Annie Duke's book: anyone read it? - Page 4

#31 10-12-2005, 11:36 AM

oh, to mr. ben, I believe that the famous Texas billionaire she's talking about is Ross Perot, not Doyle.

because if she thinks Doyle's a fish.... well I cant think of anything witty, but you get the point.

benfranklin · #32 10-12-2005, 11:55 AM

[ QUOTE ]
oh, to mr. ben, I believe that the famous Texas billionaire she's talking about is Ross Perot, not Doyle.

because if she thinks Doyle's a fish.... well I cant think of anything witty, but you get the point.

[/ QUOTE ]

Apparently, you entirely missed the reference. It was fairly obvious that she was talking about Andy Beal. And Andy Beal is far from a fish.

Mason Malmuth · #33 10-12-2005, 01:27 PM

I don't agree with Points A, B, or C.

A is simply wrong.

B shows a limited understanding of how publishing actually works. For instance huge money is spent by publishers purchasing placement or other promotions inside the major book chains. Book tours where you may go to a city and sit in some store and sign a few books have virtually no value in terms of book sales. Thus publishers aren't being cheap, they just spend their promotion money on what works and not on what doesn't work.

As for C, while I agree that a PR firm would be very unlikely to do that, it's certainly easy enough for someone to get their own reviews on Amazon and the reviews of their friends. To see this, just go to a poker book that has a fair number of reviews and start reading. You'll see affiliate ads and "Plucked Like a Chicken." I'm not saying that Duke did this, but it can certainly be done very easily.

MM

Luv2DriveTT · #34 10-12-2005, 01:32 PM

[ QUOTE ]
B. Publishers are very cheap about publicity. I've got my own experiences to support that, the policies of Time Warner as they were explained to me, and stories from other authors (even some big-name celebrities) who were paying their own expenses on book tours because the publisher wouldn't spring for it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, this is the saddest part of our industry, often authors are left to their own resources to promote and market the book via self supported book tours. The positive return however is that should the book become successful the author theoretically sees the rewards. As Mason pointed out however, the return of investment does not exist.

On a slightly related note, I flipped through 20 or so pages of Annie's book at my local Borders Books on Friday. Annie needs a ghost writer and an editor in the worst way, it was so poorly written that she comes across as a mental midget (which I doubt is the truth in real life... my understanding from anecdotal evidence is that she is actually rather intelligent and a good communicator). Unfortunately in the end I felt the book was unreadable.

TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

Mason Malmuth · #35 10-12-2005, 01:38 PM

Hi Luv:

Let me give an example. A while back Jim McManus was in town and his book Positively Fifth Street was peaking in sales (and it achieved a sales rank of 2 on Amazon). He did an interview on local TV news and a book signing at a local Borders. Both David and I and another friend went to the Borders where Jim signed a total of 2 books. As he stated to us, his time there was a complete waste, and in general, that's my experience with book tours and book signings unless the signing takes place at a very specialized function.

Best wishes,
Mason

Luv2DriveTT · #36 10-12-2005, 01:43 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Hi Luv:

Let me give an example. A while back Jim McManus was in town and his book Positively Fifth Street was peaking in sales (and it achieved a sales rank of 2 on Amazon). He did an interview on local TV news and a book signing at a local Borders. Both David and I and another friend went to the Borders where Jim signed a total of 2 books. As he stated to us, his time there was a complete waste, and in general, that's my experience with book tours and book signings unless the signing takes place at a very specialized function.

Best wishes,
Mason

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree Mason, I edited my post as soon as yours went up to add "As Mason pointed out however, the return of investment does not exist.". Unless the signing is for a finely tuned audience such as a booth at the WSOP, chances are there will be no return of investment in revenue of promotional value. Publishers need to think in macro promotional terms, not micro.

TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

TomBrooks · #37 10-12-2005, 02:27 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Positively Fifth Street (achieved a sales rank of 2 on Amazon).

[/ QUOTE ]
Hi Mason:

What does the Amazon Sales Rank indicate and how is it determined? I'm assuming it is not a straight up ranking of how many books are sold compared to all of the books on their site. Is it the number of books sold compared to others in the same genre within a certain period of time or something like that?

benfranklin · #38 10-12-2005, 03:42 PM

[ QUOTE ]

I think we should be a little more critical of conspiracy theories.

[/ QUOTE ]

Did you read those reviews? Real people don't talk or write like that. I agree that a large publishing house is not likely to do something like this, but friends and family would. No conspiracy theory, just pointing out what looks like someone trying to pump up the book.

[ QUOTE ]
I learned, I laughed, and I totally enjoyed this rollercoaster of a read.

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
I found this book a fun, easy to read romp.

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
It is an easy read, and will be enjoyed by everyone, from the spectator who only watches poker on TV, to the weekly poker player, to the "rounder."

[/ QUOTE ]

benfranklin · #39 10-12-2005, 03:52 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Annie needs a ghost writer and an editor in the worst way, it was so poorly written that she comes across as a mental midget (which I doubt is the truth in real life... my understanding from anecdotal evidence is that she is actually rather intelligent and a good communicator).

[/ QUOTE ]

The bad news is that she actually had a ghost writer/co-author.

[ QUOTE ]
Annie Duke : How I Raised, Folded, Bluffed, Flirted, Cursed, and Won Millions at the World Series of Poker (Hardcover) by Annie Duke, David Diamond

[/ QUOTE ]

A quick check of Amazon shows that "David Diamond" appears to be a full-time co-author, with books on many different subjects.

The strategy essays on her web site are better written and show good analysis.

Mason Malmuth · #40 10-12-2005, 06:04 PM

Hi Tom:

You can't get the exact formula out of Amazon but it is some sort of weighted average representing recent sales of all books in their inventory. So when Positively Fifth Street went to 2, it meant that only Harry Potter was outselling it at that point in time. Also, for their best selling books, these ranks are updated every hour. For their poorer selling books, they get updated every month. They have ranks on over 3 million books.

Publishers like us use their ranks as one of our guides in our decision making. That's why I reacted like I did to Craig's post. At the very least, he as an author is not in the same publishing world as Two Plus Two. Also, it's my experience that when you talk to a book buyer from another company and you can say to them that one of your books has a pretty good Amazon Sales Rank, they will immediately notice the book in case they haven't already, or instantly increase the number of copies they plan to purchase.

So as you can see, a good Amazon Sales Rank is a very important part of our industry.

Best wishes,
Mason