Joe Tankersley
asked
Jonathan Maas:
Jonathan, just read #EOTW and really enjoyed it. Not often you find a book that so smoothly covers such broad range of intellectual thought and is fun and fast paced. As a futurist, and fellow writer, I'm particularly interested in your publishing choices. It seems to me that you've developed an interesting hybrid. More than just self-published. Would you be willing to share your thoughts on the future of publishing?
Jonathan Maas
Joe - first of all, thank you! I appreciate the kind words, especially from a futurist and writer such as yourself!
To answer your questions, and a bit more -
1) My thoughts on the future of publishing
In my opinion - and I mean this in a positive way, but I think the future of publishing is all independent in one regard or another.
There are exceptions of course - you will hear of the writer of the moment getting the big deal, and some big publisher promoting the heck out of another title.
That is good for those 2% of authors (really, I mean it - I am happy for other authors getting any kind of success) - but for the other 98% of us, publishing is more or less independent. Even if you have a publisher take you on, it is often largely up to the author to promote their own work.
That is the way it is.
And again - I mean this in a positive way, but the future of most all publishing - from music to movies, to books to anything - holds two promises -
1) Every day it gets harder to monetize
2) Every day it gets easier to reach more people
This is a good thing overall. If you want to monetize, go into finance. If you want to reach people, go into the arts.
And every day it becomes easier and easier to reach people through the arts, in my humble opinion.
It's also easier in this day and age to get an experimental, hybrid work like #EOTW out there so -
2) Thoughts on hybrid works like #EOTW
#EOTW is indeed a hybrid work. It was inspired by a podcast episode from Avery Trufelman - 99% Invisible EPS 265 - The Pool and the Stream - available here - https://99percentinvisible.org/episod... , and takes in other thoughts from thinkers such as David Benatar, Daniel Quinn, Max Tegmark and others.
I referenced them all in the bibliography ;)
But my thoughts on experimental, hybrid works like this - even though you are trying something new, be sure to keep the reader's interest, or at least try to, haha.
I kept it short, kept the philosophical treatises plot-related, and tried to have every chapter push the tale forward.
So in short, Joe - be experimental, but at the end of the day it is about the reader, so my advice is to also keep that in mind :)
3) My thoughts on publishing super-hybrid, experimental fiction like this
I was also inspired by two great books - Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber, and The Night Swim by Megan Goldin.
Both are incredible books that refer to podcasts - ie they are Domestic Thriller / Podcast hybrids.
But all in all, they are Domestic Thrillers, and have a built-in Domestic Thriller audience. They reached best-seller status and deserved it, but they were not experimental.
What I am trying to say - if you are doing something with more than one level of hybridness - like in #EOTW there is a sentient talking Octopus from another dimension - don't be disheartened if you can't get attention from an established publisher.
In short, for the super-experimental work of yours, give it your all, make sure it is a page-turner, get a real copy editor and a real cover, but then don't be afraid to self-publish and then start writing query letters for your next one, which might be a straightforward Space Horror, Domestic Thriller or anything else :)
4) To sum up
First of all, these are just my opinions. Writers like Ted Chiang found a way to be experimental and go through traditional publishing routes - and thank fate he did - reading him is an almost religious experience.
But in short - the future of publishing is giving writers - and Joe included - a lot of options, and a lot of yeses.
It's difficult to make money, but beyond that, the answer is a yes.
Can you publish without a major publisher? Yes.
Can you publish your experimental, hybrid fiction? Yes.
Can you reach a niche audience? Yes.
Though it is not guaranteed, is it possible that Joe will publish and then blow up into the next Andy Weir or Douglas E. Richards? Yes - it is possible, and it becomes more and more possible with every bit of work that gets out there :)
You can do it!
Perhaps that is my answer Joe, the future of publishing is - You can do it!
To answer your questions, and a bit more -
1) My thoughts on the future of publishing
In my opinion - and I mean this in a positive way, but I think the future of publishing is all independent in one regard or another.
There are exceptions of course - you will hear of the writer of the moment getting the big deal, and some big publisher promoting the heck out of another title.
That is good for those 2% of authors (really, I mean it - I am happy for other authors getting any kind of success) - but for the other 98% of us, publishing is more or less independent. Even if you have a publisher take you on, it is often largely up to the author to promote their own work.
That is the way it is.
And again - I mean this in a positive way, but the future of most all publishing - from music to movies, to books to anything - holds two promises -
1) Every day it gets harder to monetize
2) Every day it gets easier to reach more people
This is a good thing overall. If you want to monetize, go into finance. If you want to reach people, go into the arts.
And every day it becomes easier and easier to reach people through the arts, in my humble opinion.
It's also easier in this day and age to get an experimental, hybrid work like #EOTW out there so -
2) Thoughts on hybrid works like #EOTW
#EOTW is indeed a hybrid work. It was inspired by a podcast episode from Avery Trufelman - 99% Invisible EPS 265 - The Pool and the Stream - available here - https://99percentinvisible.org/episod... , and takes in other thoughts from thinkers such as David Benatar, Daniel Quinn, Max Tegmark and others.
I referenced them all in the bibliography ;)
But my thoughts on experimental, hybrid works like this - even though you are trying something new, be sure to keep the reader's interest, or at least try to, haha.
I kept it short, kept the philosophical treatises plot-related, and tried to have every chapter push the tale forward.
So in short, Joe - be experimental, but at the end of the day it is about the reader, so my advice is to also keep that in mind :)
3) My thoughts on publishing super-hybrid, experimental fiction like this
I was also inspired by two great books - Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber, and The Night Swim by Megan Goldin.
Both are incredible books that refer to podcasts - ie they are Domestic Thriller / Podcast hybrids.
But all in all, they are Domestic Thrillers, and have a built-in Domestic Thriller audience. They reached best-seller status and deserved it, but they were not experimental.
What I am trying to say - if you are doing something with more than one level of hybridness - like in #EOTW there is a sentient talking Octopus from another dimension - don't be disheartened if you can't get attention from an established publisher.
In short, for the super-experimental work of yours, give it your all, make sure it is a page-turner, get a real copy editor and a real cover, but then don't be afraid to self-publish and then start writing query letters for your next one, which might be a straightforward Space Horror, Domestic Thriller or anything else :)
4) To sum up
First of all, these are just my opinions. Writers like Ted Chiang found a way to be experimental and go through traditional publishing routes - and thank fate he did - reading him is an almost religious experience.
But in short - the future of publishing is giving writers - and Joe included - a lot of options, and a lot of yeses.
It's difficult to make money, but beyond that, the answer is a yes.
Can you publish without a major publisher? Yes.
Can you publish your experimental, hybrid fiction? Yes.
Can you reach a niche audience? Yes.
Though it is not guaranteed, is it possible that Joe will publish and then blow up into the next Andy Weir or Douglas E. Richards? Yes - it is possible, and it becomes more and more possible with every bit of work that gets out there :)
You can do it!
Perhaps that is my answer Joe, the future of publishing is - You can do it!
More Answered Questions
JUDITH DICKINSON
asked
Jonathan Maas:
Having read some of your work and spoken of your writing mode - on the bus, I have to ask - 2 degrees, many streams of work but - your music career! Classical, rock, solo, group, orchestra? If you earned a living you can't be bad. I may picture you in a totally different zone.
Eric
asked
Jonathan Maas:
Do you have plans for another Spanners book? Either a prequel of what happened to them sometime in the past (more of a period piece) or sequel for what happens next. And if so can you get them to use a better contrasting text on the binding? Spanners: Fountain of Youth has such light colored text (grey on black) that it is hard to find on the shelf.
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