A recent New York Times article convicted the internet and its consumers for the long, painful and potentially foreseeable death of the book publishing industry.? From bookstores closing to publisher layoffs, an inevitably grim outlook faces the book industry in the next year.
Why the doom and gloom?
Reporter David Streitfeld shares his thoughts:
?Don?t blame this carnage on the recession or any of the usual suspects, including increased competition for the reader?s time or diminished attention spans. What?s undermining the book industry is not the absence of casual readers but the changing habits of devoted readers.
In other words, it?s all the fault of people like myself, who increasingly use the Internet both to buy books and later, after their value to us is gone, sell them.?
So has the internet killed the publishing industry?? As a published writer, allow me to enter in the extremely dangerous waters by taking the smoking gun and placing it in the hands of people like myself?the authors.
Millions of people have dreams of being a published author.
Should everyone write a book?
Maybe.
Should every book be published?
No.
If publishers want to dig themselves out of this black hole of losses, they’ve got to stop spending money printing mediocre books.? There are far too many as it stands.? I mean, really?? 300,000 new titles a year?? That’s 821 new books releasing every day! Be strategic and brave in your future decisions.? For instance, Thomas Nelson is cutting its new releases in half next year. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt announced that it wouldn?t be acquiring any new manuscripts.? To these publishers and others following similar suit, I say thank you.? Thank you for stewarding resources and investing in that which is truly valuable to be printed.
And to authors (the would-be, the wooed or the already published), I’d say this:? Please have a little more respect for your words (and your readers) when it comes to putting your heart into print.? Let’s talk contracts.? I?ve seen book contracts that are fair and intelligent, and I?ve seen other contracts that make me want to curl into the fetal position and cry.? The latter of these are completely unfair to both authors and consumers. For authors, they offer little advance money, little distribution, and little editorial input ? thereby allowing almost anyone to darken their imprints regardless of talent or execution.?? This kind of publishing overwhelms (or should I say underwhelms?) consumers and turns into nothing more than regurgitated white noise.
Eager authors sign these less-than-adequate contracts because they sincerely want their voice to be heard, and they possibly want to earn the credibility of the elusive book deal.? Yet in actuality, without the proper systems in place, time is wasted, paper is wasted, ink is wasted, advertising dollars are wasted?and further into the hole the industry goes.? Publishers can?t recoup their losses and authors aren?t fairly compensated for their time and effort.? Readers also get the short end of the stick because what could have been a great idea wasn’t properly (or clearly) presented.
As an author, please realize the investment you are offered from a publisher typically equates the amount of belief a publisher has in your work. No advance?? They?re probably not confident in estimating how many books you?ll sell.? They could be afraid to take a risk ? whether it means your book is terrible or perhaps they don?t have the marketing dollars to promote it adequately.? Be warned.? Most importantly, surround yourself with honest people who know what they?re doing when it comes to writing books.? Their input is essential as you evaluate if writing a book is really something you should focus on.
If you?re going to put the work into your book and you are convinced it is worth the expense of publication and promotion, don?t sell out with a chintzy book contract…wait for the right publishing partner to come along (Thanks to my partner, Zondervan, for exceeding every expectation I have had for Mad Church Disease).? Or perhaps self-publish your book. You have the control and responsibility over how many copies you print, and can save a few trees (and headaches) in the process.? After all?you believe in it, right?
Personally, I?ll confess I?m wrestling with this myself.? A second book has been dreamed about, discussed and more than likely could earn a contract for publication.? But I?m not 100% sure my ideas or my words are worthy for print just yet.? I could move forward despite my hesitation, or I could wait until I?m confident it will be timeless and valuable to readers.? Right now, I?m deciding to wait and process my next book until the right time.
The bottom line:? The publishing industry is not balanced.? That?s why it?s beginning to spiral downward.? I propose this year, as authors, we talk less and listen more. We should gain insight, wisdom, and be responsible with our words when (or if) we decide they should be printed.? Maybe then we?ll begin to see this industry have the impact and the value for which it was designed.
We have the power to help save this industry.? We can revitalize it, we can reinvent it…or we can kill it.
Only time will tell…and it’s a decision that we all need to take seriously.
Comments
25 responses to “The Death of Publishing as We Know It: Who Holds the Smoking Gun?”
there is something similar going on in the music industry of course, but you are right, the overpublication is part of the problem, but they may also be because of the greed of the publishing companies wanting to get as much in print as possible.
The record industry is a little different but their spiral down to the center of the earth started a long time ago.
The internet has a lot to do with both, but it is just a tool… I would say blogs have something to do with the publication part too… no that everyone has a blog, everyone thinks they can write, just like everyone that picks up a camera is a photographer (that would be my beef in my area), or everyone that picks up a guitar is a musician.
What the internet has made great is the ability to “self-publish” a book, a photo, a CD. Like you said, if you have confidence in your self, do it yourself. You can practically get the same professional quality now. I have wanted to publish a book for a while (mainly in photography) but I know my writing is not up to par even though I like to write, so I was never considering going with a publisher, but self-publishing.
Great article Anne.
I am also guilty of buying and selling on the internet, but I didn’t feel bad about it until one of my favorite local bookstores went under. these days I try to buy from local (non-chain) stores when at all possible.
i will strongly agree with scott fillmer above. once the spiral has started, yuo can’t stop it. paper books will go the way of the cd and dvd. it’s an electronic world, simple as that.
my musician son receives a nice revenue from a well known digital music site – he doesn’t even have a ‘label’ other than himself and his music, he doesn’t tour, play in bars/clubs/ youth rallies/ or a worship band. it’s all about the best quality rsiing to the top sans the media/market for profit greed machine.
This is a great (and important) perspective. Personally, I don’t know if the entire printing industry will completely vanish. I think that there are still lots of people like me that love to get my books in paper (not electronic) form, and I even save them when I am done reading them. Maybe is a man-thing… being able to look at a stack of books and know that I’ve “conquered” them…
However, for a long time, I’ve wanted to write a book. More and more I’ve stepped back from that and felt more drawn to using my ‘writing’ to help foster community. So I’ve also loved your recent posts here on ‘tribes’.
Thanks!
good post. I think that even more importantly than buying and selling books on the internet is that books are just being over-produced (which you also mentioned in your post). a lot of people (including myself) just want to write a book to, well, write a book. it’s a cool accomplishment, but if there is nothing behind it, what’s the point? why crowd the bookshelves? thanks for your humility, anne, and willingness to consider the con’s of pursuing a dream without thinking it out completely. it seems that ultimately, the book industry is going to have to die or change. i’m guessing the latter will happen.
if nothing else, technology provides a lot of amazing opportunities for people to distribute their ideas for free.
Awesome Post Anne.
I agree Anne! Marketing 101 has been thrown out the window when it comes to publishing. There is no supply and demand its all supply and people are over-saturated. We love information, but not all information is book-worthy. I would have to say though that the Christian book market is severely underdeveloped when it comes to issues related to “Mad Church Disease” -like topics.
Keep writing and we’ll keep reading!
In my field (business, more specifically finance/insurance), there are 1000s of books. Some are on the same topics, and almost read verbatim (obviously, I am exaggerating a little bit), while some are really uniqe ideas. I guess every industry is like that. I love you topic here. I sure do hope that the book industry does not go under – I love my books!
And thanks for you openness about your own writing, and your own plans/dreams. It is really hard to be honest with yourself. I have thought about writing my own book…while I think the topic I am wanting to write on is one that needs to be dealt with, my words do not make it worthy of print. And alas, I will probably not write it. But in order for authors to really be legit, they need to be honest with themselves and say, “Is this worthy of print? Does it need more thought, or time? Or does it need to be shelved?”
Dead on, as usual, Anne!
This is sad, especially when one feels that God has said, “write the book” — where do I go from here? Depression’s here, but I don’t really think it’s the truly viable option, so I will have to work on that. Otherwise… I just don’t know.
Self publishing…if you really believe in it, go for it! Don’t feel restricted (or on the flip side, necessarily empowered) by a contract with a publisher.
Thanks, Anne.
If book publishers cannot adapt to the changing times, they will disappear just like newspapers. It’s all a part of what Joseph Schumpeter called “creative destruction.” When the automobile came along it put a lot of wagon makers out of business. That’s life.
One issue here is who should decide whether something written is worth reading. Under the old model the publisher decided. If he didn’t like what you wrote I didn’t get a chance to read it. Under the new model the consumer gets to decide whether what you wrote is worth reading.
The new model includes blogs, print-on-demand (lulu.com), and electronic books, either in pdf format or in Kindle format for my new Kindle reader. If it hasn’t happened already then there’s an open market for editors separate from the publishers.
Some people accuse Wal-Mart of killing the mom-and-pop stores. The truth is that Wal-Mart gave the consumer–that’s you and me–the option to put those stores out of business.
When I was young there was no such thing as self-service gas stations. The owner or an employee of the gas station always did it. They also cleaned your windows and checked your oil at no additional charge. Now it’s hard to find a full-service station if you are handicapped and need it.
Times change. As a business you change or die.
As an aspiring writer, I am both encouraged and depressed by this post.
Encouraged to write words that truly incite the hearts of my readers,
discouraged that publishers are less likely to take a chance on a young author.
One of the thoughts that motivate me in my writing is from Robert McKee’s book, “Story” when he says (a paraphrase), the industry is lacking good writing, and because of this lack it will snatch up authors who understand and write robust stories. I agree that too many books are being put out there, and the publishing industry is short-sited in it’s current practice – focusing on quantity rather than quality… which in my opinion is a suicide machine in the making.
and yet I write… In the hope that my words will enchant people’s heart, capture their imagination and challenge their stagnant ideas.
Anne – Great post, welcome back! As a manager of a bookstore my biggest beef is not with Thomas Nelson, Zondervan, Tyndale or even Crossway, it is will all the middle sized publishers trying to become like the big ones. They publish crap. Every catalog has two or three good books and about 100 that are less-respectable repetitions of older books. The same stuff is being said over and over and over; and it isn’t being said any better.
As for self-publishing a professor of mine wrote a great post http://www.drurywriting.com/keith/publication.changes.htm and it is worth checking out.
Yes. As an active reader I prayerfully agree to your thoughts on this one.
I agree with your post 100% but I think the death of publishing as we know it has a little more to do with distribution than content, although content needs to be seriously revisited since so much junk gets published these days. Of course, junk in subjective. What you or I might consider crud, someone else might think is the best book they have ever read. Many instances where publishers have turned down something they thought was poor content only for the content to be published somewhere else and for it to go on to be a bestseller.
I believe the traditional distribution model of where books are sold is changing rapidly. The NY Times article, from what I can tell, was more so referring to the death of bookstores. While sales at almost all brick and mortar stores fell sharply towards the end of 2008, sales at Amazon were up. Brick and mortar retailers are aggressively rebranding the online sites to try and compete with Amazon for the share it is taking. Borders launched a new website last year with an affiliate program like Amazon?s to encourage users to push sales through them and share in commission (another reason Amazon is such a popular push point for many bloggers, etc).
Just like iTunes has revolutionized the way music is purchased, Amazon has changed the book buying game (not just books but lots of products). Why go to a bookstore and pay full retail when you can buy it online, have it shipped directly for free to you and save 30% or more?
Back to the content issue… I agree with that 100%. As one who deals with the occasional lit contract and book proposal, it’s sad to say that most publisher look at the marketing aspect of the proposal (authors platform and exposure) more than the proposed content. The ingredients of the soup have become less important than the packaging of the can in many cases… but that is changing to a degree. Publishers may cut their new books or accepted manuscripts but that means they are just focusing more on the larger, already established authors who are proven margin producers. That hurts the new author who has great content but no platform for aiding in distribution.
Eventually… like in all things, only truth lasts. Good content always wins in the end. Good content is what creates momentum and pass along readership.
i think publishers (especially Christian publishers) should do a better job of gauging the audience. what is the actual need of the audience and seek out authors who are writing for that. not just some new and flashy or the next cookie cutter book. it is waste. i was at Lifeway bookstore on Saturday and just saw aisles and aisles of the same kind of book. the only difference was the cover artwork.
it breaks my heart to know a need and not seeing it be met.
Crystal, is God calling you to fill that need?
The NYT editorial generate a great deal of discussion amongst the most fervent of booklovers online over the weekend. The bottom line is that times are changing and publishers are struggling to catch up. And yes too many books are published a year.
Anne,
Thanks for your thoughts on this… I think there is alot of wisdom in what you’ve said here. I’ve often thought the same thing myself. With so many books out there, why is there so little quality? The hard part is that publishers are often dependent upon consumers, who don’t always purchase what many would consider to be the highest quality. Publishers shape expectations in what they choose to publish while consumers shape expectations in what they buy…it goes both ways. Removing the publisher role (determining what is of good quality) would not be a good thing in my mind. Then again…I may be a little biased :). But I do agree that there are too many books being published right now. It’s overwhelming.
I’ll be praying for you as you process ideas for your next book!
Wow, Anne. This was really good. As a published author of four books (some doing well, some not, verdict still out on one that released today), I’m wondering what the future holds for me. A little frightening, a little depressing, a good opportunity to make “trusting in God” more than a cliche.
I’m thinking about my next book right now, and your comment about making sure my words are valuable and timeless are valuable and timeless.
Thanks!
You make some very good points about too many mediocre titles being published.
Houghton Mifflin’s not acquiring any books in 2009 is mystifying though. Could someone explain their reasoning?
I hope paper books will always be published as I do love that format, and my first gorgeous full color book was published this year, in paper format. The whole experience with the publisher and my co-authors is upbeat and good.
Writers, be prepared to market a lot, creatively, and participate with your publisher in marketing your book.
Houghton Mifflin has gone all over the place after the original story broke about the temporary freeze on acquisitions. The truth is December was a very bleak time in the publishing world.
I’m still not sure why so many people think there are too many books published. Suppose someone was in charge of censoring books and it was your book that wasn’t published. Based on the number of commenters who have considered writing books maybe too FEW books are published. Why should someone, even publishers or, God forbid, the government be allowed to decide what is a “quality” book. “Quality” is a subjective term and is in the eye of the beholder. Suppose they decide your book is not quality. Does that mean it should not be written? Does that mean it should not be read?
One book I highly recommend is “The Long Tail” by Chris Anderson. This is the direction the world is going and I believe it is a wonderful thing. Change is happening. Embrace it!
Grace and peace.
Five months ago, I was told I had a brain tumor. The tumor is small, but it is on the brain stem and pushing up against one of my optic nerves. Consequently, I have double vision. Over the months, I’ve been doing everything the neurologists have been telling me to do. It has been tremendously challenging, but the hardest part is not being able to read and drive. Well, last month, a friend told me about the new Kindle 2 and how it could enlarge the print. I love to read. Audio books have been good, but I have missed reading terribly.
Our brains are quite powerful and mine is trying hard to help me see normally. I purchased the Kindle 2, set the font to the largest setting and the first night I used it, I cried!! With the help of my brain, and the Kindle, I can now read for short periods of time. As I continue to practice, my reading time will increase. I am extremly grateful to the Kindle. Its variety of font sizes, ease to use, lightness and convenience to hold and carry – I am set!!