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mbarkerI realize that this is something that is in flux even as I write about it, but following the recent exchange of points between Sarah and Maureen and company (lots of company), I got to thinking that it might be useful to try to draw up a comparison between what people expected from traditional publishing and what they could expect from the new independent or epublishing world? Here's what I came up with.
Shifting the Model
For example, in terms of a model of the players, the traditional publishing world pretty much broke up into three groups: the publishing houses, the agents, and the authors. Independent publishing, so far, I think is largely a "author does all" affair. Or at least the author is in charge of pulling together whatever resources they think necessary, including art, editing, or whatever.
Which actually brings up another difference. At least in theory, traditional publishing provided editing services, both at the editor and copyediting/proofreading levels. However, when the author is doing it all, then they need to consider bringing in alpha readers, beta readers, copyeditors, and similar folks to help clean things up. These may be volunteers, perhaps trading work, or they may be "piece work" hires, but the author should consider how they are going to handle the "review and revision" process that was part of the traditional publishing promise.
Similarly, illustrations, or at least front covers, were part of what the traditional publishing house provided. In the new world of independent publishing, the author may have to do this themselves, or hire an artist to help. Fortunately, there are various relatively low-cost alternatives.
Publicity is one of the other promises of traditional publishing. I won't touch the question of whether or not publicity really happened, there are quite a few stories about that, but it is something that most people expected would be handled by the publishing houses. In the new world, without publishing houses, the authors need to plan to do this themselves. And replacing the venerable bookstore signings, we have a whole raft of possibilities developed. Blog tours, where an author "visits" various blogs, usually by writing a guest post or sometimes in "interviews." Various collectives, such as The Mad Geniuses, SF Novelists, and so forth where writers blog about their work, their writing, etc. -- and share their fans, building each other's online presence. Free giveaways, such as the KDP program offers, and many authors do the same on their blogs or as part of the blog tours. Relatively large online samples -- both in the ebook sales sites and elsewhere -- are common, allowing readers to read before they buy. Online reviews, of course, have grown. And there is the cross-fertilization of an author's other ebooks, blogs, social networking, etc. The more ebooks an author has "out there," the more likely that a reader will read one, and then buy more... and more!
Printing and distribution. I'll mention them, because they were part of what shaped the traditional publishing empire, but be aware that they are disappearing. With electronic publication, the author (typically) formats and prepares the ebook. Sometimes it goes through automated processing at the "vendor," but basically, there is no printing cost. No typesetting, no galleys, no printing, no paper, no covers! No mechanical copying cost. Yeah! Further, there is no need to ship ebooks all over and set them in bookshelves, so there is no distribution cost.
There's a fancy word for this, called disintermediation. Yes, that means taking the middleman out of the game. One of the effects of the electronic systems is that the person who produces the work (the author in this case) can go almost directly to the person who consumes the work (the readers!), without layers and layers of people in the middle. Although... watch carefully, Amazon and Kindle, B&N and Nook, and others are playing a role in the middle. Still, there's been a collapse of the layers that used to exist.
So we are watching the shift from a model of publishing house, agents, and authors to a model of "author does it all." Which means the author is in control, and also is responsible for a lot of things that they used to be able to depend on the agents and publishing houses for.
Changing Finances
Related to the shift from the publishing house to the "author does it all" model, there's a big change in financing. See, part of the reason for publishing houses, I think, was financing the whole process. The part that the author saw mostly was the advances, but there was also a raft of "up front" costs including printing and distribution costs that had to be paid before any reader anywhere could buy the book, and start the money flowing back up the tree to refill the publisher's pockets.
Almost all of this vanishes in the new epub world! Which means, in part, that the author no longer gets advances -- but on the other hand, publishing a book doesn't require putting down a chunk of money for printing and distribution, either. So the author puts their ebook into the various electronic venues, and ... money starts trickling in. Yes, the author had to write the book "on spec" -- but in many cases, they had to do that anyway, especially beginning authors.
Oh, yes, authors who could write a proposal or outline and get a contract and advances have lost that route. But on the other hand, the percentage paid to the author seems to be higher. Further, the "turn-around" between "turning a book in" (which used to mean it vanished into the publisher's process, and would come out in a year or more, but in the new system means it is going online soon) and getting the first trickle of funding from purchases is much shorter. Some systems pay practically daily, others on a monthly, quarterly, or six month basis, but it is quite a bit faster than the old "advance" system. In addition, unlike the old system, the income stream from an ebook continues as long as the author leaves it up. Indeed, in many cases the income grows as other books are added, when fans purchase whole sets.
Incidentally, if people are really interested in advances, there are two models for that in the new electronic world. First is kickstarter and similar sites, which basically provide a way for people to propose projects, including books, and get popular support to ante up the money to support it. Typically in exchange for a "free" copy of the book, with additional benefits for larger donations and increasing levels of starting funds. Given that the initial free copy might very well be an ebook, this can be a quite effective way to get an advance. Yes, you are doing a public, distributed appeal for advance funding, instead of a private appeal to a publishing house.
The second model is that of the storyteller's bowl. Several authors have tried this, providing chapters online in return for some level of funding. So, for example, the authors might promise that they will write one chapter every week -- if the fans put in $XXX. This "serial" storytelling often involves a discussion board to let the fans dissect the latest offering, which the authors may not even go near, and sometimes a promise that any fan who puts in $YYY total will get a free copy of the (ebook or book) when it is finished. Typically the online version is unedited, straight from the author's keyboard.
So, a shift from advances -- lump sums -- to income streams and public patronage.
Change in the Market
Finally, I think we need to take a look at the underlying model of the market. In the traditional publishing industry, there was an understanding that the market was limited. What people were trying to do was get a share of that market, with bestsellers claiming a large chunk, and midlisters struggling along with small slices. Pirates, of course, as everyone knew, were stealing pieces of the market! DRM was the answer, to protect the integrity of the market. And, since the market was so severely limited, part of what happened was that only a limited number of copies were printed, distributed, and sold, typically based on previous sales for that author. To help keep the shelvespace used for the best of the limited market, well, books were put up and taken down quickly. Alright? A limited market, limited share, and limited shelf life. Push those books out, then strip and toss the ones that didn't get bought.
The electronic marketplace starts with a whole different notion of the market. First, the market is effectively unlimited. That's right, there's an effective infinite market out there. WIthin that space, what authors are trying to do is build their fanbase -- to create their own branded niche, where the fans "know" what they will find. Pirates? Obviously, there's something wrong with the pricing and availability -- if you hit the "sweet spot" your fans will pay and prefer getting their copy from the real source. DRM is anathema, because it causes problems for your fans!
Now how many copies do you "print"? How many can you sell! Electronic copies are effectively unlimited. How long do you keep it "on the shelf?" AS LONG AS YOU WANT! In fact, the longer you leave it up, the more likely you are to have sales, and the more likely you are to have "cross" sales when fans find one book, read it, and then buy the others you have written. The more books you have for sale, the more you will sell!
This is the most significant shift, from a market view based on scarcity and limitations to one based on abundance and unlimited copies and time. Traditional publishing focused on ways to distribute a limited number of copies in a limited amount of time. The new epublishing world is working out ways to let people know that there are an unlimited number of copies available from now on. The "long tail" has met bestseller marketing -- and won.
The "author does it all" model, financing that doesn't have up-front advances or costs but does offer continuing revenue streams and public patronage, and an effectively unlimited market where authors need to build a fanbase over time. It's a huge revolution! And it's just starting -- watch out for tomorrow's ebooks today!
Some of the blog postings behind this (don't forget the comments!):
Maureen Ogle's first posting http://maureenogle.com/2012/05/01/if-publishing-is-dead-what-happens-to-non-fiction/
Sarah Hoyt's response http://accordingtohoyt.com/2012/05/14/looking-at-the-other-half/
Kate Paulk posting http://madgeniusclub.com/2012/05/17/talking-to-the-other-side/
Another one from Sarah Hoyt http://accordingtohoyt.com/2012/05/15/days-of-whine-and-fire/
Maureen Ogle's second posting http://maureenogle.com/2012/05/15/i-may-live-to-regret-this/
Sarah's challenge http://accordingtohoyt.com/2012/05/17/throwing-down-the-gauntlet-3/
I think there may have been one more, but I've lost track.
Shifting the Model
For example, in terms of a model of the players, the traditional publishing world pretty much broke up into three groups: the publishing houses, the agents, and the authors. Independent publishing, so far, I think is largely a "author does all" affair. Or at least the author is in charge of pulling together whatever resources they think necessary, including art, editing, or whatever.
Which actually brings up another difference. At least in theory, traditional publishing provided editing services, both at the editor and copyediting/proofreading levels. However, when the author is doing it all, then they need to consider bringing in alpha readers, beta readers, copyeditors, and similar folks to help clean things up. These may be volunteers, perhaps trading work, or they may be "piece work" hires, but the author should consider how they are going to handle the "review and revision" process that was part of the traditional publishing promise.
Similarly, illustrations, or at least front covers, were part of what the traditional publishing house provided. In the new world of independent publishing, the author may have to do this themselves, or hire an artist to help. Fortunately, there are various relatively low-cost alternatives.
Publicity is one of the other promises of traditional publishing. I won't touch the question of whether or not publicity really happened, there are quite a few stories about that, but it is something that most people expected would be handled by the publishing houses. In the new world, without publishing houses, the authors need to plan to do this themselves. And replacing the venerable bookstore signings, we have a whole raft of possibilities developed. Blog tours, where an author "visits" various blogs, usually by writing a guest post or sometimes in "interviews." Various collectives, such as The Mad Geniuses, SF Novelists, and so forth where writers blog about their work, their writing, etc. -- and share their fans, building each other's online presence. Free giveaways, such as the KDP program offers, and many authors do the same on their blogs or as part of the blog tours. Relatively large online samples -- both in the ebook sales sites and elsewhere -- are common, allowing readers to read before they buy. Online reviews, of course, have grown. And there is the cross-fertilization of an author's other ebooks, blogs, social networking, etc. The more ebooks an author has "out there," the more likely that a reader will read one, and then buy more... and more!
Printing and distribution. I'll mention them, because they were part of what shaped the traditional publishing empire, but be aware that they are disappearing. With electronic publication, the author (typically) formats and prepares the ebook. Sometimes it goes through automated processing at the "vendor," but basically, there is no printing cost. No typesetting, no galleys, no printing, no paper, no covers! No mechanical copying cost. Yeah! Further, there is no need to ship ebooks all over and set them in bookshelves, so there is no distribution cost.
There's a fancy word for this, called disintermediation. Yes, that means taking the middleman out of the game. One of the effects of the electronic systems is that the person who produces the work (the author in this case) can go almost directly to the person who consumes the work (the readers!), without layers and layers of people in the middle. Although... watch carefully, Amazon and Kindle, B&N and Nook, and others are playing a role in the middle. Still, there's been a collapse of the layers that used to exist.
So we are watching the shift from a model of publishing house, agents, and authors to a model of "author does it all." Which means the author is in control, and also is responsible for a lot of things that they used to be able to depend on the agents and publishing houses for.
Changing Finances
Related to the shift from the publishing house to the "author does it all" model, there's a big change in financing. See, part of the reason for publishing houses, I think, was financing the whole process. The part that the author saw mostly was the advances, but there was also a raft of "up front" costs including printing and distribution costs that had to be paid before any reader anywhere could buy the book, and start the money flowing back up the tree to refill the publisher's pockets.
Almost all of this vanishes in the new epub world! Which means, in part, that the author no longer gets advances -- but on the other hand, publishing a book doesn't require putting down a chunk of money for printing and distribution, either. So the author puts their ebook into the various electronic venues, and ... money starts trickling in. Yes, the author had to write the book "on spec" -- but in many cases, they had to do that anyway, especially beginning authors.
Oh, yes, authors who could write a proposal or outline and get a contract and advances have lost that route. But on the other hand, the percentage paid to the author seems to be higher. Further, the "turn-around" between "turning a book in" (which used to mean it vanished into the publisher's process, and would come out in a year or more, but in the new system means it is going online soon) and getting the first trickle of funding from purchases is much shorter. Some systems pay practically daily, others on a monthly, quarterly, or six month basis, but it is quite a bit faster than the old "advance" system. In addition, unlike the old system, the income stream from an ebook continues as long as the author leaves it up. Indeed, in many cases the income grows as other books are added, when fans purchase whole sets.
Incidentally, if people are really interested in advances, there are two models for that in the new electronic world. First is kickstarter and similar sites, which basically provide a way for people to propose projects, including books, and get popular support to ante up the money to support it. Typically in exchange for a "free" copy of the book, with additional benefits for larger donations and increasing levels of starting funds. Given that the initial free copy might very well be an ebook, this can be a quite effective way to get an advance. Yes, you are doing a public, distributed appeal for advance funding, instead of a private appeal to a publishing house.
The second model is that of the storyteller's bowl. Several authors have tried this, providing chapters online in return for some level of funding. So, for example, the authors might promise that they will write one chapter every week -- if the fans put in $XXX. This "serial" storytelling often involves a discussion board to let the fans dissect the latest offering, which the authors may not even go near, and sometimes a promise that any fan who puts in $YYY total will get a free copy of the (ebook or book) when it is finished. Typically the online version is unedited, straight from the author's keyboard.
So, a shift from advances -- lump sums -- to income streams and public patronage.
Change in the Market
Finally, I think we need to take a look at the underlying model of the market. In the traditional publishing industry, there was an understanding that the market was limited. What people were trying to do was get a share of that market, with bestsellers claiming a large chunk, and midlisters struggling along with small slices. Pirates, of course, as everyone knew, were stealing pieces of the market! DRM was the answer, to protect the integrity of the market. And, since the market was so severely limited, part of what happened was that only a limited number of copies were printed, distributed, and sold, typically based on previous sales for that author. To help keep the shelvespace used for the best of the limited market, well, books were put up and taken down quickly. Alright? A limited market, limited share, and limited shelf life. Push those books out, then strip and toss the ones that didn't get bought.
The electronic marketplace starts with a whole different notion of the market. First, the market is effectively unlimited. That's right, there's an effective infinite market out there. WIthin that space, what authors are trying to do is build their fanbase -- to create their own branded niche, where the fans "know" what they will find. Pirates? Obviously, there's something wrong with the pricing and availability -- if you hit the "sweet spot" your fans will pay and prefer getting their copy from the real source. DRM is anathema, because it causes problems for your fans!
Now how many copies do you "print"? How many can you sell! Electronic copies are effectively unlimited. How long do you keep it "on the shelf?" AS LONG AS YOU WANT! In fact, the longer you leave it up, the more likely you are to have sales, and the more likely you are to have "cross" sales when fans find one book, read it, and then buy the others you have written. The more books you have for sale, the more you will sell!
This is the most significant shift, from a market view based on scarcity and limitations to one based on abundance and unlimited copies and time. Traditional publishing focused on ways to distribute a limited number of copies in a limited amount of time. The new epublishing world is working out ways to let people know that there are an unlimited number of copies available from now on. The "long tail" has met bestseller marketing -- and won.
The "author does it all" model, financing that doesn't have up-front advances or costs but does offer continuing revenue streams and public patronage, and an effectively unlimited market where authors need to build a fanbase over time. It's a huge revolution! And it's just starting -- watch out for tomorrow's ebooks today!
Some of the blog postings behind this (don't forget the comments!):
Maureen Ogle's first posting http://maureenogle.com/2012/05/01/if-publishing-is-dead-what-happens-to-non-fiction/
Sarah Hoyt's response http://accordingtohoyt.com/2012/05/14/looking-at-the-other-half/
Kate Paulk posting http://madgeniusclub.com/2012/05/17/talking-to-the-other-side/
Another one from Sarah Hoyt http://accordingtohoyt.com/2012/05/15/days-of-whine-and-fire/
Maureen Ogle's second posting http://maureenogle.com/2012/05/15/i-may-live-to-regret-this/
Sarah's challenge http://accordingtohoyt.com/2012/05/17/throwing-down-the-gauntlet-3/
I think there may have been one more, but I've lost track.
