Publishing Upside Down

HB: Came across this article by a marketing type who knows the publishing industry well. He raises the following questions. I've edited what follows for length, but otherwise left it. Because the list is long for a blog, I've restricted myself to one word comments in red after each comment: TRUE! if I agree, FALSE! if I don't, and Hmmm if I think it's all more complex. I should also add that my own publisher is better than 90% of the competition, so my comments apply to the industry in general, not them in particular.

1. Who's in charge here? How can a 22-year-old editor bid on a book? What does a post-graduate $32,000-a-year fresh-out know what will hit with the public? Why does this frequently appear to be a case of the nuthouse leaving the inmates to decide! Hmmm

2. How do you expect people to pay 25 dollars for a book!? It's ridiculous. Economics of publishing need to be studied. And no, "Do paperbacks" is not the answer because Amazon doesn't feature them as lovingly as the hard options. Hmmm

3. The editing is done exactly how far in advance? If I write a book that is to come out in say December of 08- they have to have it in February. Why? 'Cause they have a "schedule to follow," but it would seem with digital technology you should be able to write right up to the deadline (like we do online). TRUE!

4. Marketing is something that happens when? You probably know this but publishers basically print and cross their fingers-unless your name is Grisham, King, or Winfrey. But to market them is the REAL waste of money... their fans will find their books like a stampede. It's obvious that publishers publish way too many books, and have no faith in anything. They just hope something will stick. It's all Teflon! TRUE!

5. You give nothing away? Every now and then a maker of books announces "Here's a chapter" gratis, or introduces a limited time free download for online consumption ... The limited part is what makes people go "how old-fashioned." GIVE IT AWAY NOW. TRUE!

6. Bookstore chains are difficult corporations? Let's be real. Borders, Amazon, Barnes & Noble are just as scared about the economy as publishers are. So I say work with the little stores just as hard as you used to with the biggies. Every little venue needs handholding and we authors will help get the word out, but everyone in pub is so afraid to say anything that might be construed as "insulting." TRUE!

7. Why is everyone so afraid to make waves? Isn't that the only way to rise above the noise! Retail seems to be dying--and yet the stores scare publishers in ways that shake my head involuntarily. I've done books with most of the big publishers, and no one ever said to Barnes & Noble: "We want placement, what's it going to take to get it? This book is important!" I know that BN is LOOKING for ballishness. Honestly, those big corporate publishing behemoths have power, but don't use it. Gosh. Hmmm

8. You won't publish me even if I'm the next Tolstoy unless I have a platform of my own? Yeah I get it ... In 2002 I got myself booked with the then-adorable Katie Couric on Today Show for "trendSpotting" and I told the people at Penguin-Putnam who thought I was kidding ("Well, let's see") --and when I was scheduled they didn't bother to alert sales force, stores, or anyone. So 20 million watched me cavorting with that perky thing, and a dozen books were in stores. Publishers don't know how to sell, that's the fact. They wait. Very Darwinian. If something takes off THEN they start pumping out the marketing. TRUE!

9. What about the number of books? Publishers will have to "break" artists like the music biz does and don't just publish whatever sounds good ... Save your money and invest in a few key artists. FALSE!

10. The agents are working for exactly whom? Lit agents I've met, with few exceptions, though none I can think of as I type, are beyond frightened of pissing off the editors, so they won't fight like Hollywood agents will for the clients. TRUE! (not of my own agent, I might add)

11. The world' most successful businesses don't sit around having meetings all day - Google? - and golly, turf wars are so 90's! Publishing geeks seem so afraid to step on one another's toes. "Let's have a meeting to see how X feels about it." Garrrrrh! All that endless chitchats around oak tables. I say let's fan out, make trouble, be disruptive, start our own religion ... anything. Plan less -- do more. Rise up. Be aggressive. As Fred Trump once said, "No one gets any work done in the office." TRUE!

12. Small publishers? Nah, don't think so. I found they were just as cheap-headed as their older brother, and only provided support when the author paid his own way. Seems like the small publisher is a misnomer-like indie film. Neither exists except as marketing gimmick. Sigh but, yes, probably quite TRUE!

13. Finally, and for the good of the readers, shouldn't everything be made available online? We're inundated with material to read online and that takes our attention. Having a book in hand - even on the excellent Kindle, which is really fun--isn't the most efficient way to digest someone's work. Like when I read a book offline and want to share a passage with a friend, I have to type it out, yeah! That's almost as frustrating as not being able to send my DVR moments to pals who absolutely need to see that sucky ad I witnessed. Blimey, FALSE!, if it's my book. TRUE! if it's someone else's.