Trends in Adoption Publishing

Tapestry Books owner, Shepard Morrow, was invited to speak about adoption books and the trends in adoption book publishing by the Families for Russian and Ukranian Adoption (FRUA).  You can read some of the interview here:

How many adoption titles were published last year? Did the economic downturn have an impact on this number and if so how?

Hard to say, there is no way to quantify strictly adoption related titles. The literature that adoptive families read related to adoption is a range of purely adoption topics, to the genre of parenting books that deals with raising children and building families. Tapestry carries both, and even with the economic downturn we add about 30 new titles per month to our online catalog.  

What trends in adoption publishing have you seen in the last 5 years, and why?

The trends affecting adoption publishing are complex but closely parallel changes in the publishing industry in general. Technology is having a broad effect on the cost of creating content and distributing it. The traditional publishing business, and more specifically book publishing, was historically based on concepts and organizational structure from the era of industrial production and economies of scale. Book publishers achieved lower unit costs by larger production runs, as so much of the cost was creation and set up. Today that is no longer the case, as fixed costs have plummeted with digital content. Then there is the cost of distribution and marketing that has similarly changed.  

The effect of all this is that it is easier today to get published, but the costs or risk of publishing have shifted away from traditional publishers to the authors themselves. Publishers are mostly struggling as they try to figure out how to make money and gain some advantage other than controlling the presses, and the distribution. They are no longer willing to take the same type of risk, and publish books because of the increasing uncertainty of sales. The traditional ways that they have sold and marketed books is no longer working.  

You might be wondering why I say it is easier today to get published when publishers are taking on fewer author projects. The growth of self publishing options has become a popular and proactive solution for many authors. There are many options for self publishing, and there has been an increase in books being published this way. Unfortunately getting a book printed is not the same as getting it published, marketed, and sold. Most self-publishing printers offer very generic publicity on an a-la-carte basis, but it often follows more traditional models of marketing. Tapestry Books offers an “indie” publishing solution for authors that are interested. Where we specialize, and offer a unique solution, is that we are strong in the adoption book marketing and distribution side of the process. If you are an author wanting to get published learn more HERE. 

Regarding the trends specific to adoption book publishing - it is the trends in topics of interest that have changed, and always will. So yes increases in the number of self-published titles, more titles about newer forms of medical treatment of infertility, more titles on managing difficult behaviors with children that have been in orphanages or foster care, more books for parents raising older children as a cohort of international adoptees tween, and more books discussing communication with birth mothers as domestic and open adoptions increase. But, and many of you are probably aware of this, as international adoptions have recently been declining there are also fewer professionals specializing on the area, and fewer writing carefully researched books on the topic as compared with the increase in self-published books. This is, in part, why it is important to consider the selection of books in the more general parenting categories that focus on similar issues around child development and parenting as might be relevant to an adoption situation. Additionally, why not all books that get published are as helpful or relevant as others.  

Do you have any guidelines for readers to choosing from all the titles out there?

There are indeed many choices for readers, more all the time. Not just many book choices, but many other choices for sources of helpful and relevant information such as blogs, online news, online forums, membership organizations, support groups, workshops, magazines… and every individual’s situation are unique. With all those choices come both “good” helpful information and an onslaught of overly personal recommendations.  

When it comes to suggesting books, our model is that one size does not fit all. As a starting point we do offer carefully and caringly considered topic specific lists on our website, but we do not stop there. If asked, we offer individualized suggestions based on gaining an understanding of a situation, and trying to determine what indeed will be most helpful and relevant to that person’s inquiry. It is the human factor that has gone missing at most online bookstores, and certainly matching books to adoption specific situations is hard to find. Our suggestions are like what one used to get from a local independent bookstore. We carry over 1,500 titles, review reports regarding what people are buying, which products they are looking at on our website and most importantly how they are voting for the books on our proprietary rating system. This coupled with reviewing much of the available adoption literature, and listening carefully, helps us to match people with books that can be helpful and relevant.