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Thursday 22 November 2012

What Do You Love/Hate About Traditional Publishers?


Way back, in the fogs of the ancient past, when men were apes and women were damned glad to be fleet of foot, traditional publishers took on a role in the world of books. They sought out and nurtured talent. They actively encouraged good writers. They sold their authors’ books. It was a dream world, where writers could actually spend their time writing, learning technique, coming to grips with the process of telling stories, unburdened by the constant need to expose themselves to their public like some lurid music hall act.

Way back then, the publisher took on the tasks of marketing and sales, jobs requiring entirely different skill sets from those needed to produce creative fiction. Sales people are a breed. They are driven by money and the idea of reward. Creative people are artists, driven by the need to express themselves and living in hope that someone somewhere might enjoy their output sufficiently to pass a positive comment and maybe even recommend it to a friend. Publishers organised the production of the book; engaging and paying for skilled cover artists to draw attention to the work, hiring editors to iron out inconsistencies and grammatical errors, choosing the font most suitable for the text, taking a pride in turning the creative work into a marketable product. Publishers negotiated with booksellers and others in the book trade to get the volumes on the shelves of stores and libraries. They produced publicity material and arranged for signings and, sometimes, tours by their authors.

All this activity released authors from the need to worry about a side of writing mostly foreign to the creative nature. It allowed writers to spend time actually learning their craft and developing into practitioners with insight, depth and experience. Their writers grew in talent and value to their readers. The authors were protected from day to day anxieties regarding deadlines and targets and sales list positions. They could actually get on with the job of writing; the role for which they were best fitted.

Of course, there were downsides, for both writers and publishers. Occasionally a publisher would encourage a promising prospect only to discover either a lack of real talent or a lack of discipline, which resulted in the one-book author or the procrastinator who promised but never actually delivered. For the writer, there were restrictions in genre. Publishers would light on the first novel and then drive the writer along the same route time and time again, trying to turn their protégée into some sort of word machine churning out endless versions of the same, once-successful book until both the writer and his readers became disenchanted with the whole business. Readers then turned to some other talent whilst the writer went off to be a plumber or park warden instead.

We have reached a stage in publishing today where the potential for a better deal for all is possible. Because it costs almost nothing to produce an ebook, financial risk for publishers regarding that first novel is no longer relevant. The only potential loss involves their time. The monetary layout is negligible and there is no concern for overheads with a warehouse full of unsold books. The publisher can devote time and effort to marketing the books and, should the ebook prove successful, can then produce a POD, again at little cost, but with the confidence that the book is likely to sell well. This is a win/win situation for publisher and author. The writer is spared the time-consuming and destructive work of marketing and can get on with the actual creation of a really good book. And the publisher can return to the role of nurturing mentor and guide, taking care of those tasks most authors find so onerous; i.e. marketing and sales.

So, why are so few publishers doing this? Why are so many locked into the recent cycle of backing pointless celebrity with huge advances only to lose these enormous sums when the product fails the first test of quality? I suspect it’s because publishers, along with most other businesses, are now run by bean counters rather than by those with imagination, flair and taste. As long as money is seen as the only worthwhile outcome for publishing, traditional publishers will continue to fail and decline. Once they start to understand and return to their original role of mentor and protector of talent, there is a strong possibility that they will flourish as never before. I just hope they discover this fact before I’m too old and decrepit to benefit from such services.

As always, I value your thoughts. Please comment freely and pass on this piece to as many of your writing/reading friends as you can.

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6 comments:

Jack Eason said...

"The publisher can devote time and effort to marketing the books". If only that was still the case Stuart.

I can only speak of my own brush with traditional publishing, where I was expected to do the vast majority of the marketing to boot.

Is it any wonder so many of us have become self publishers? I think not. :)

stuartaken.net said...

Your initial comment, Jack: my point, precisely. But I fear your experience is similar to that of so many writers of the past couple of decades, when publishers began to lose their way and were determined to turn their creative talent into salesmen (and women) at a great cost to imaginative and improving writing. Very sad.

J.L. Murphey said...

Actually, when I first became a published (over 30 years ago :) coughing and choking) The not only did the marketing but also the editing. I remember my surprise at pages and pages of red lines and stuff written in the margins. All I had to do was create, which I loved. I didn't have to worry about this or that social media, promoting myself, or anything but my "deadline."

It was a win- lose situation or win-win situation. Now, traditional publishing is so far out of whack that it's no wonder they are going bankrupt. Yes, they have marketing and promotion teams which basically tell you how-to dyi book promotion with all funding coming out of your 17% minus agent's fee of 20%. It is out of my own pocket that trips, launches, and book signings come out of.

This is why I self publish now. It's not because I couldn't find an agent (have 2) or a publisher (worked with 4). I have an MBA and one in marketing so I know the ropes. But if I'm going to have to do the leg work as well as write...I darn sure want more than 17%.

stuartaken.net said...

Exactly, J.L., the publishers did their job and the writers were allowed to the creative thing. Now, the accountants have taken over and can see only short-term, have no idea of what motivates a writer, what makes a writer able to turn out one good book after another. We can only hope that some of the publishers will look back and see the error of these changes and start to do the job publishing actually entails, instead of trying to bleed authors for everything they can. Thanks for your comment.

J.L. Murphey said...

I hear the death rattle breathing of publishers if they don't. I have been the accountant and marketer for several corporations in the past, and while I understand the bottom line, to keep the eye on the ball and not listening to the producers of your product is the reason strikes happen. I know several authors like me who are doing both... self publishing and self publishing, or going into total self publishing for that very reason.

stuartaken.net said...

Good to learn that an accountant understands the real issues here, JL. A product that deteriorates because the producers are given insufficient encouragement or freedom to create is doomed to eventual failure. I fear for the future of books only because the public may be faced with more and more poorly produced products and eventually become fed up of trying to sift the good from the acres of dross. This is where traditional publishers could really help both themselves and writers. I hope they don't learn this too late.