tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3754514336370632854.post5051652438348191094..comments2023-11-04T04:15:37.162-07:00Comments on Book Publishing News: 5 Problems With Conventional Book Publishing by Dr. Gary S. GoodmanUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3754514336370632854.post-68777716589400729632009-03-21T16:30:00.000-07:002009-03-21T16:30:00.000-07:00旅行社婚禮顧問婚禮錄影網頁設計seo網路行銷關鍵字網站優化a383s383love104<A HREF="http://www.happywin.com.tw/" REL="nofollow">旅行社</A><BR><BR/><A HREF="http://www.see-i.com.tw" REL="nofollow">婚禮顧問</A><BR><BR/><A HREF="http://www.see-i.com.tw" REL="nofollow">婚禮錄影</A><BR><BR/><A HREF="http://www.twsam.com" REL="nofollow">網頁設計</A><BR><BR/><A HREF="http://twseo.to" REL="nofollow">seo</A><BR><BR/><A HREF="http://twseo.to" REL="nofollow">網路行銷</A><BR><BR/><A HREF="http://twseo.to" REL="nofollow">關鍵字</A><BR><BR/><A HREF="http://twseo.to" REL="nofollow">網站優化</A><BR><BR/><A HREF="http://www.a383-s383.tw" REL="nofollow">a383</A><BR><BR/><A HREF="http://www.a383-s383.tw" REL="nofollow">s383</A><BR><BR/><A HREF="http://www.a383-s383.tw" REL="nofollow">love104</A><BR>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3754514336370632854.post-81239351981374312172009-03-19T13:22:00.000-07:002009-03-19T13:22:00.000-07:00My biggest issue with your points is that they are...My biggest issue with your points is that they are based on a false assumption, which is that publication by the majors is the goal to which all authors aspire. Or should aspire. Given there are six of them, and something like 80,000 independent presses in the US, why is it that all discussions of publishing are always focused on the minority?<BR/><BR/>The choice isn't between being accepted by the Inner Circle or doing it yourself. Nor are people doomed to deal with vanity printers. What they are required to do is what anyone with a product to sell does first--find out who's likely to be interested. Which from my point of observation no one does.<BR/><BR/>As for authors having to bear the brunt of their own marketing, if you take a good look at bestselling authors (including yourself, I suspect, if you analyze it) it wasn't the book tour or the advertising in the major trade publications or the reviews in same that sold the books. It was the author making contact with potential readers as a person, one way or another.<BR/><BR/>Yes, a book tour is one way to do that, but with the prohibitive cost of travel small wonder those are growing fewer every year. After all, why spend $10,000 or more so an author can meet a few hundred people when for a fraction of that you can arrange for them to meet thousands online?<BR/><BR/>The mistaken idea people have about author self-promotion is that it's about them selling their own books. It's not. It's about them selling themselves, and as more and more people become comfortable with the virtual media it's become equally simple for that to happen.<BR/><BR/>If an author's goal is to be perched on a pedestal with a laurel wreath on his/her brow, I suspect he or she is doomed to disappointment. That's not how our society is evolving, and we all know what happens to species who refuse to adapt.Elizabeth K. Burtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15511017280594980129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3754514336370632854.post-55335998677464528862009-03-18T09:26:00.000-07:002009-03-18T09:26:00.000-07:00Hi Gary,Great post! I'm new to reading this blog b...Hi Gary,<BR/><BR/>Great post! I'm new to reading this blog but have enjoyed it immensely over the past two months.<BR/><BR/>Re: number 4 on your list, do most publishers expect the author to set up their own web site and/or other online tools? In 2009, what role does the publisher play in commissioning the artwork for the cover? <BR/><BR/>I've never heard that an author must answer the question "What are you going to do to sell this book?" in the book proposal. Can you talk a little more about this?<BR/><BR/>I'll be finishing my novel early next year and am constantly thinking about how I will market the book when it's done. <BR/><BR/>I actually work for an advertising/PR firm so I have access to some resources, but am curious about how much of the marketing the publisher takes on vs. the author doing a lot of self-promotion. Any thoughts?Misguided_67https://www.blogger.com/profile/10654745972716847497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3754514336370632854.post-42187597930890848132009-03-15T09:34:00.000-07:002009-03-15T09:34:00.000-07:00Gary, what a fantastic perspective. You are 100% t...Gary, what a fantastic perspective. You are 100% true, the power is now in the hands of the small press/self-pub'd author. And an author who can navigate the Internet successfully is going to do much much better in their promotion vs. the author waiting for a bookstore to open their doors to them. We've spent the last 7 years turning our once traditional pr and marketing firm into an aggressive Internet marketing company. It's paid off. The Internet is where the success is. Publishers (the NY guys) are scrambling to catch up. There's nothing wrong with wanting to see your book in print but be realistic about what your future holds, it takes time and persistence and right blend of marketing - most of it now being online. <BR/><BR/>twitter.com/BookgalBookgalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00309462969630914137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3754514336370632854.post-17899274413927109842009-03-15T09:30:00.000-07:002009-03-15T09:30:00.000-07:00Excellent post and good points all. I suppose I'd...Excellent post and good points all. I suppose I'd quibble with #5 a bit. Publishers are not clueless, so much as they are overly cautious. And that is certainly understandable. It happens to most mature industries/businesses.<BR/><BR/>Or put it another way - they aren't any MORE clueless than authors and agents. It's just that it is tempting to think of them as the professionals who know most about what's going on. I think that they provide far more objectivity than most authors, but many of their successes seem to be due to the dartboard approach - throw a bunch of stuff and see what sticks. It may be the best model out of a bunch of questionable ones when it comes to the "industry."<BR/><BR/>But I do agree that self-publishing and other formats such as audio make a lot more sense now than they used to. I released my first novel as an audio podcast last year. I did this to try to gauge the potential audience for the work. And it was a heck of a lot of fun.<BR/><BR/>I'm not quite ready for all the work that goes into actually putting the book out in print myself. I do not want to do it unless I can do it as well as the professionals, and I'm not prepared to pay the four figures it would take to do that. Between book covers, editing, layout, I have rarely seen a self-published work with a professional appearance unless it is done by someone who already has expertise in these skills. And editing your own work simply cannot be done to professional standards no matter how good an editor you are - which is not to say that plenty of books by major publishers don't have poor editing, just that those are not what I'm trying to emulate.<BR/><BR/>In any case, there is a lot to think about. For me the bottom line is that however I produce the work, I will be promoting it myself. Even with a traditional publisher, I can't expect much help. I keep that in mind as I weigh the various options for publishing.Edward G. Talbothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07101538926701204083noreply@blogger.com