Is the author dream of ‘getting picked’ by a publisher still possible when so many traditional publishers are in trouble? The answer is a resounding yes, but not for the reasons you may expect – as I’ll explain…
There’s no denying it – digital publishing in the US market will eventually eclipse print publishing, something that most traditional book lovers simply don’t wish to hear.
As much as we may love the idea of holding a printed book in our hands, the reality is that fiction paperback publishing is in steep decline. In 2011, Amazon announced that sales of Kindle Ebooks had surpassed their hardcover and paperback sales combined, and this trend will surely only accelerate from here.
E-readers such as the Amazon Kindle™ (or alternatively, e-reader apps on smartphones and tablets) will soon become as ubiquitous as cellphones are now. Eventually, printed books may well fulfil only smaller niche roles – such as beautiful, limited-edition hardbacks for collectors.
But it’s not just the publishers at issue here, book stores are disappearing, and without book stores, there is no function for a publisher that relies on them as outlets.
Furthermore there is yet another factor looming: Social peer pressure. I have noticed that people reading printed books in cafes and aircraft have to suffer the pitying glances from Kindle readers that indicate: “You are the only person in here reading an old fashioned paper book.” This alone will help accelerate the change.
But what does this mean for aspiring authors? What can they do?
If people are not buying so many printed books any more, does this mean there won’t be publishing houses? And if there are no publishing houses, who does a writer give their manuscript to? Will they be forced to self-publish, even if they’re not comfortable doing so?
The short answer is no. You’ll still be able to get a publisher, who will not only continue to publish some of these books traditionally, including through Amazon’s ‘Create Space’ print-on-demand service, but increasingly as an EBook, and promote it for you.
My view is that print books will take a long time to disappear – if ever – although what may eventually happen a decade or more from now is, as I surmised earlier, that traditionally printed books could become more specialized and viewed as ‘collectibles’. Even printed pulp fiction may last well into the future, because the cost of a cheap paperback is not hugely significant, and given that so many readers simply refuse to give up paper books, the demand is still there. And it is demand that drives the industry.
Fundamentally of course, the most effective pathway for authors is not so much to seek to ‘get published’, but to join forces with a publisher to jointly find their readers, and grow readership.
But overall, the ‘Author Dream’ of being published is alive and well, and in fact is going to be accessible to more authors than ever. And here’s why:
As Long As Authors Want Someone To ‘Publish Their Book’, There Will Be Publishers
Let’s be honest – the majority of writers don’t want to ‘handle the whole process themselves’, no matter how easy you tell them it is. For every indie author who’s willing to roll up their sleeves and cut out the publisher middle-man, there are five writers who simply refuse to do this. They steadfastly maintain that their skill set is writing, not publishing or marketing. This is despite the fact that authors clearly play a vital role in finding their readers.
Perhaps you fall into this camp yourself?
Most writers just want to write the best book they can, and hand it to a publisher to ‘do the rest’. “I’ll handle the creative writing process, you handle the rest in exchange for a percentage” goes the deal. That’s always been the author dream – write a great book, get picked by a publisher, and they do the rest.
So does the decline of print publishing spell the end of this ‘author dream’?
No – not at all. It might be hard to see the magnitude of this at first, but it’s the very demand arising from these ‘just want to write’ authors that will ensure that publishers remain key players in the Ebook-dominated future. As long as there are aspiring authors with great stories out there who are not willing to go down the DIY pathway, there will be big publishers offering such expertise.
But here’s the interesting thing: what these publishing houses will need to offer you (in exchange for taking a percentage of your profits) will change radically.
What Publishers Will Do For You In The Future E-Book World
Three of the major functions performed by print publishers today are printing , physical distribution, and negotiation with bookstores. But none of these things are relevant to digital publishing.
There is nothing to print, nor is any physical distribution required to get an Ebook into a digital marketplace such as on the Amazon Kindle, or the Apple iPad.
And perhaps most importantly, there is no limit on the number of titles that can be housed on the digital ‘shelves’ of Amazon. Where publishers currently negotiate with bookstores over which titles to stock, and how much physical space they can have in-store, no such negotiation is required with online Ebook stores (who have unlimited digital ‘space’).
Does this mean (shock, horror) that the great publishing houses, the New York ‘Big Six’ in particular, are redundant?
Hardly. Quite the opposite is the case in fact. They can potentially become MORE useful and appealing to ‘writing only’ authors.
Publishing houses, while still doing cover design, editing, formatting, uploading, are moving into promotion & publicity. This is where the publishers will make the difference that keeps them relevant in the EBook age. Editing, formatting, cover design and uploading books to Amazon alone will not be enough for publishers to maintain their position in the market alone, because freelancers are able to fill this space already.
Publishers wanting to take a percentage of profits are starting to provide writers with media publicity, building beautiful blogs for them to write for, offering training in social media promotion, arranging book blog tours, and going as far as running online advertising – because that’s what creates the ‘critical mass’ required to kick-start the process of word of mouth recommendation, and actually sell lots of books.
As I said before, the most effective pathway is for writers not to seek to ‘get published’, but to join forces with a publisher who will help them find their readers and grow readership.
To survive and thrive, in my view all publishers need to do this joint audience-finding process with authors, also become ‘author book publicists and promoters’, use simpler contracts, and dramatically increase the royalty percentage they pay authors from 10% to far northwards of 40%.
I am convinced that the current ‘Big Six’ publishers are aware of this and are planning to adapt quickly to this changing landscape. If they don’t they will be usurped by new, more enterprising publishing/publicist companies. In fact I can see several that have already emerged.
But either way, there will still be a publisher for your book.
These Changes Mean Your Author Dream Of ‘Being Published’ Is Alive And Well
These earth-shaking changes to the industry might seem confusing, but are great news for writers, because there’s more and easier options. In the old days, only a tiny percentage of writers ever ‘got published’, because publishing houses only ever picked a very small percentage to publish. Now, there is no barrier to getting published at all, and it’s very fast.
For those looking to stick to writing only, the new ‘promotional’ publishers will be accepting submissions. (Some already are.) These publishers are a little different to the ones you see right now – as I’ve just described. In fact, from this point forwards, we’ll also be seeing various ‘tiers’ of publishers charging different percentages or fees, depending on how much risk they take, and how much they promote their authors.
But If You’re A Writer Who STILL Can’t Find A Publisher, There’s Room For You Too
If you know you have a good book, but still fail to be picked by publishers, it’s now even easier to self-publish on the Kindle than ever. It’s increasingly straight forward to buy, at remarkably low cost, a proven quality, done-for-you package deal of outsourced editor, cover design, formatting and uploading. 
As an author you then take time to learn the simple ways to effectively use social media such as Twitter and an author blog to find your readers, connect with them, and grow an increasing readership.
Furthermore, you can choose this indie pathway right from the outset to maximise profits. Earnings can potentially start from the moment it goes live on Amazon after upload. Normally it takes two years for book to see the light of day after acceptance of a manuscript.
And remember, it’s also an effective pathway to getting a deal with a publisher later on when you successfully publish on the Kindle first. In fact, you’ll find the information you need about this here: ‘How To Get A Six Figure Book Deal’
So I Don’t Have To Worry About Promoting My Book. The Publisher Will Do It All?
Sorry, that’s not how it is going to work. Traditional publishers will still be signing authors and shouldering the responsibility for the promotion of those books, but not in the way you think. In the new world of publishing authors will be required to MEET THE PUBLISHER HALFWAY and co-operate in building this online visibility.
Publishers will do high quality editing, formatting, cover design, and uploading to Amazon. They will also design beautiful blogs and websites for authors, plus they’ll structure, develop and manage all the promotional activity. But it is the author who’ll actually carry it out.
It is the author who appears on Facebook and Twitter, and who writes the blog posts. It is the author who actually picks and pins on their Pinterest page, and does the blog tour, even if it is organised by the publisher. Most authors I know are quite happy to do this as long as a publisher is guiding their activities in an organised way.
So which authors will be ‘picked’?
Here’s the reality. Given a choice between two books of equal quality to choose from, a publisher will always pick the author who can demonstrate they have some online promotional capability and can help promote their book.
This means that authors must learn the ropes long before they even think of approaching a publisher, because the publisher will not want to train an author in social media from scratch. Given a choice, they’ll pick the ‘already promotionally savvy’ every time.
In sum, there’ll always be a publisher for you if that is your dream, but only if you’re prepared to pitch in. These are the days – the greatest time ever to be an author.
What are your thoughts on the changes to the publishing industry? Do you still want to ‘get a publisher’? Or will you self publish?
This is an emotional issue for writers. Do leave a comment below.
Article written by Jonathan Gunson
Author / CEO Bestseller Labs
Notice: This article is copyrighted material. Reproduction of brief snippets of this article with a link to this site are permitted, but it may not be reproduced in full anywhere without the written permission of Jonathan Gunson at BestsellerLabs.com
Good article – so far I have heard a lot of ‘doom and gloom’ about publishing – am trying the self-publishing route at present – I mean, I’m doing the whole thing – registered as a publisher, bought my barcodes and ISBN’s, invested in a good colour laser printer – and now I have had to market them – it’s not easy.
But using Facebook and Twitter – hopefully a epublisher will see I’m doing ‘it’ and will follow my progress?????
No doom and gloom here Maureen! It’s all good. I’ll add that you’re extremely enterprising to take the path you have. Since you’re already DIY, any reason you wouldn’t use Kindle eBooks as well to supplement your print activities? Millions of book buyers are already gathered at Amazon and searching for books to read.
Thank you again for this lovely blog Jonathan. I’m in the middle of deciding which way to go, self published eBook, or get a traditional publisher to handle it all for me. I have an agent and will definitely show him this post, it will help with the decision. My first book is part of a series of 5 historical romance books about a Regency family. It’s with my editor. So excited!
Kristine. In the first instance I would be guided by your agent. I expect they will be up with the play. Fact is you can do the eBook side yourself almost immediately on the Kindle. Standing by for your series. And the best of success with it.
This is an interesting post. I disagree with you to some extent, although I do believe that the novelty of e-readers will captivate many people.
British author and actor Stephen Fry made the comment that just because someone had invented the escalator (and I suppose this includes the elevator), did not mean there would be no steps to walk up and down places. There have been sweeping and phenomenal changes in the art and craft of writing dating from Gutenberg, and somehow everyone has moved along the shelf, without anyone falling off.
I don’t think books will become the small-niche product you envisage. Stately homes without a massive library? Trendy NY loft apartments without bookshelves? Homes with bookshelves the size of an e-reader? I don’t think so because having books is ingrained in us as a literate society. People are proud to say they read, and proud to display their bookshelves because that’s an indication of our identity. When someone comes into your home, they most times automatically check out the bookshelves. What you read tells them about you. Are you an intellectual (Aha, all those classics you might not have read…) or do you read airport cannon fodder?
I am looking around for reviewers for my MG adventure novel. I home in on kid-friendly book sites, populated by parents anxious to give their kids the best, only to find that an ‘elitist’ attitude prevails: “Please do not send an e-book. We believe in the tactile stimulation of children reading real books.” Although it’s more convenient for me to send an e-book (I live in South Africa), it’s nice to see that real books are valued. Parents, who are the buyers in their kids’ lives, also value the stimulation of a real book, and encourage their children to love and cherish a firm favourite. Call me old-fashioned, but I think books will occupy equal space with e-readers. Most people say they have them for convenience sake. That’s it. Life isn’t about convenience all the time. It’s also about aesthetic beauty.
I could also go on about the lack of technology in Third World countries, such as Africa, parts of Asia, South America, which means that books are still read the old-fashioned way, or how poverty makes electronic reading devices impossible to attain, and how libraries are the focal point of disadvantaged communities and schools. In First World countries e-readers are trendy and available. In countries where a loaf of bread means more than a book to a disadvantaged family, one has to reconsider the whole book revolution. These are just some observations, and I found your article informative and valid.
Fiona, what a response – almost a guest post!
Fact is I feel the same way re the ‘Love of Books’.
But the issue we face is that the future does not lie in the hands of those of us who ‘love the beauty of books’, or how interesting it is to see books ranged along shelves in an NYC apartment.
Sorry, but the decision has been taken out of our hands. It’s actually about the market reality of inroads being made by eReader devices such as the Kindle. Book stores are rapidly disappearing, and without them publishers cannot survive unless they change. At a certain point, due to economies of scale, publishers will stop producing printed books.
It is not a gentle sliding scale ending with a smaller version of todays book stores with the same books available either. (Picture the ‘hippie dream’ of a small cosy drop-in book shop that also sells coffee.) Instead, books will simply stop being produced by traditional print publishers below a certain demand point. I love books and my house overflows with them, and I don’t particularly like e-readers, but that doesn’t alter the reality that they are increasingly crowding out printed books every day.
Libraries of early traditionally-published paper books certainly won’t disappear. But mass-distribution paperback books will – they already have the sword dangling over them, and hardbacks will follow. The only remaining ‘print lighthouse’ will be Amazon’s ‘Create Space’ which produces printed books on demand, plus speciality houses that produce collectors editions, and small boutique print publishers serving a radically reduced market.
Regarding your point: “I could also go on about the lack of technology in Third World countries, such as Africa, parts of Asia, South America, which means that books are still read the old-fashioned way, or how poverty makes electronic reading devices impossible to attain….” It’s a classic marketing mistake to think the future lies there. Over 90% of profitable book sales are made in the US and other industrialised markets, not in 3rd world countries, because of the very poverty you mention.
Fortunately, no matter what, those authors who stay up with the play, avoid clinging to a dying system, and who are prepared to use the new path, are perfectly positioned to do very well indeed in the emerging epoch.
Hi Jonathan,
An interesting article. I think there are a number of arguments in favour of the printed book:-
1. The feel of a new hardback is very personal between the author and the reader, especially where the book is a quality glossy paged non-fiction book.
2. Where a book (such as your Merlin!) has high quality colour graphics that are integral to the story, a mere Kindle can’t show them (Kindle Fire not being available widely). The iPad has colour capability and that’s what I tend to use, but the size is still too small for detailed artwork.
3. I have a library (ok, I have a study with some books on shelves) and it’s a pleasure to browse through them and even to just look at the dust jackets. Some are old friends and some I’d even forgotten I had. Somehow I can’t imagine me ever feeling the same about a Kindle full of eBooks.
4. The revenue difference between an eBook and its printed equivalent is a factor of up to 5 times. If the same number of book copies are sold the author may still make the same in royalties, the publisher may make the same in revenue, however the losers will be printers, distribution companies, warehouse operators and independent book shops (the bigger shop chains will become eBook distributors) and all the people who currently work for all those industries.
I agree that the publisher has a great part to play with the advance of the eBook, especially for those authors who want to create and leave the rest to some one else. To a large extent I’m one of those people, even though I do a fair amount of self-promotion on FB, Twitter and Google+. I still want someone who has the proven capability, to market me and my books to the maximum. I still want my books to appear in print through a traditional house and that will happen as the Temporal Detective Agency series proves itself as an eBook, which is why my USA publisher is not only an eBook publisher, covering all costs, but also acts as my traditional agent.
Meanwhile, the eBook is performing an excellent service in allowing otherwise staid and suited businessmen on the way to work to read badly written porn, like 50 Shades of Grey, on the train…undetected!
Cheers
Richard
Richard.
No doubt there’s love for paper books – it seems to be pouring out! I enjoyed your ‘Leap Of Faith’ Temporal Detective story. The characters yes, but particularly because of its unique idea. A time slip detective. I’ll put a link to your book so others can read the blurb. Leap of Faith
Richard — I just bought your book and am looking forward to reading it on my nook.
Being a writer is the only profession I know of where it’s deemed acceptable by your peers to make no money, yet a complete stranger will expect you to be rich and famous. I only have two books out, yet I still get asked when I expect to get a movie deal.
Hans. The interesting part of that is the awe that simply ‘being published’ generates.
I agree with what you’ve said in your article. Books will still be around for a long time but I think that they will become more specialized as time goes on… and probably physical books will become only available to collectors and the like in time.
I remember watching Star Trek and one of the young characters was writing a novel on what would today be called a tablet. At the time they didn’t exist, hadn’t been thought of. The episode was brilliant in that it gave someone the idea… and the tablet was born.
I happen to love my eReader. I have about 150 books on it which I can access at anytime. I also have quite an extensive physical library (probably close to 300 books) which sits in a storage pod waiting for me to stop being on the road and settle once again into a house. You see, I and my husband live in a motorhome full-time. We love the lifestyle. We will be here for a while. I am also a writer and have recently self-published at Smashwords and Amazon. eBooks only. I work on my computer wherever we happen to be. In the past I attempted to sell my books to publishers. I gave many of them a chance. As far as I’m concerned, they blew it. I am a good writer, craft a good story, and have great characters in stories that are not written in a boring manner. Publishers weren’t interested enough to even bother opening the envelope.
After many years of putting it off, I finally figured that eReaders had “arrived” and I could self-publish. The marketing is the hardest part, but my husband and I are willing to do that part to get my books out there. I want to share my stories with everyone, always have, always will. So, although I truly love the smell of books, especially old ones, I also realize that young people are hooked on electronics and baby-boomers are moving into motorhomes where there isn’t enough room for a library. eReaders are the solution that many avid readers have been looking for. At last we can read and carry a library with us… all neatly contained in a small package.
http://www.junevollans.ca
June, to quote from your own website: ” …In mid-2010 I finally met my soul-mate, Gary, who has since become my life-partner. It only took me 60 years! We are retired from the everyday grind of a “job”. Combining my gypsy soul and Gary’s truck driving lifestyle, we now live in a motorhome and travel where the wind takes us.”
Sounds like Heaven on Earth! I’ll add that you sound distinctly like the voice of the coming eBook era June.
Best wishes for your wanderings and the success of your books.
Jonathan,
Thanks for the informative piece. I will admit that I only started thinking about how to sell my book when it was three chapters from completion. I had to take a 15 hour day converting all the italics to underlnes (who knew? but I Goodsearched on “Manuscript Novel” and found out). Then I started contacting all the “writer’s (writers’?) service agencies that had reached out to me during the writing of the book. I have a really good editor, but my dilemma is to come up with money to pay the guy (his NYT Review of Books history is an attractive “side” that made him desirable, beyond reinforcing his competence).
So now, it comes to the test. If I make my Amazon author page, format as a Kindle (what are your thoughts on Smashwords?) and promote it unceasingly to my family, friends, and online community (about 500 FB friends, about 350 of whom are also writers; and about 400 Twitterers (almost all of whom are follow-backs), what kind of revenues can I expect? I’m assuming I don’t “go viral.”
Ron
What kind of revenues you can expect?
That is the $64 million dollar question Ronald. Here’s how it works: Publishers have a reasonable idea of knowing what will sell, and in fact some have ‘golden boys’ who are extremely good at picking winners. But overall they mostly rely on the market to finally decide. If readers like the book they will tell others. If they don’t like it, the numbers of Facebook followers you have won’t make much difference. The job of a publicist and book promotor then is to start this viral word of mouth process so that a book can lift off – and it will but only if readers like it. It’s the readers who sell the book. (Unless you are Kim Kardashian. Vast numbers will buy just about anything from a celebrity.)
So as you can see, it’s the quality of the book itself that does the heavy lifting in the end. Numbers on Twitter and Facebook are useful to help ignite the process, but aren’t useful in themselves to quantify potential sales. They are part of (a) The book ignition process (b) helping to build your long term fan base.
I’m firmly in agreement with Fiona and others about the love and need of paper books. I prefer to read a real book although I can see a place for e-readers, especially for trying out a new author (it’s cheaper if you don’t like them). However, my fear is that publishing houses won’t be able to make enough money to produce books at a reasonable cost, because they might lose so much market share to e-readers. So, whether we want them or not, there won’t be a house to publish them. I hope this doesn’t happen. And if I were to receive a “pitying glance” because I’m reading a hard copy of a book, I would only feel more sorrow for the geek who is missing out on my experience.
Joe. Quoting you: “… my fear is that publishing houses won’t be able to make enough money to produce books at a reasonable cost, because they might lose so much market share to e-readers. ”
This is exactly the issue to hand I’m afraid to say. The book stores are fading away. And publishers need those stores to survive.
What gave the publishers their business advantage is book store distribution, which is actually a form of promotion that only they could do. i.e. Putting books in front of potential buyers. But as book stores disappear, to maintain their edge publishers will have to replace that form of ‘promotion’ with another form of promotion to hold their position. They’ll also need to increase royalties and I believe they will do both.
In the industrialized west, fiction as eBooks will gradually hold sway, no matter how much we love printed the printed versions.
Very interesting read Jonathan.
I was unsuccessful in getting a publisher since most these days require an agent which I hadn’t got. So, I took the easy option of self publishing since people had told me my books were fun to read. Of course marketing is where the difficulties start unless you’re au fait with all the various social sites these days.
I too believe that paper book won’t die out though I’m realistic enough to see the appeal of the e-reader to a lot of people. Having published firstly through createspace and then for the second and third books through Lulu I have the benefit of both worlds. Now I just have to get the nous to create interest and make sales.
David, we’ll see the demise of the mass distribution paperback. It will be replaced by eReader devices in the US and industrialized countries (90% of the market) In fact, I recall Penguin, the originators of the paperback form admitting this themselves. Promotion is the key from here on. Most savvy traditional publishers already know this.
The eBook will take off in most mature countries and probably overtake the printed book, however in many emerging countries that have a very wide reading audience there is one major obstacle to the eBook taking off. The credit card.
In India, for instance, the potential market for selling books is vast, however the number of people who have credit cards is tiny compared to the size of the market which means the printed book will always rule there so long as eBooks can only be bought with a credit card.
It also obviously affects authors in those countries who might want to self-publish using KDR.
Richard, I’m generally referring to the industrialized West where 90% of the English language business profit is to be had by the large traditional publishing companies. We’re talking the book business here, not altruism or love of old books. I doubt if the traditional publishers will see the 3rd world as a replacement for markets that have been keeping them profitable for the last 100 years.
Richard Hardie above mentioned credit cards and countries like India, where books are still bought and read in old format. Several of the Big Six have actively wooed this developing readership in a country where literacy/education is seen as something powerful and desirable, but technology/financial status is a drawback.
There is a huge divide between the rich, the increasing middle class, and the very poor in India. The middle class are becoming the new buying power. China and the Middle East are also being considered as potential growth areas for printed books.
Recently a Japanese agent approached me with a view to having my MG adventure novel translated into Japanese. I asked if this would be in e-format. She said, ‘Oh no, a real book.’ Surprising since Japan is ahead of everyone technology wise. The technology and financial ease enjoyed by developed countries will provide a flourishing trade for e-books, but underdeveloped places will plod on with real books.
Publishers can’t afford to dispense with real books. They’ll have to find another outlet, and not just Amazon. I think their own ‘shopfronts’ will become a selling point. From the comments regarding financial viability of the printed format and bookshops, a developed country like France is hanging onto its bookshops, and with a kind of inverted snobbery does not ‘care for’ the e-book format. The French cherish their writers, philosophers and artists. Bookshops are an integral part of French culture.
With reference to my comment above re parenting, parents of young children cling to real books because of the PROVEN physical developmental benefits of a real book (simple stuff like page turning and pulling out pop-up figures) that e-readers cannot provide. Research also proves that a real book is better for the learning process, and that keen young readers should not have advanced e-books because they are too distracting for both parent and child. However, in an interesting twist, the same research advises parents of reluctant or non-readers to use the ‘bells and whistles’ e-readers for youngsters to actually lure them into finding reading pleasurable.
I think it’s wonderful that this topic has elicited such a good response. Thanks, Jonathan, for bringing it up!
Fiona.
Your insight on the global book markets interesting to say the least. It reads as an informed and eclectic view, not just a comment, but a considered commentary. In response, I’ll simply repeat that despite the way things ‘should’ be (such as print books should be used because they are superior to electronic for teaching children) is often not what happens.
Life, and more pivotally, the market intrudes: Regarding: “… a developed country like France is hanging onto its bookshops, and with a kind of inverted snobbery does not ‘care for’ the e-book format. The French cherish their writers, philosophers and artists….” True, and I have some sympathy for this view. But even in France, there’s only so long that tax structures designed to cripple eBooks can work to artificially maintain an old order. As King Canute discovered eventually, there’s no way even he could effectively order the tide to stay out.
Thanks for this article, Jonathan! For my first endeavor, I did go through the Self Publishing route, although it is “only a Poetry Book”. Seeing my name on a printed book fueled my desire to go that route.
I do have a fantasy of having printed books published, and most all of the sites, blogs and articles I have seen thus far say they are mainly looking for authors who already have a fan base; that they want to know you have a following before they accept the manuscript. I had always been under the impression that it would be the publisher’s “duty”, as it were, to market and distribute any works they agreed to represent. I have tried to make blogs, use Twitter, I have a Facebook Author page, but just cannot find enough relative information to post about my works in progress without actually putting the words of my books there.
I found it refreshing to read that others have a desire to be, as you call it, “Writers Only”. I have the ability to put words down that others might want to read, but as for the promotional area, I am in the dark and have no aptitude for getting others to realize my works are worth purchasing, outside of giving them the book to read, and then purchasing would not be an issue: They would have it for free.
I feel it would be the responsibility of the publisher to arrange all the distribution and other details. I write, they get it onto the shelves.
John
Quoting you: “I write, they get it on the shelves”
That has been the author dream for over 200 years. And given the changes described above, is likely to remain the case. Even Dickens put his faith in the system.
But as far as your blogs and Twitter goes, I wouldn’t drop them. It will still be considered relevant by a publisher that you’re prepared to get involved with their promotional programs. In reality, if you have blog and social media accounts, no-one will be expecting you to have the same success as the promotional department of a publishing house. But if you show some initiative this will almost inevitably tip the scales in your favor when they come to pick which book to publish – all other things being equal. To dump your existing social media platform would be to ‘throw the baby out with the bathwater’!
Here’s a quote from Oak Tree Press acquisitions editor Sunny Frazier that also cover this: “I don’t read the query (sorry aspiring writers!) I look for two things: genre and word count. I then Google the author. I’m looking for the number of times the writer’s name appears on the Internet. I’m searching for a website or any attempt to build a platform.”
She checks your presence on the internet BEFORE she looks at your manuscript. That’s the reality of how they pick authors. But they’re not going to expect you to do all the publicity, but are interested to know that you’re at least prepared to take part.
Hi, Jonathan. I am curious about the option you mentioned of publishing your own ebook, and then still shopping it around to agents and publishers. I have a friend who’s doing this with his book. I have read too many publishers’ guidelines that call for works not previously published in any format. Some mention serialization, and of course epubbing. I am not sure that those publishers are in the majority now, but any is too many, if you’re hoping to publish your own and also have a traditional publisher.
Kathleen, publishers don’t necessarily look at books as being somehow contaminated by being first produced as an eBook. A publisher is likely to take on an existing eBook if it’s successful, (and unencumbered by contracts meaning that you own all the rights) and especially if it’s the first of a planned series of books. It’s akin to placing a sure bet for them. This is exactly what happened with Amanda Hocking, also with John Locke and E L James. See post http://bestsellerlabs.com/how-to-get-a-six-figure-book-deal/
Hi Jonathon
A thought-provoking post, thanks for that. Perhaps most relevant to the US (I only say that because I live in the UK!) but really useful for me as I am completing my debut novel and am considering my options – alongside my own values.
Regards
Vicky
Keep me posted re the new novel Vicky.
Hi Vicky
We’re a brand new Uk based e-publisher already taking the approach that Jonathan is suggesting publishers will have to go down.
Do consider submitting your novel to us for consideration.
December House Submissions Page
Great post. It tackles the doubts numerous authors have nowadays. There is an awful lot of negative publicity against traditional publishers. I recently self-published my book through Kindle and Createspace after receiving over 100 rejection letters. Self-publishing is not as easy as people make it out to be. it is hard work and it is harder to promote the book. I am struggling despite being reasonably adept at facebook and twitter. I am going to try traditional publishers for an ebook publication – a bit more harder. My feeling is that if I have a good book, the publisher would want to publish it!!
Shankar. The book is certainly pivotal to the equation. But as I said to John in another reply – it is best to have at least some presence online, then the prospective publisher will know they can involve you in the promotional work they would do.
Thanks for your interesting posts. An elderly street poet once said to me “life is a series of vanishing things.” Sad but brutally honest. The printed book seemingly runs deep in our collective past but I think it will become rarer in the future given all the intelligent advances of digital networked information versus what one day will surely be seen as an amusingly antiquated “one book one reader” at a time human past. Just look at how few photos are actually printed anymore versus the library on Facebook. We humans tend to assign too much importance and accompanying denial to the vanishing things in our lives but time will leave us and our printed books behind. Everyone feel better now? And I am taking my Meds! Enjoy the ride.
Caleb. Insightful contribution. People once said they’d never give up their beautiful LPs with big colorful printed sleeves. Then they said they’d never give up CDs. But now, no one under the age of 35 even thinks of buying a CD. It’s all iPod, iPhone iPad. And so it will be with the Kindle. I’m talking about the industrialized West here, but in the end they’ll be so cheap I see them being almost everywhere. Look for the $19 reader device about 3-4 years from now.
Interesting article, Jonathan. I agree that publishing will survive as long as there are writers who don’t want to do all the work associated with self-publishing. Still, the Publishers are going to have to adapt their model to survive in the brave new world of digital publishing. I believe that successful authors of the future will become more like superstar athletes being constantly courted by different sports agencies. I can definitely see publishers shifting their focus to be more author-centric promotion-wise in an attempt to stave off extinction.
I respectfully disagree, however, that publishers will morph into successful author promoters in the future. There is simply too much competition from established PR firms and other professionals. Why should I, successful author, work with Random house vs. a dedicated boutique literary agency/PR firm that gives me the attention I desire and require. What’s to stop an author from jumping ship or vertically integrating from author to publisher once a publisher has spent tons of cash building the author’s brand.
Branding is the #1 issue facing large publishers today. The brand is the author. No one cares which of the Big 6 published them. Add that to the marketplace clutter being caused by millions of self-publishers and the large publishers brand (and role) becomes more pointless than ever. Amazingly, publishers have been pushing their authors to self-promote and market themselves, completely oblivious to how close they are to losing control of their golden goose eggs.
If publishers are to survive, they are going to have to establish a direct relationship with readers for the first time. They are going to have to step up and compete with Amazon by offering a value proposition readers can’t resist. Once they begin collecting customer data, they can use analytics to continue to satisfy their customer’s needs. They are going to have to be quicker, more innovative, and more customer-centric to win this battle.
On the writer side, they are going to have to go back to basics and begin developing talent again, rather than relying on a handful of superstar writers to make up for the shortfall from the rest of their roster. Similar to the manner in which the pharmaceutical industry has operated for 20 years, large publishers need to begin building a pipeline of authors in various stages of development and then selling this value proposition to the reading public. The big difference being that far more authors will make it to market than potential drug candidates.
Omar. Correct on some counts.
But I’d go further. I feel it’s utter madness that traditional publishers have never collected the email and contact addresses of their authors’ readers over the last decade, and never developed any relationships with them. The value of this has been blindingly obvious for years to those of us working outside those ivory towers in the creative and marketing industries.
Re you disagreeing that publishers will morph into successful author promoters in the future, perhaps you missed this part of the post: “I am convinced that the current ‘Big Six’ publishers are aware of this and are planning to adapt quickly to this changing landscape. If they don’t they will be usurped by new, more enterprising publishing/publicist companies.”
In fact, this article is a barely veiled attempt to encourage publishers to take action along these lines… before it’s too late. OK. I’ll even come out and actually say it: The pathway is open for them to BUY high grade PR talent, or even entire PR boutique companies.
Well then we are completely on the same page!
Omar. I feel that authors are in for a very exciting ride in the new unfolding epoch. As writers we now have the whip hand. Good days ahead.
Very helpful article, and the discussion which follows. I self-published my little local history book, and did my own marketing. Although I was already online, it was a steep learning curve to know how to market myself and my book, and I’m still learning. The point I want to make is the time it takes. I often find that a week has gone by when I’ve done hardly any writing, because there has been so much to do online: blog, Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads, Amazon etc etc. I also subscribe to sites on marketing advice, and it’s so easy to follow links and find you’ve just spent a couple of hours reading. Finding the balance is hard!
If it helps Ann Marie, here are my simple time management stats:
I put 70% of my time into creative and 30% into promotion. Yes of course we must diligently promote our work to ignite the word-of- mouth flame. But in the end it’s the quality of the writing that counts. That is the ember that lights the viral wildfire.
Jonathan, I agree with virtually everything you said. I happened to have self-published my debut novel, BABY GRAND, and I’m enjoying the indie process just fine (31 five-star reviews on Amazon – yay!). The only thing that made me stop in my tracks is when you said: “Furthermore, you can choose this indie pathway right from the outset to maximise your profits.” Yes, self-published eBooks on Amazon (if they are priced accordingly) enjoy 70 percent royalties. However, it’s important that indie authors treat their books as a business and invest in cover design, editing, formatting, etc., so there’s a nice sizable investment many of us make. So for many indie authors, before we maximize those profits, we need to recoup our investment, which requires lots of promotion and marketing (more investing?). It’s a very challenging road. EXTREMELY gratifying, but challenging, nonetheless. Very interesting post. I will certainly be back to read more.
Dina. Congratulations on your 31 five-star reviews.
Encouraging for anyone reading this.
The single point I make re ‘maximising profits’ is that writers no longer have to wait the entire industry-standard two years or more before a book sees light of day in a book store – that’s all. (Nowhere do I say that’s all that’s required!)
This blog’s mission is to teach writers that to succeed, books have to be a business, not a pastime. Make no mistake, self-published authors need to invest and promote. How a writer goes about this is the subject of just about every other article on this blog. For example, tomorrow’s article is about the key importance of book covers – the ‘billboard’ of your books.
You make really good points and I tend to agree with you.
I certainly hope publishers get off their high horses and embrace the change. I, for one, would love someone to promote for me, not because I can’t do it myself, but because I have tendonitis and the less time I spend on that other stuff the better! ha!
[...] Gunson says if printed books die, you still can get a publisher—they just won’t look like the publishers of [...]
I sincerely hope your optimisim is well founded regarding the new promoting publisher – it seems to be more and more authors taking the forefront in promotion of their own book. Gone are the book tours and POS displays in book stores of years gone by, now authors have to use every social media avenue open to them as well as fund their own tours. I will watch with interest on how the industry re-shapes itself.
Mandy. Let’s hope publishers take action re becoming book promoters. In France, paper books are protected like a threatened wildlife species by regulating that eBook prices be the same as paper. (It won’t work in the long term – they’ll simply find themselves playing catch up later.) The only ‘lock’ on the market publishers currently have is ‘book store distribution’ which is placing books in front of buyer traffic. ‘Promotion’ is the only strategy that can effectively replicate that.
This post is very interesting and is very much in line with why we started December House and what we offer.
We’re a brand new digital publisher, offering the traditional publishing approach (we only publish what we think has potential and don’t charge authors anything) but outputting our author’s works to e-books only. The statistics are clear, e-books are the future and those that get in now will have the platform to be up there in the future. What is also clear is that traditional publishers don’t have a clue and want to continue to operate in the same paradigm without changing their approach.
The background of those involved in December House is varied but the founding partners skills are in editing / writing and Communications / PR. These two skill sets parallel what for us are the two main things a publisher needs to do. 1) Help you get your manuscript polished and as near perfect as possible and 2) promote and sell your book, both online and offline. Ultimately as a writer your job is to write your books, our job is to make sure it sells.
We also totally agree with you that royalty rates have to increase, but for us they have to go much higher than the 30% you mentioned. At the moment it’s clear that the big six (and many smaller publishers as well) are using 25% e-book royalty rates to subsidise their un-recouped advances on other print books, this has to change, but it’s not just the royalty rates that we’re changing but also the payment terms. Annual or six monthly royalties in significant arrears just mean that money is sat in your publisher’s account rather than yours. At December House we won’t offer an advance but we will offer your royalties paid quarterly as soon after they’re received from the distribution platforms as possible.
This is where publishing has to go and we’re proud at December House to be at the forefront of that.
Simon. You’re exactly the new style of e-age publisher I was referring to. Companies like yours can come out of nowhere and be highly successful, while the large operators are asleep at the wheel.
I found this article really interesting. I turned down a book deal with a US publisher last year (I am a New Zealand author) because the figures didn’t add up and I didn’t want to lose the rights to my book for such a low cost.
I have since self-published, published as an ebook on Amazon and am constructing a proposal for a chain of bookstores in New Zealand. I use a professional editor and proof reader for my books, and I pay for the graphic design and printing from my ‘day job’ for now.
The most challenging task is the promotion and marketing. In fact, at a Writer’s Conference last year, the senior Editor from a major publishing house in the US was a guest speaker and said: “the first thing I talk to new authors about is how they need to promote themselves”.
That was the first time I wondered what the point of pitching to publishers was, when all they are is a bank for getting the book on the shelves. I thought if I can do that part myself, I don’t need to waste my time pitching to arrogant Publishers who are looking for the next Twilight to make millions off!
So now I’m 100% DIY and the newest part of my journey is learning the social media. Website? ‘Tick’. Blog… watch this space!
Thank you for your interesting views, I will follow with interest.
Karen
Karen. Congratulations on your sense of enterprise. Must be your Kiwi ingenuity coming through.
Publishers will certainly have to change as the book stores steadily disappear. Distribution to bookstores is the unique ‘promotion power’ that they alone can offer authors. i.e. They can Put Books In Front Of Buyers because the book stores have a steady stream of browsing book buyers. It’s the main reason publishers exist, because authors cannot get access to bookstores by any other avenue. They have a lock on that door, and authors must pay a % to have it opened.
But in the eBook era, the lock is broken, because anyone can upload their book to the biggest bookstore in the world called Amazon. So to stay in business the publishing companies can instead offer media promotion and PR to achieve the same result of ‘Putting Books In Front Of Buyers’. They’ll simply have to, or will end up as vanity publishers who simply edit, format and upload for a %, and that is not something they have a ‘lock’ on any more. A million freelancers can also do that extremely well.
Please keep me posted re your blog.
Terrific article! I am one who needs to build a readership. Now I know that I must do more research in this area. Thanks.
Whilst I can see the strength of the eBook growing and growing, from an economics point of view I can see them beginning to dominate the market heavily as they are easier and instant.
This said, I feel the paper book may well become that “luxury” item (and as a result its costs will go up accordingly). The paper book is great to have and hold etc but when the near future gets here I think we will have eBook readers in glasses and all sorts of other technologies removing the need for hand held devices as such. It may seem a little sci-fi but it will happen soon enough.
The kindle and other things will become obsolete but such is the pace of change. If you think about it books have not changed much to the readers a few centuries. But books are now bound by technology and the change of pace is electric (no pun). Think ebooks with some small amount of video built in…… This said I feel the eBook will remain SO will the paper book just in different markets.
I like eBooks a lot and have some of my own published this year with paper versions to follow (once the publishers get moving on them).
No matter how I think about it though I just can’t see the paper books dying out either. I suspect they will become a luxury item and just keep going up in value as less and less are made.
Right on the mark. Especially re the disappearance of the Kindle. Crystal ball needed to see exactly what will transcend it.
Yes, Yes, YES! I most definitely want to get my book (a religious memoir with information on progressive/liberal religion) to get published. For me, getting published would be a way of validating the worth of my book. I have little interest in making money and just want to get my story out. I am so glad to have found your blog. The publishing world is completely foreign to me so I am grateful to get my hands on any information/advice I can find.
Christie. Welcome aboard the good ship ‘books’. I’m writing more posts at the moment about how to get published and sell books, so stay in touch.
[...] If Printed Books Die, Can You Still Get a Publisher by Jonathan Gunson [...]
I think this is a great article. I am one of those people who wouldn’t mind both–print books and ebooks. As much as I dislike what’s coming, everyone (including myself) has to face the fact that ebooks are here to stay. I would like to be an author one day, and I hope going through a publisher, by doing things online would help my chances of being an author. As much this process is much easier, it also takes a lot of work too.
All true Mary. And online publishing is not as much work as you think, if you allow it to grow steadily as a career and not as a ‘get rich quick’ scheme.
Dear Jonathan,
I coined the term “paper albatross” for a paper publisher who pursues “copyright infringers” i.e. people who download ebooks for free from “pirate” sites such as emule. As a retired professor, I would like to see education become free (“webucation”). I would love to be able to put links to epapers and ebooks on my website, so that huge numbers of people could benefit from such educational ematerials. I see the paper publishers as holding back the rise of webucation (hence paper albatrosses). Why pay $50 for a single paper book, when it is technically possible with today’s technology, to download 50,000 for free? Heavy text books (both in weight and difficulty) are extremely valuable, as sources of knowledge to the world, but the paper albatrosses have a monopoly on them. How do you see such books becoming copyright free so that their electronic versions can benefit the 7 billion? There is a lot at stake. Soon, everyone on the planet will have an internet phone which will allow them to educate themselves, so long as books and papers can be made free of copyright. Education leads to the rise of the middle class in 3rd world countries. The middle class then push for democracy. Advanced democracies dont go to war with each other. With this chain of logic, copyright free books will lead to a war free, educated world. What is wrong with this logic?
Cheers, Prof Hugo de Garis, China
Hugo.
It would be great for education to be free with free books. Just let me know when you’ve figured out who will fund the writers. (Not the government – that would mean ever more taxes.) The bottom line is that writers create the books to which you refer, which are then paid for by readers in tiny amounts that hopefully add up so they can eat and pay the rent. (Economics 101.)
~ Jonathan
Well said! Over two years ago I began the journey to what is now Water Street Press. Our model is very much as you describe, for very many of the reasons you cite.
Why did I start a publishing company? It was frustrating as a writer, ghostwriter and independent editor to see so many terrific books not make the cut with traditional publishers, and to know that, even if one did make the cut, the author was unlikely to earn any sort of living from its publication because, for one thing, no one was going to market/help the author to market it.
Add to the reasons publishers remain relevant is as curators. Publishing is so democratic these days, which is great, but how can a reader tell a book is reader-worthy? That it is well-written and well-edited, or that it isn’t just a compilation of public domain material? Except for some established writers, and those new, very few writers who are struck by lightening to win the self-publishing lottery, affiliation with a publisher tells the reader that this book has been chosen for the beauty of its words and the power of its ideas. Thanks for a terrific post!
Lynn
This is the perfect time for a publishing company such as yours. But I’m picturing that every man jack and his dog will submit once they discover that you are a publisher who actually promotes. So my question: How do you wade through the submissions? Do you use agents as your filter?
~ Jonathan
Thank you for the kind words – I’m thinking/hoping you’re right about timing! All of our books so far – that is all 20 titles we’ll be publishing in year one/2013 – have come via agents. We do accept unsolicited manuscripts, though we advise a reply can take up to 12 weeks and, so far, we’ve been able to keep up, but we’re quite new, so we’ll see.
Jonathan, your article is so on the mark. I hope the traditional publishers take notice. In the meantime, I am certainly taking notice of the newer publishers such as December House and Water Street who have commented on your post. I would love to know if there are other innovative publishing companies out there that you would recommend exploring.
I have an upmarket fiction manuscript in the final stages of polishing and am debating whether to seek an agent or try submitting directly to a digital publisher. I do have Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn presence, but would definitely want a publisher to help structure my marketing plan. Look forward to hearing from you, and thanks again for the helpful article. Amy
Amy
Structuring a marketing plan is the key to making book sales of course – to get that vital ‘Word Of Mouth’ process fired up.
And it’s exactly what the traditionals don’t so much do any more, which is one of the reasons why they’re struggling to remain relevant in an increasingly e-Book age. However, they will prevail for quite a while yet because of the existing massive infrastructure and relationships built up with book stores, big authors who are locked in, and agents. They also edit, do covers, press releases etc. The REAL bottom line is that the majority of authors will always want someone to ‘do it for them’ so there’ll always be a need for agents and publishers – although it’s the ‘promotional’ publishers who’ll succeed in the end.
An agent is good idea if you want to locate new small publishers of this type – they can sort the wheat from the chaff. Agents: http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/new-agency-alerts
An agent is also a good idea if you’re taking the ‘publisher’ route, because an author still needs to be very careful, as evidenced by this cautionary tale: http://www.theindependentpublishingmagazine.com/2012/10/ridan-publishing-rise-and-fall-of-small.html
~ Jonathan
Again you’re right Jonathan;
over here in Belfast a girl wrote the book, 50 shades of Red, White and Blue, and she put her book herself on Amazon. It turns out that a publisher here in Belfast, Blackstaff Press, pick up her adverts on Amazon and Facebook, where she had 21.000 followers. Incidentally, this is the publisher that I’m in contact with at the minute. If you remember, I sent them in my manuscript four weeks ago, and when the self – addressed postcard that I stamped for them to send back to me to let me know that the three sample chapters had arrived, the postcard never arrived back to me. There was heavy snow here in Belfast and surrounding countryside during this time, so I contacted the publisher to inquire as to why my postcard wasn’t returned. I received an email from them telling me they received the chapters all right, and I would receive word back from them, ie, their decision to sign me on or not, in four weeks time. This is good, as their website says submissions would receive word back in six months. What do you think Jonathan? Thank you mate…
Patrick
I wouldn’t place any weight on the publisher not sending back the postcard – it’s not particularly professional but probably meaningless. (Might be a lazy secretary – who knows.) If their website indicated they’ll take six months to respond, it seems an awfully long time for an analysis of work. What I expect they are really doing is giving themselves head space, but in reality never need that long.
~Jonathan
PS. Can you clarify this? “It turns out that a publisher here in Belfast, Blackstaff Press, pick up her adverts on Amazon and Facebook, where she had 21.000 followers…” Do you mean they are now publishing her book?
Yes Jonathan,
they have already published her book and it’s advertised on their website. If you look it up you will find it there. – Fifty Shades of Red, White and Blue. – Blackstaff Press, Belfast. Re the postcard Jonathan, they said on their website that, ” they are a small publisher, ” although they published ten books last year. This girl wrote the book, put it on Amazon herself, and they picked it up from there. Do publishers usually publish self – publish books? thanks Jonathan. Patrick.
Patrick
Yes publishers do publish self-published authors. There are many recent success stories around authors who started that way. (They came from ‘nowhere’.)
Colleen Hoover is an example:
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-04-16/national/38576069_1_atria-books-book-blogs-new-adult
~Jonathan