Guardian: Publishers respond to "who needs a publisher?" article

[mr ploppy]

Originally Posted by jhempel24

Sigler gives his stuff away for free and STILL hits the Best Seller List because he has such a large group of people that follow him, and want to support his career. Podcasting seems to be the way things are happening. And from what I understand alot of bigger publishers don't like it at all!

The publishers don't like people reading books for free, whether from an authorised source or otherwise. They seem to see it as a lost sale, and will usually demand that the free version is removed.

[Penforhire]

Cory Doctorow is one of the early authors doing that experiment, free at the same time as paid sources. I haven't heard lately how the paid side is doing for him. Hopefully well.

Put me down on the "publishers days are numbered" side. They are not adding enough value.

As noted before, editing and even marketing can be contracted by authors. Printing is an issue where publishers have economy of scale and distribution channels but it is a diminishing issue, more sales going digital. And geez, printed books I read contain so many errors (not just spelling, say a mistake about a car or gun model) that I frequently e-mail authors. So you can't point to how good traditional editing and proofreading are.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by Penforhire

Cory Doctorow is one of the early authors doing that experiment, free at the same time as paid sources. I haven't heard lately how the paid side is doing for him. Hopefully well.

Put me down on the "publishers days are numbered" side. They are not adding enough value.

As noted before, editing and even marketing can be contracted by authors. Printing is an issue where publishers have economy of scale and distribution channels but it is a diminishing issue, more sales going digital. And geez, printed books I read contain so many errors (not just spelling, say a mistake about a car or gun model) that I frequently e-mail authors. So you can't point to how good traditional editing and proofreading are.

Probably a natural cycle, don't you think?

1) authors start self-publishing, using contractors for editing, contractors for marketing, and contractors for online distribution.

2) contractors start consolidating services, offering editing, marketing, distribution, agencies, thus freeing up authors from the tedious aspects, and letting them focus on writing.

3) consolidated contractors become huge conglomerates, or "ePublishers", controlling all aspects of the business

[mr ploppy]

Originally Posted by kjk

Probably a natural cycle, don't you think?

1) authors start self-publishing, using contractors for editing, contractors for marketing, and contractors for online distribution.

2) contractors start consolidating services, offering editing, marketing, distribution, agencies, thus freeing up authors from the tedious aspects, and letting them focus on writing.

3) consolidated contractors become huge conglomerates, or "ePublishers", controlling all aspects of the business

The difference being that freelance editors, marketeers, etc would only get a one off payment for services rendered, not 90% of all future income.

[HamsterRage]

Reflecting on this, it occurs to me that I do occasionally pay attention to the publisher when selecting books. When I started reading "Urban Fantasy" I found that Roc seemed to be publishing lots of books in that genre that I liked. So I started scanning though the shelves looking for their logo on the spines of books by authors that I'd never read before.

The idea, I guess, that somehow I was in sync with the editorial staff at Roc.

[EricDP]

...many readers like knowing the book they are going to be spending their valuable time reading has been filtered through a selection process by people whose job is to guide the reader to what they want and ensure that they spend their time – and money – wisely.

Um, *cough*, where do I start?

How about "no thanks, I don't need you picking out my books for me". How Orwellian.

Or, maybe she is saying that every single book at a bookstore is quality and I'd never buy I book I didn't like if it was from a major publisher? Wrong there.

Marketing? I've never bought a book because there was a life-size cardboard author 'holding' a stack of them.

I buy books from authors I've never bought from before because somebody I know and trust lent me a book from that author and I enjoyed it. Once I find an author I like, I pretty much buy everything he/she has ever written. And then I ask other friends what they're reading. Or I seach by genre online and see what user comments are saying. I can do this on Amazon for books, whether or not a major publisher is backing the book.

I have to agree with the original article: publishers are obsolete and have no place in the modern world.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

The difference being that freelance editors, marketeers, etc would only get a one off payment for services rendered, not 90% of all future income.

Sure. I guess my point was, assuming this takes off, and the old school publishers drop out of the picture...at some point, some of these freelancers will band together to offer a more turnkey solution, and some authors without upfront funds will negotiate for "future income" to get their services now...

[mdmorrissey]

Originally Posted by queentess

I don't know, if I'm going to reference something, I don't want to flip through a massive tome. I want to be able to make e-highlights in it and key word search. Plus, by the time a reference book is published, the information is typically already outdated.

Check out this thread.

Well, of course you're right there. Hmm, when do we want to read paper then? Poetry? Or anything at the beach, since I won't take my ereader there. Or anything with pictures or color or complicated formatting -- although that will change soon enough as well.

[mr ploppy]

Originally Posted by kjk

Sure. I guess my point was, assuming this takes off, and the old school publishers drop out of the picture...at some point, some of these freelancers will band together to offer a more turnkey solution, and some authors without upfront funds will negotiate for "future income" to get their services now...

Most first time or amateur writers will do without, or rely on free crowd sourcing for their editing. Established or pro writers will have income from their completed books to pay for whatever they need for the next one. Or if they have a proven record they could get a loan from the bank.