What’s First, The Chicken or the Egg? Alternatives to Traditional Publishing was the title of a panel I attended Friday morning at Thrillerfest. The panel master was a friend of mine, David Hewson, who did a bang up job of not only keeping the panel focused on the topic at hand, but also directing questions to the appropriate panel members. Lou Aronica, Steve Feldberg, Joel Fishman, A.J. Hartley and Dan Slater made up the panel.
In our Writer’s Conference Guide we suggest picking workshops based on speaker and not necessarily on the topic. We chose this panel because Dan Slater is with Amazon and Steve Feldberg is with Audible.com—both were people we wanted to not only hear what they had to say, but discuss possibilities for Who Dares Wins Publishing.
It was surprising that this seemed to be the only panel that focused on this topic considering everything that is going on in publishing.
Dan Slater from Amazon talked a lot about how Amazon puts their customers first and wants to focus on the Author/Reader relationship. That’s good news. One thing he said that really struck a cord with me was that it is the authors and the readers who drive this business. Not news to us, but it’s nice to hear a major player in the future of publishing discuss two of the most important people in the publishing business. I really enjoyed listening to him and talking with him later because he was very optimistic about the future. He must have been channeling Bob when he said, “it’s an exciting time to be an author.”
Other things discussed were how publishing is too corporatized. There is a huge problem with overhead, which is affecting the price model for ebooks. Also mentioned was that the rules for digital publishing are different than for print publishing. This isn’t anything new. We’ve been talking about it here for a while now.
Steve Feldberg said something that seemed to struck a cord with the audience when he said, “there is no longer a distinction between alternative forms of publishing and traditional publishing…it’s all publishing.” A writer used to ask himself or herself when will I get published? Now the question is who is going to be my readers?
The feel when I left this workshop was a sense of empowerment for the author. I also noticed that the entire room went straight for Dan Slater of Amazon. There was a long line of writers waiting to talk to him.
However, the overall tone of the conference is firmly planted in print traditional publishing. This is neither good nor bad. Many of these authors are making their living off of the traditional model. But, as we’ve asked here many times—where is the next wave of best-sellers going to come from?
No one really knows what is going on. All the industry experts can predict all they want, but the reality is they’ve underestimated digital and the effects ebooks would have on authors and readers—the people who drive this business. It really is an exciting time to be an author. The key is to educate yourself, know and understand your options and make the right decision for yourself. You are in command of your career.
Thanks for the updates.Thillerfest was on my list of conferences to attend, but life happens. Wonderful to see that there is some public acknowledgement of the paradigm shift in the market. Here’s to more open dialogue on the topic.
It is indeed good to hear at least one person in the publishing industry that is paying attention to the shifting trends. Nothing against the traditional publishers, change is never easy, especially when large sums of money are on the table.
Thanks for the excellent over view Jen.
Jenni, thanks to both you and Bob for the updates. It’s much appreciated for those of us at home!
Just that for decades traditional Publishing has been kicken’ alternative publishings ass. Now all of a sudden they are talking we are even now? Sounds to me like alternative just kicked traditional publishings ass I think we all should give ourselves a big Hell Ya keep writing and kick their ass some more.
I don’t think its about one side kicking the other sides ass, so to speak, or even about being even. The business is changing. Bob said in one of the Publishing Borg posts, adapt or die. That is true. We need to adapt to the changes, but first we need to understand them and figure out how they affect us. The big publishing houses are changing, but that takes time.
And the one thing that came out of every panel we attended–we have to write a better book. Content is king.
What a great panel! Thank you so much for giving the details. It makes me so happy to hear that “Amazon puts their customers first and wants to focus on the Author/Reader relationship.” I really focus on my readers. When trying to go the traditional route, I was so intent on aligning myself with other writers and conditioned to think that is where I had to be. Until I started to self publish, did I realize I had spent so much energy on the wrong audience.
Every day I see my Indie career as getting stronger and stronger. This week I made it on the Movers and Shakers list which threw me into an entirely different group of readers that have all reached out to me. I’m so excited to see how conferences are going to change within the next year. These “sorority and fraternities” (RWA, RT, Mystery….) will eventually have to get their heads out of the sand.
I’m not saying one way is right or wrong, there are just so many options now that aren’t going away.
It’s probably not a huge surprise that Amazon is more aware of the real dynamic in publishing, the relationship between authors and readers. After all, I’m guessing it suits them to have authors selling directly through them rather than having a print publisher be the middle man. It’s nice for them to say it out loud, though.
It’s great to get these updates – I don’t write thrillers, but I’m guessing some things are the same across the board.
I so appreciate the information! And the chance to try my hand at “press this” to post the link to my blog.
The International Thriller Writers still is heavily skewed toward the traditional model–membership is almost exclusively based on corporate deals. So it’s not surprising the tone would not be a celebration of the new era. That would, in effect, acknowledge the ITW would have to adapt rapidly (actually, it’s always been the most progressive writing org and I’m surprised they lag on this issue. I am a proud member–but I couldn’t qualify if I hadn’t sold some midlist books a few years back).
The sad part is that these corporations are structured in such a way that allows them to be flexible to changes. Suddenly, the publishing business was turned upside down. I’m sure that some publishing company, like some bookstore, would survive while others would tank. The question for most people in the publishing world should be, are you ready for this?
Thanks for blogging about your experience at Thrillerfest. I agree that it’s a very exciting time to be an author!
I am so excited about all these changes in publishing. At first, I was anxious about it but now I realize that good things are happening.
another great piece – thank you. I particularly love “You are in command of your career.” As i see people actually BUYING my self-pub short stories on amazon – I am actually starting to believe that.
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Another great post, Bob. While e publishing gives the author more control, we need to learn to use a whole lot of new and unfamiliar tools if we’re to be successful. I’m hoping (and expecting) you will help us with that.
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