Traditional Publishing... A New Paradigm

Monday,  Linda wrote a compelling article on what is happening in the publishing industry. If you haven't read it yet, I recommend you take a moment to read U.S. Justice Department May Sue Apple, Amazon Continues to Press Its Advantage, and then come back for more discussion on how to fix this industry.
New to the publishing business, this is what I heard about our current market:

• Your work has to be perfect before an agent will take it. 
• Editors aren't editing anymore. They want a finished product. 
• Publishers take 90% and own your rights, and they don't pay for marketing.

Then I looked into the past:

• Agents would accept unfinished work.
• Editors and agents worked with authors to help craft their books. 
• Publishers were taking pretty much publishing any author, and helping market their books.

We are in the battle of cutting out the middle-man, and threatening the brick and mortar stores, with traditional publishers. As Linda points out in her article, Amazon states: "The only two essential parties in the reading experience are the reader and the author." And then she asks, "What about editors, marketers and distributors?"

What a profound question. What about them? I have to ask these questions: 

"If your work has to be perfect before anyone will touch it, then why do you need an agent and editor? And if you can bring it to market with Amazon, why do you need a publisher?" 
  
From what I've witnessed in this exciting industry is that agents have a preponderance of queries. Thousands weekly. They don't have time to help, assist, and mold talent. Perhaps that was never their job. Perhaps in the old days there weren't as many authors so they had to find the talent and develop it. 
 

Editors are now freelancing. Those of us who hoped to be published one day are paying large sums of money to make our work perfect.

And if we have made our work perfect to be accepted into the "club" then why would we want to pay 90% to a publisher, and sell our rights? If the advancements only go to those who are famous, then what do they have to offer mere mortals like ourselves? 

What I see happening in this industry is by cutting the middle-men out, quality may eventually degrade. Then the cycle will start up again. Agents and editors will step in to help authors, and become part of their success, and will be paid for performance. 

How many times have I gone to my local Barnes and Noble and looked for a book, and they didn't have it? Three times last year. They said, "we can order it for you." I finally gave up taking that drive. It's not worth my time, when I can stay home and order it on line. And yet does it make good business sense to print books and have them sitting in a backroom in inventory? POD makes sound financial sense. I can't blame B&N into not having the books I want on their shelf. 

But the crime of all crimes within the publishing industry is the traditional publishers crying about self-publishing and how POD is putting them out of business... and yet they are the first to take a self-published author who has created a success for themselves.  That's like the war against drugs. I hate it, I don't support it, but when I can make a profit off it... sign me up. Either you are against... or you are for it. You can't fight it and then support it because you're going profit. Can you?

I brought Flight For Control to market myself. The comments I've had when people hold my book in their hands include, "You published this yourself? Wow!" "How many did you have to buy to publish this?" My favorite is, "This looks like a real book."  I have to thank Nathan Everett for that.

Where the industry has really shifted is with the Ebook. 

I just checked my sales and the results this month are:  Kindle: 107 Nook: 5  Hardback and Paperback: 45. Amazing, but people are shifting to electronics. I didn't take into account those copies I've been mailing and shipping from home because you just can't autograph a kindle. But for sales on-line,  electronics are wining. How can the traditional publishing industry manage this shift? 

Seriously I'm torn. I love holding, touching, smelling and reading a real book. Their presence on my bookshelf gives me inspiration and reminds me daily of the content. But I also know economically we can't sustain print books long-term. What is the answer?

The industry has shifted. The future...

• Chain bookstores shrinking.  
• Independent bookstores prospering and catering to their communities. 
• Agents accepting potential talent and working with them. 
• Traditional publishers partnering with authors and reducing commissions, and allowing authors to own their rights. 

What are you thoughts? Where do you see this industry in ten years? Can traditional publishers find their way with a paradigm shift? Have you converted to Kindle and Nook?


Enjoy the Journey!

XOX Karlene