The Author Publisher Partnership

Yesterday and today the Digital Book World conference is taking place in NYC. An event devoted to examine and discuss the reading habits and publishing habits and needs and changes that can help the industry move into the future.

I'm very excited about some of the conversations I've been reading from tweets from people at DBW and wasn't even at first aware of the almost universal lack of authors there until I started to read about all the things the speakers were telling publishers to do that authors have been doing for over a decade.

Bethanne Patrick noticed the same thing. And we looked. Out of 73 speakers, 2 are authors. (She's blogged about it here.)

In 1999 when I started doing the publishing column for Wired.com it was the authors who innovated... Doug Clegg wrote the first e-serial novel... and started him building a newsletter list when no one in the biz side understood the value of an author having the email addresses of his readers ... When his publisher wouldn't agree to give ebooks of Unleashing the Idea Virus out for free Seth Godin did it himself and then self pubbed a $40 hardcover that sold out in six weeks.. Clegg and I started website book tours which later author Kevin Smokler - another author - moved the idea to blogs... on and on... Authors are idea people. 

We create. Not just books. 

Solutions. 

There were authors before there were publishers and I dare say there will be authors post publishers. We can tell stories and gather information and find ways to share it... but publishers can't publish without authors.

Listen, i don't want to be a publisher. I want to be my publisher's partner. I feel that I need them. But I also want to feel they need me.

If publishing is going to flourish don't we need to be partners? What do you think?

Comments

[L.J. Sellers]

The creative types are always ahead of the curve, and the money types are always a little risk-averse. Being partners in new innovations, bringing those two mind-sets together, is a good idea.

[Georgia McBride]

Wow. This is so exactly right. On both sides of the coin. I see so many authors who feel as if they need the publisher to do it all once they've delivered their mss. I spend so much of my time training, educating and giving advice to authors who are published about the power they have and fail to use. The information they gather daily and throw away as useless. Sadly, you can't use information you don't know you have--or know what to do with. Authors are hired to do a job nowadays that they are rather ill prepared to do. Go out and sell your book. Make appearances, do signings, build your platform, blog, get on twitter, set up a facebook page. But no one explains how to do any of these things-well or the ramifications of doing them incorrectly. As a former artist manager in the music industry (and product marketer) and now author, I have capabilities that many who come to writing without such insight do not. And this is not to mention all the official messages regarding how HORRIBLE it is to self-publish when clearly doing so well can lead to success and has. Authors need not be afraid to follow their own path and write their own creative futures. Publishers need to embrace change, take risks and accept that their roles are changing. Together, we can achieve a brighter future. Change is hard. Growth often hurts and requires new clothes! :-)

[Barry Eisler]

Hey, you know what I think!

;)
Barry

[Louise Quayle]

Exactly and thanks for saying so! More discussion at digital conferences should be focused on the author's role in this digital revolution. I'm moderating a panel on Feb 18 on this very topic - I'd appreciate hearing what discussion topics would be of interest to you. You can check it out at www.wnba-nyc.org.