TSEKH 4 — Lesson #27: The Book Is Published. What Now? With Dmitry Utrobin (Category Writing)

TSEKH 4 — Lesson #27: “The Book Is Published. What Now?” With Dmitry Utrobin (Category #Writing)

The final lesson in MIF Publishing’s course for book authors covered what to do once a book is published. Dmitry Utrobin, a partner and co-director of MIF, taught it. Here is what I took away:

1. Competition in Russia’s book market is intense: around 100k books come out each year. Readers struggle to navigate that variety, and both author and publisher want to help a book find its audience.
2. Books have a long turnaround: roughly a year passes between writing the manuscript and seeing the book on a shelf. A book is therefore a long-term investment project for a publisher.
3. The market lacks transparency; established players rarely share their statistics.
4. Packaging, cover design, active marketing and appropriate distribution can help a book stand out.
5. Print books account for roughly 80% of a publisher’s revenue. The sales chain includes the publisher, a distributor with a 20–25% markup, and a shop with an 80–140% markup. Shelf presence and appropriate stock levels matter for print sales.
6. Ebooks and audiobooks generate 10–20% of revenue. Their prices have gradually risen to 50–70% of the price of print editions.
7. Audiobooks are growing by 40–70% annually, helped by convenient listening apps.
8. National chains such as Chitai-Gorod and Bukvoed dominate, but independent bookshops are becoming cultural centers and opinion leaders.
9. Marketplaces such as Ozon and Wildberries are growing quickly, but need a distinct promotional approach.
10. MIF’s own online shop generates 35% of its turnover, an interesting example that allows rapid feedback and adjustments to marketing strategy. Having a direct point of contact with customers is useful :)
11. Cultural events involving authors strengthen connections with readers.
12. Authors should help promote their books: nobody can explain their own work better.

That finishes the course for me. Writing the books is still in progress :)

My earlier posts about this writing course are here:

1. Anyone Can See Their Name on a Cover
2. Your Target Audience and Its Needs When Writing a Book
3. Genres and Styles: Finding a Nonfiction Topic
4. Organizing the Work
5. Overcoming Writer’s Block: A Practical Session
6. Waiting for the Muse That Never Comes
7. Structuring a Book
8. MS Word for Long and Complex Texts
9. Telling Stories in a Book
10. Self-Editing: Revising, Cutting and Fact-Checking
11. The Rules of a Strong Book and Engaging Prose
12. An Author’s Style
13. Turning a Manuscript into a Script
14. The Manuscript Is Ready. What Next?
15. Turning a Manuscript into a Published Book
16. Copyright and the Publishing Contract
17. Book Design
18. Promotion in Self-Publishing
19. Promoting the Author
20. Social Media Marketing (SMM)
21. Running and Promoting a Telegram Blog
22. Working with Reviewers, Critics and the Media
23. Promoting an Author: A Personal Case Study
24. Sales Copy
25. Becoming a Brand
26. Working with a Literary Agent

P.S. Enrollment for TSEKH #5 is open; the course starts in March 2025. If you’ve been planning to write your own book, it may help :)

#SelfDevelopment #PublicSpeaking #Storytelling #Writing