which now owns the rights are keeping it in stock because POD is now a possibility. And so now for those who are smart enough to know there is a goldmine of information out there, they can still buy our book. We publicize it not at all and it continues to steadily sell a few copies here and there. It is this kind of thing which demonstrates the best of the long tail.
Then we came to fiction. I simply could not see in most instances where the long tail works very well. For fiction it seems that continuing sales depends on continuing promotions. And that costs money. Now, if you are Nora Roberts with a back list of 200 books, it is not necessary. But for the rest of us, it is necessary. I think it may be that the long tail will turn out to be really about "hard" information and the nonfiction book. We will see.
We are experienced in seeing the long tail in nonfiction. In the mid 90s we left our clinical practice which specialized in helping stepfamilies make the adjustment to their new family status. We had a very successful model to use because we were national experts in stepfamily dynamics and had worked with the core people for almost twenty years. Unfortunately managed care was running the show and we could not practice ethically with them calling the shots.
Parenthetically, what happened with managed care is another indicator that simply turning free market forces loose as the Bush administration wants is not always the best idea. Our health system has never recovered from the depredations of the health care industry which has now largely departed from the market they ruined. Mental health in particular was devastated.
Anyway, we did not want to leave without at least documenting what we had learned and knew worked. We had the profile of the most vulnerable stepfamily and knew that it was crucial to begin work with the couple to shore up this shakey family. We knew not to put stepmothers in therapy and in most instances not the more troubled children either. It was a very successful episodic couples based model which worked very well. So, we put what we knew in a book which was published. It came out at a good time and the company which now owns the rights are keeping it in stock because POD is now a possibility. And so now for those who are smart enough to know there is a goldmine of information out there, they can still buy our book. We publicize it not at all and it continues to steadily sell a few copies here and there. It is this kind of thing which demonstrates the best of the long tail.
Then we came to fiction. I simply could not see in most instances where the long tail works very well. For fiction it seems that continuing sales depends on continuing promotions. And that costs money. Now, if you are Nora Roberts with a back list of 200 books, it is not necessary. But for the rest of us, it is necessary. I think it may be that the long tail will turn out to be really about "hard" information and the nonfiction book. We will see.
posted by Roger | 7:49 AM
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