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Originally Posted by stonetools
FIrst of all, Mr. Shirkey is simply wrong in suggesting that publishers are somehow obsolete already,
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They're not obsolete, but what they have to offer authors as opposed with what authors can easily arrange for themselves has drastically changed. Many publishers' reactions seem to be "let's either make those things less easy for authors to get on their own, or downplay their value" rather than "let's figure out what we bring that's valuable."
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but let that pass.IMO, authors certainly need and will benefit from an organization that advocates on their behalf and through whom they can take collective action . THE INTERNET!!! did not abolish the need for such an organization.
Your problem is that you disagree his analysis on agency pricing and Amazon. That's different. Focus on that.
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The internet didn't abolish the need for author organizations, but it changed how they'll be effective. Guilds that are fighting to hold on to system that made them necessary, rather than fighting to advocate for the needs of their members in the face of new technology, are fighting to sustain problems, not fix them.
What authors need now? IP lawyers to check their contracts. Bookkeeping specialists who can tell them how to manage accounts at several different vendors and how to cope with paying for many specialized contractors. Business analysts to help them sort out pricing options. Marketing experts to tell them which trends are hot and which ones are fading. Social Media experts to tell them the best places & methods to promote their careers. They can no longer count on traditional agencies or publishers to support them in those areas.
What authors *don't* need now is an organization that puts them in touch with agents & publishers in other countries; they have Facebook for that. They don't need an organization that tells them they should be happy with 3% royalty payments because they're getting so many readers. (Funny, when the darknet people say that readers are more important than payments, that's supposedly a bad thing. When heads of literary agencies say it, it's being supportive of authors' careers.) They don't need "bestseller lists" that ignore anything not printed by the truckload so they fail to notice what's *actually* selling best.
There's plenty of room for individuals & organizations to have careers supporting authors--but they need to be supporting author's in today's world, not in the business world of twenty years ago.