Publishing’s electronic horizons: reality check for writers

2010 is definitely the year that electronic book readers force the questions, will books continue to exist, and if so, in what forms?

Writers have everything to gain by remaining on top of this debate and everything to lose if they deny the value of electronic publishing.

 So do readers, for that matter. What’s at stake for them is the future quality and diversity of all literature.

Here are a handful of links to get the earnest author-to-be  started.

Feb 8, 2010
from Joyful Thoughts
Ebooks and Ereaders
http://joycollins.blogspot.com/2010/02/ebooks-and-ereaders.html
by Joy Collins
Most notably, Collins writes:

…if you are an author, now is your time. EBook lines are usually more open to new authors, giving you a better than average chance of being published. Your readers can get your book in seconds which means the chances of them making their purchase increases since they don’t have to get in their car and go to your book signing, or go to a bookstore, or order online and then wait for the book to arrive in the mail.

Feb 8, 2010
from GalleyCat
Penguin CEO Compares eBooks and Paperbacks
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/ebooks/penguin_ceo_compares_ebooks_and_paperbacks_151376.asp
by Jason Boog
Most notably, Boog writes:

The op-ed makes no mention of the fact that the paperback evolved in the middle of the Great Depression. The model “collapsed” after the economic turmoil had passed. The eBook’s rapid growth came during another crippling recession, and $9.99 may reflect an economic reality until our own crisis has passed.

Feb 5, 2010
from Norwich Bulletin
On Writers & Writing: E-books devalue the difficult writing process of authors
by AS Maulucci
http://www.norwichbulletin.com/living/x644560909/On-Writers-Writing-E-books-devalue-the-difficult-writing-process-of-authors
Most notably, Maulucci writes:

…when authors start giving away e-book copies of their books just to get people to read them with the hope it will generate word-of-mouth promotion, I believe they are only hurting themselves in the long run.

Feb 3, 2010
from TidBITS
Zombie Authors Threaten Fiction Ebook Market, from the Grave!
http://db.tidbits.com/article/10979
by Chris Pepper
Most notably, Pepper writes:

…it’s clear to writers like science-fiction author Charlie Stross that the old model of delivering a large chunk of words to a publisher, and then moving on to the next book, is in trouble. Over the long term, we need to figure this out to keep people writing the books we want to read, but the answer might not be comfortable – or look much like today’s fiction marketplace. One way or another, change is coming, and without taking their fate into their own hands, writers might find themselves spending more time behind the counter at Starbucks than sipping lattes with their publishers.

Feb 2, 2010
from Publicola:  Seattle’s News Elixir
How Many E-Books, Ultimately?
http://www.publicola.net/2010/02/02/how-many-ebooks-ultimately/
by Glenn Fleishman:
Most notably, Fleishman writes:

Small press doesn’t mean small sales. The statistical design genius Edward Tufte’s Graphics Press, for instance, has produced exactly seven unique titles, but has sold many millions of copies. (Tufte started his own press when he couldn’t find a mainstream publisher that could produce his first book in the way he wanted. Good move.)

Jan 29, 2010
from BoingBoing
Amazon and Macmillan go to war: readers and writers are the civilian casualties
http://www.boingboing.net/2010/01/29/amazon-and-macmillan.html
by Cory Doctorow
Most notably, Doctorow writes:

…this is a case of two corporate giants illustrating neatly exactly why market concentration is bad for the arts.

One response to the Author’s Guild regarding Macmillan v Amazon

from the Author’s Guild
The Right Battle at the Right Time
http://authorsguild.org/advocacy/articles/the-right-battle.html 
“Macmillan’s current fight with Amazon over e-book business models is a necessary one for the industry. The stakes are high, particularly for Macmillan authors. In a squabble over e-books, Amazon quickly and pre-emptively escalated matters by…” <more>

Writer’s Rainbow’s response:
This battle is necessary because paper publishers have to *prove* they’re in the service of authors and literature and, frankly, they *aren’t,* not in 2010. They’re in the service of bottom lines, from which they extract a lot of money and from which very few authors (especially new ones) can expect to make more than a pittance, if they can break into the pearly gates at all.

I take issue with this part of Macmillan’s statement:

“Without a healthy ecosystem in publishing, one in which authors and publishers are fairly compensated for their work, the quality and variety of books available to readers will inevitably suffer.”

Let’s get something straight… do the research and you’ll find that authors do NOT receive fair compensation for their work UNLESS they’re bestsellers. And who decides bestsellers? Not readers, but publishers. Books with bestseller status arrive that way not through genuine sales but through financial arrangements made before those books are even published.

Yes, it’s a scam and it’s been going on forever.

Bestselling authors comprise a very small percentage of the total authors being published, and yet the lion’s share of revenues for book authors go primarily to the bestsellers. This is because big house publishers bank of the bestsellers to keep them afloat (by investing in their shelf positioning and bestseller status). Newer authors can only get in through the gates of traditional publishing as long as their publishers have bestsellers to draw income from.

Let’s not forget: *publishers* are making a heap big more wampum on books than authors are. So really, Macmillan’s statement, in a more accurate sense, might be one that says:

“A healthy ecosystem in publishing fairly compensates publishers for their products irregardless of the quality and variety of books available.”

This is not to say that bestsellers are not diverse or of high quality; it’s to say that there are huge numbers of excellent new authors turned away from the gates because they simply aren’t a known quantity. They aren’t “branded.”

Even poorly done books, when branded effectively, can be bestsellers.

I’ve tired of publishers claiming they care about literature and books when that’s the last thing on their minds at the end of the day. Theirs is a crappy business model from the 20th century that they’re still trying to pass off as a legitimate strategy in this century. It’s been failing since the 1970s; this is not an issue of “the economy” in 2010. The industry will keep on spiraling downward until publishers start thinking of their authors as something more than toilet paper to be sold at Costco.

Though, to be honest, that scenario makes them sound shrewd… like Amazon. Which is to point out that they really aren’t all that different from Amazon, just a vulture with a different kind of pattern to their feathers.

Who’s the big loser here? Readers. They don’t even know what they’re missing.

New writers at least have a fighting alternative to this closed process with POD and Amazon etc. The stats are out there: self-publishing is actually a better money maker for new voices in 2010. You *will* make more money off your book if you go this route. And if new writers can do well in that way, using Amazon as a vehicle, then Macmillan & Co need to rethink their business model or they’ll be missing out on all that literary landscape they believe they’re somehow advocating for.

Creative solutions for the writer who doesn’t want to be yet another Voice in the Dark

Something that’s been coming up a lot with my other clients: marketing issues. These boil down as follows:

• submitting short work
• finding agents
• considering self-publication
• considering electronic publishing
• finding venues for reading
• making webpages
• building reputations through P2P (person to person) networking
• online social networking
• maximizing Twitter

Are you struggling with any of these concerns? They seem so “business-like,” and yet, as a creative person, you have the right foundation for making these things work on terms that mesh with your creative life.

I’ve co-hosted a writers’ marketing group for years and many of the things we learned as a group can be applied across disciplines.

I’m no marketing guru, per se, but I know how to find ways to balance the creativity life with the necessary work of promotion and networking yourself.

I’m a firm believer that we make or do things to communicate with the larger world; it’s an existential question as to whether it matters to be creative if nobody notices. For me, and for most of the people I’ve worked with as clients, it definitely matters that people notice; otherwise, we’re just voices in the dark.

These days, the marketing models are changing as well, and social networking is becoming a great equalizer, making it possible for people to generate platforms of followers/fans/connections that are responsive to their creative work in a way that the old corporate framework never really supported.

Do let me know if this is an area where you are challenged or want to learn more about, and give me some details of what it is that you are challenged by or what you have already done but would like to do more of. I’m happy to discuss, perhaps even to demystify or de-stigmatize, this “business-side” application of your creativity.

Taking new clients August 1.

Pitch Redux: Keeping eggs in many baskets (that ol’ chestnut) makes the best sense in the newzbiz

Okay, I never made it to the Pitch Salon. What can I say, the head cold won this time around. I’m still a-nasal.

However, here’s the Twitter-backtrack and Kathy Gill’s Livescribe notes so you can all see what transpired.

[Speaking of Livescribe, this is definitely the next gizmo I’m Jonesing for around birthday time. Too cool. And I’d like a side of MyScript to go with that, thank you very much!]

Seattle publishing through the Web 2.0 lens: Pitch Salon

What is it: The Pitch is a local Eat Sleep Publish event where anyone interested in the future of publishing is welcome to come and share their thoughts.

How does this event work? The Pitch is essentially a round table. Each event has a guiding question (or The Pitch) that the group is trying to dissect, analyze, and understand.

In this special edition of The Pitch, the “speakers” portion of the evening will be a little enhanced and elongated, so that there will be a number of business ideas to discuss.

After the short presentations, the floor is open to everyone (moderated by Jason Preston). There is one microphone that will be passed around the group, and the entire event is made into an audio recording that will be sent to the attendees.

Participants are encouraged to upload photos, tweet, or blog their thoughts during, before, after, inside, on, around, adjacent from, or perpendicular to the event. Hopefully, the group can collectively take some baby steps in understanding what publishing and journalism are becoming.

Interested? Put your name on the list.

When: March 18th, 2009, from 7-9pm.
Where: Lucid in the U-District – Seattle, WA. ( Google Knows )
The Pitch: What is the best business model for news in the next five years?
What else? There’s a $200 bar tab for participants in The Pitch, so get there early and drink often.
RSVP: The venue fills up at 30 people, so be sure to put your name down before the space runs out.
Who’s Speaking?

• Todd Herman is co-founder of SpinSpotter.
• Ben Reed is the senior product marketing manager for Windows Media Center at Microsoft Corp. In this capacity, Reed and his team are charged with developing the marketing fundamentals and insights for Windows Media Center. Windows Media Center turns a PC into a digital video recorder, on which users can enjoy TV shows at their convenience on a PC, on TV and on the go.
• Brian Westbrook: Find out more about him at his tech blog!
• Hanson Hosein is a big thinker on the future of media from the faculty at the University of Washington and formerly of MSNBC.com. Check out his site.

From Jason Preston @ EatSleepPublish: “This special edition of The Pitch will work just a bit differently than previous pitches: there will be more speaking. …the idea is to hear the best business ideas from entrepreneurs and thought leaders in the space. We’ll spend the rest of the time ripping those ideas apart for ethical, practical, and nonsensical reasons. …

Note from Tamara: I’m really going to try to go. Really, I am. I have commitments on Tues/Thurs night and coming from BI means extra cash outlay just to go. And I have a head cold. But I reallyreallyreally want to go for this event and talk about the Kindle…