Hi,
Just thought I would pitch this one in and see what the masses think.
The banner head "Publishing is changing" has been everywhere for a couple of years now. But, how is it changing? And, how does that affect you and me, the writers?
Well firstly, the "Gate-Keepers" are filling there pants. I, of course, mean agents. Where once they stood between the writer and the publisher ready to take their slice of the pie in return for letting you into the "Castle", the only place where you could get your work out there, but now we can do it ourselves. With a little patience, a few new skills, and a couple of free programs, we can dive, prepapred or not, into the marketplace with our ebooks. So why would anyone need an agent now? Would we not rather self-publish blind and see what fortune favours us with? In the new book world an advance is as arcane as block type-setting. So what is the role of an agent in tomoorow's market?
Print will probably never die, worse case they will become collectable "ornaments", a badge of pride and omage to our favourite works. But digital is here, digital is growing, and soon digital is going to grab print by the neck and bluntly inform it "I'm the Alpha now, your time as king is over". So how are the big publishing houses going to survive? What devious little tricks are they planning to hold onto their big offices and expense accounts? That is probaly a more scary question than you might think. Aside from a bit of marketing, a bit of butcherous editing, and a derogatory attitude, what do they have that writers' alone or in groups don't?
My shout to the big 5... "Watch your back! I can do what you do, probably better, and with no overheads." Todays costs in producing a trade fiction novel are little more than time, commitment, a measure of talent, and a lilttle knowhow.
I'd give my neighbour 10-20% of my earnings if he/she could do a good edit, format my work, help me with a good cover, and deal with all the tax withholding issues. Does that make him/her a big player in publishing if our project sells 20,30,40K? And to be honest, are sales for a debut author going to be any less likely along that path than going with a big publishing house? Hype and advertising is there only weapon now.
So will all the agents now turn on their masters and become micro-digital publishers? Should we become our own micro-digital publishers?
In a few hundred years will history still tell of the horror and hethenistic burning of the Kindles and nooks during the great war and uprisings of the mid 21st century?
Joking aside, the ereaders will still be there in the future, burnt or not. It's how we make sure that we get our chance as writers today to ensure that we get the best chances and the best deals that should be the buring question.
What do you think?
