The future of publishing?
I'll say up front I don't know what the answer is, nor do I think I have the experience or expertise necessary to discuss the question beyond a pretty superficial level, which is why I'm writing this as a blog post rather than an article I plan on shopping around for money.
But even superficial discussion with a generous helping of speculation and musing can be fun, and it can spark other people to have ideas as well, so I'm indulging myself.
So no matter what you think about Harlequin or Harlequin Horizons, no matter which perspective you share on the whole state of publishing, one thing most people seem to agree on is that the publishing industry has fallen on hard times. Newspapers going out of business. Independent bookstores struggling to keep their doors open. Mid-list writers getting dropped faster than a hot potato in August if their numbers dip. This is a hole that seems to be getting deeper, and that ain't pretty.
So is self-publishing and/or vanity-publishing the salvation of writers and readers everywhere? I don't think so. For those who want to argue that either/both are the Way Forward, I have a couple things to point out. One, self/vanity/private publishing has been around for at least a couple of centuries, so it's not all that new, and even these days with all the tech advances at its disposal, it's still pretty marginalized. Two, when was the last time you bought a self/vanity/private-published book by someone you didn't know? Every species needs a certain-sized breeding population to keep from going extinct, and every industry needs a certain-sized profit stream to keep from going under.
I don't have, as I said, a magic bullet answer to the question here. As an occasional gardener, I think it's better to diversify whenever possible; as a healthcare professional, I'm predisposed to a multidisciplinary approach to a problem. Both perspectives play a role in my suggestions:
More questions and speculation than answers and facts, but that's what you paid for.
ETA: I neglected to mention the "United Artists" option: a small group of writers band together to do their own POD thang, or some other "our own thang" that gives them greater control but also requires more skull sweat and other effort.
But even superficial discussion with a generous helping of speculation and musing can be fun, and it can spark other people to have ideas as well, so I'm indulging myself.
So no matter what you think about Harlequin or Harlequin Horizons, no matter which perspective you share on the whole state of publishing, one thing most people seem to agree on is that the publishing industry has fallen on hard times. Newspapers going out of business. Independent bookstores struggling to keep their doors open. Mid-list writers getting dropped faster than a hot potato in August if their numbers dip. This is a hole that seems to be getting deeper, and that ain't pretty.
So is self-publishing and/or vanity-publishing the salvation of writers and readers everywhere? I don't think so. For those who want to argue that either/both are the Way Forward, I have a couple things to point out. One, self/vanity/private publishing has been around for at least a couple of centuries, so it's not all that new, and even these days with all the tech advances at its disposal, it's still pretty marginalized. Two, when was the last time you bought a self/vanity/private-published book by someone you didn't know? Every species needs a certain-sized breeding population to keep from going extinct, and every industry needs a certain-sized profit stream to keep from going under.
I don't have, as I said, a magic bullet answer to the question here. As an occasional gardener, I think it's better to diversify whenever possible; as a healthcare professional, I'm predisposed to a multidisciplinary approach to a problem. Both perspectives play a role in my suggestions:
- Increase readership. Explore new ways to get books to people who are willing to pay to read them, either via paying for the book outright, or by supporting their public library via their taxes, or whatever.
- Take a good hard look at the blockbuster approach to profit. If a publisher is offering million-dollar advances to celebrities, are they really making the money back via that celebrity-driven sales? Or are the other authors in their stable expected to help shore it up? After all, celebrity books often get bought (at a discount) by various special interest groups (okay, that may be just a fancy phrase for "fan club," yeah) for bulk orders, so presumably the publisher's taking a shower if not a bath on those. Please note all the qualifiers I'm throwing in here; it's a sign of my ignorance as well as my suspicion that we're talking about probabilities rather than guarantees.
- Take a good hard look at corporate publishing expenses. To be honest, this is usually my first suggestion for any corporation that moans that it isn't making enough money. How much of your income is going towards stuff directly related to your profit, and how much of it is going to buy your upper management types that warm and fuzzy feeling of prestige? And are any of your upper management types the kind who would gamble with derivatives?
- Related to the above, take a good hard look at your marketing. Do book trailers really cause a notable spike in sales? How much money do you need to spend on book trailers to get that spike? What, in short, is the tipping point that takes you from "not enough" to "just right"?
- Take a good hard look at your readership. Here we're going back to the first item. What are you selling, what are you buying, and what does your audience say they will buy versus what they are actually willing to buy? Can you, for example, explore e-publishing or even POD options for books that won't be blockbusters, may not even be steady mid-list earners, but will earn you a steady stream of pennies without too much effort on your part?
More questions and speculation than answers and facts, but that's what you paid for.
ETA: I neglected to mention the "United Artists" option: a small group of writers band together to do their own POD thang, or some other "our own thang" that gives them greater control but also requires more skull sweat and other effort.