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.
