Our Shrinking Publishing World

While to some people it might not seem different,
the world of publishing is constantly changing. The decision makers change and
move around. The constant in the middle of the change is the search for great
books and writing combined with savvy authors connected to the target
audience.



Ten years ago I acquired books for a different
publisher and I worked in a office cubicle and had dozens of face to face
meetings. What I wore to the office made a difference and some days I would wear
my suit but because of my acquistions editor position, I always wore a
tie. 



Much of the work involved face to face meetings with my colleagues talking
about possible books, questions from authors, contracts for authors and agents
and other details of publishing. I drove my car to work and would see my
colleagues at the coffee pot throughout the day. To accomplish my
responsibilities, it was necessary to work inside the publishing house. Back
then, it was rare for an editor to work remote and not be available for
face-to-face meetings at the company.  Several times a year, I would travel to
conferences and events but the bulk of my publishing work took place inside a
physical structure.



Today I continue working in the publishing world
and finding great books but the process looks completely different than ten
years ago. In this new environment, I'm working through the Internet, telephone
and Skype with authors all over the world. For example, this morning I emailed
an author in Lebanon asking a question about his contract. I'm speaking via
Skype with another author in Singapore.



Sometimes authors write and tell me they are
planning to come to New York City and want to stop in and for a face-to-face
meeting.  I write back and tell them that meeting will not happen in New York
because I work remote and live in Denver, Colorado. While I have a Morgan James
Publishing email and direct dial New York phone number, I am not physically
there working in an office. The publishing world has changed into a global
effort.



Through my acquisitions
work with authors, I've signed authors in Australia, parts of Asia, the
United Kingdom, Russia and even Ghana, Africa. These authors are engaged in the
process of getting their book out into the bookstores and not just located in
the United States. Because of our world-wide printing capability, Morgan James
can print the authors' books in different locations such as the United Kingdom
or Australia.  The publishing world continues to shrink.



As an editor in
publishing, I believe we are in the communication business. That means we
need to be communicating. Often authors will tell me that they sent out their
query or book proposal or manuscript to literary agents or publishing houses and
heard nothing in response. For myself, I try and be different in this
non-communicating world and communicate, answer emails and return phone calls.
Just my attention to responding, makes a difference in how author feel and are
treated.







I'm always looking for good books to publish
through our unique system at Morgan James Publishing. If I can help you, don't hesitate to
reach out to me. My email is in my twitter profile. It doesn't have to be about
publishing a book. Maybe you need to improve your marketing for your current
book or something else related to publishing. I look forward to helping you and
hearing from you.