Where Are We Going?
So I read in Publisher's Marketplace an article about the jump in ebook sales for January… again. The numbers were staggering. Makes sense – people got their Kindles and Nooks for Christmas so January definitely might show a spike that ultimately levels out. But the reality is bookstores are closing. I know I'm responsible because I haven't stepped inside one since I got my Kindle. And while ebooks are on a meteoric rise (which many say is because they have nowhere to go but up) it still seems the market is shrinking.
It's crazy to say, because in so many ways I feel like a novice having only written for one publisher for all these years, but I've been in the publishing business now going on 15 + years. For the first time I really feel on edge.
Not that the whole thing is going to come tumbling down. I'm not a doom and gloomer. I mean when the music industry changed and all the record stores closed there were still artists coming out and making music and selling records and making money.
I kind of look at the two industries the same in that regard. Record labels are still signing artists and radio stations are still only playing selected songs they choose to promote. They are doing a filtering process for us so that not everyone who thinks they can sing (ala American Idol) can start screeching at us through the car radio. Thank goodness.
Then there is YouTube. And here anyone can put their song video up and maybe somehow it/they will catch fire. Greyson Chance comes to mind. He's a 13 year old kid who did a cool version of Lady Gaga's Paparazzi for a middle school talent show. The next thing he's on Ellen, signing what I'm sure is a major deal, now touring the country and performing.
People are going to succeed through traditional channels. And now, because of ebooks, people might be able to succeed through self-publishing avenues. Who knows maybe I can put a book on Amazon. If the stars align maybe someone will find it and read it and maybe some crazy fire will catch too and I'll actually profit from my sales. I've never viewed this type of process as a real road to publishing success. My attitude has always been if my book is good enough – a publisher will see it and pay me money for it. If it's not – they won't.
But with stores closing, self-publishing growing and the market shrinking… I don't know anymore.
I really do believe we need agents, editors and publishers. I believe in the filtering system despite how harsh it can be. Because there is a difference between a person who wants to write and a person who can write. As a reader I don't want to have to wade through the masses to find the quality.
However, I will say that where the path seemed very clear to me before… write a book, get an agent, sell it to a publisher, get an advance, earn out royalties… now I don't know.
I read on Dear Author – I think it was - about the concept of identifying with editors. Maybe you love every author editor Jane Doe signed. Maybe Jane Doe now contracts directly with authors and together you both sell your books. The author generates the product, the editor lends creditability to the quality of it. Everything is done electronically.
A whole new world maybe. I've been reading for so long that the publishing world needs to change its outdated method of returns and storage and distribution… but now it really feels like it's finally happening and I'm not sure what it's all going to mean.
What will be the publishing future for writers?
It's crazy to say, because in so many ways I feel like a novice having only written for one publisher for all these years, but I've been in the publishing business now going on 15 + years. For the first time I really feel on edge.
Not that the whole thing is going to come tumbling down. I'm not a doom and gloomer. I mean when the music industry changed and all the record stores closed there were still artists coming out and making music and selling records and making money.
I kind of look at the two industries the same in that regard. Record labels are still signing artists and radio stations are still only playing selected songs they choose to promote. They are doing a filtering process for us so that not everyone who thinks they can sing (ala American Idol) can start screeching at us through the car radio. Thank goodness.
Then there is YouTube. And here anyone can put their song video up and maybe somehow it/they will catch fire. Greyson Chance comes to mind. He's a 13 year old kid who did a cool version of Lady Gaga's Paparazzi for a middle school talent show. The next thing he's on Ellen, signing what I'm sure is a major deal, now touring the country and performing.
People are going to succeed through traditional channels. And now, because of ebooks, people might be able to succeed through self-publishing avenues. Who knows maybe I can put a book on Amazon. If the stars align maybe someone will find it and read it and maybe some crazy fire will catch too and I'll actually profit from my sales. I've never viewed this type of process as a real road to publishing success. My attitude has always been if my book is good enough – a publisher will see it and pay me money for it. If it's not – they won't.
But with stores closing, self-publishing growing and the market shrinking… I don't know anymore.
I really do believe we need agents, editors and publishers. I believe in the filtering system despite how harsh it can be. Because there is a difference between a person who wants to write and a person who can write. As a reader I don't want to have to wade through the masses to find the quality.
However, I will say that where the path seemed very clear to me before… write a book, get an agent, sell it to a publisher, get an advance, earn out royalties… now I don't know.
I read on Dear Author – I think it was - about the concept of identifying with editors. Maybe you love every author editor Jane Doe signed. Maybe Jane Doe now contracts directly with authors and together you both sell your books. The author generates the product, the editor lends creditability to the quality of it. Everything is done electronically.
A whole new world maybe. I've been reading for so long that the publishing world needs to change its outdated method of returns and storage and distribution… but now it really feels like it's finally happening and I'm not sure what it's all going to mean.
What will be the publishing future for writers?
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