Do You Need a Publisher to be Published?
So much of recent discussion about the tumult in the publishing world has focused on the challenge for publishers to find new business models in the face of rapidly changing technology and customer habits. Quite a bit less attention has been devoted, however, to the effects of those trends on authors themselves, without whom the publishers would have no content to actually print. As the industry continues to thrash around, grasping for quick solutions while also cutting costs frantically, authors less popular than Rowling or Franzen can find themselves essentially abandoned by their supposed advocates in large publishing houses.
Noted technology writer Douglas Rushkoff shares his recent experiences with publishers and how those disappointments drove him to make the radical step of leaving his publisher and embracing an entirely new model of 21st century authorship. What could have inspired such a move? Shouldn’t authors desperately grab for the security of a big publisher, especially in uncertain times like now? Won’t the sheer size and expertise of the big companies provide an essential lifesaver in the rather choppy waters of the book marketplace currently?
Well, actually no, at least according to Rushkoff. In his view, “Authors and readers no longer need Big Publishing to find and engage one another. The sooner we all realize this, the better off we’ll all be.” Based on his experience, publishers now utterly fail at the two roles authors have traditionally relied upon them for, editing and marketing. As just about any author can tell you, having an intelligent and engaged reader critique your work is incredibly helpful. But editors can no longer play that role anymore, as they must now focus entirely on new content acquisition. Even worse in Rushkoff’s view, publishers no longer provide either necessary resources or expertise in marketing. If anything, they tend to get in the way of the authors’ own attempts to publicize their work. The writers, after all, usually know far more about their subject matter and the likely audience for their own books, and what the best methods of outreach might be.
Absent their ability to edit and market, Rushkoff just does not see a valuable role for publishers any more, and has decided to eliminate these middlemen (and their not insubstantial costs) for his latest book. It is a new very journey, without the usual signposts, but 21st century authorship does open up vast new potential audiences and opportunities to engage with ones readers. As Rushkoff says, the new methods he now embraces are daunting, but writers today really have no other choice, “The good news and bad news here is that we must create new ways of doing things that meet our real needs.”
BackMyBook is excited to help authors of all kinds discover their own paths to success, that meet their own particular needs. They won’t be the same as Douglas Rushkoff’s, nor Stephen King’s, but they will be what works for you.
(This article is also published at BackMyBook)
