The Inimitable Debbi Mack & Her 20 Questions Blog Tour
Debbi Mack is the author of IDENTITY CRISIS, a hardboiled mystery and the first in a series featuring lawyer Stephanie Ann “Sam” McRae. She’s also a short story writer whose ebook anthology, FIVE UNEASY PIECES, includes the Derringer-nominated “The Right to Remain Silent,” originally published in The Back Alley Webzine. Debbi’s work has also appeared in two of the CHESAPEAKE CRIMES anthologies.
Be on the lookout for her next Sam McRae novel, LEAST WANTED, which will be published soon (in print and ebook versions).
Debbi practiced law for nine years before becoming a freelance writer/researcher and fiction author. She’s also worked as a news wire reporter covering the legal beat in Washington, D.C. and as a reference librarian at the Federal Trade Commission. She lives in Maryland with her husband and three cats.
You can find out more about Debbi on her Web site and her blog My Life on the Mid-List. Her books are available on Amazon, BN.com, Lulu.com, Smashwords and other sites around the Web, and by order at stores. You can also buy autographed copies of her novel from her Web site at http://www.debbimack.com/identitycrisis.
Question 6: What are your thoughts/concerns about the future of publishing?
Thanks for asking this question and for hosting me here on Buried Under Books. One might assume that as an indie author I have no thoughts or concerns about the publishing industry. But, actually, I do.
In any case, it would be awfully easy here for me to take cheap shots at the publishing industry. But I’ll resist that temptation.
That’s just too easy, really. Kind of like shooting fish in a barrel. (Hey, that was a cheap shot! Sorry, sorry …)
Okay, let’s think about this. Right now, I think we’re experiencing the best of times for authors. We can do so much by publishing our work as ebooks or print-on-demand books.
Authors (as a general rule) do their own marketing and promotion, anyway. They’ve come to understand that it’s expected that we blog and Facebook and use Twitter. They do podcasts and videos and book trailers.
In short, authors have taken matters into their own hands. They’ve empowered themselves. They’re producing the work, distributing it themselves, and marketing/promoting/selling it in either ebook or print form.
The question then is what happens to publishers? Where is the publishing industry heading? Am I (as an indie) even concerned?
The answer (and hold your horses, because you’re probably not expecting this – think you’ve done enough foreshadowing? Sure. Okay, lay it on ‘em) is YES! I do care what happens to publishers. (More than they care about me. LOL)
For years, publishers have been the “gatekeepers.” They’ve been the ones to decide who’s worthy of becoming a published author. This system has, frankly, become broken. It’s given way too little attention to the talent who provide the content from which publishers make money.
And it’s given way too little attention to readers. Readers want good stories. Readers want a book they can get lost in. Readers (or MOST of them, anyway) don’t care about the latest celebrity or politician who’s written a 500-page tome that, if bought, will end up becoming an overpriced door stop.
Readers (or MANY of them) are tired of seeing the same crappy books being displayed in the front of the store. (Borders and Barnes & Noble, I’m talking to you!)
Having said that, you might ask, “Gee, Debbi, why do you care? You’re an indie author.” Well, I may be an indie, but I’m not an isolationist. I see myself as being part of a much larger picture. Indie authors are all part of the publishing industry. As such, we ignore that industry at our peril.
I know what you’re thinking. “Gee, Debbi, if you can do it all yourself, why bother with a publisher?” Because publishers CAN still provide benefits. Even if it’s only for print books, which still make up the greater percentage of sales.
Publishers, for instance, will have an easier (note, I said “easier” not “easy” – LOL) time getting your books placed in bookstores and retail outlets.
Publishers can also more easily get your book placed in significant book clubs. They have contacts at the major trade publications that run reviews that booksellers and librarians rely upon. (Indie booksellers and librarians are an author’s best friends!)
All these things are, in fact, beneficial to authors. However, in order to obtain those benefits in a time when authors can so easily (relatively, that is) make a living selling ebooks, publishers need to wise up. They need to treat their authors with a modicum of respect.
You see, authors are in the driver’s seat now. They control the rights to their work. If they’re going to license their rights to a publisher, they’re in a position now to make sure they get the benefit of the bargain.
With a good publisher who gets behind an author’s work and provides enough monetary and other incentive for authors to sign a deal (and gives them the lions share of profits from e-rights – yes, a sticky point, but one the publishing industry needs to face and soon!), I think it might be possible for authors and publishers to mutually benefit from each other.
Publishers can provide the editing, the cover, the marketing (at least, some) and promotion (ditto). They are not, in fact, completely useless. At least, not yet. But they need to get with the program fast.
In short, I think publishers can continue to flourish. But it will require a change in mindset among those in the publishing industry.
They’ll have to appreciate that they need to give readers what they want. They’ll have to learn to respect and appreciate their authors (without whom they’d make no money). They have to learn a whole new paradigm, one that recognizes that ebooks are the future of publishing. They need to reward their authors in a meaningful way. In short, they need to provide VALUE to authors who are paying them a percentage for the privilege of publishing through them.
As I said, I may be an indie, but I’m not an isolationist. And I hope someone (or ones) in the publishing industry is reading this.
Publishers won’t become extinct – IF they recognize the changes that are afoot. Now, it may require a visionary to make this work. Hell, maybe we all need to become visionaries for that matter.
Authors have the power to develop their readership now. Publishers still provide the benefits I mentioned. The question is: why can’t we all just get along?
I’m ready, willing and able. Make me an offer. But make it GOOD.
* * * * *
Thanks for reading, everyone! Don’t forget to leave a comment with your email address
if you’d like to enter the drawing for the 10 autographed copies of IDENTITY CRISIS
I’m giving away. (One entry per person, but comment as often as you like.)
The drawing will be held on my blog My Life on the Mid-List after the
tour is finished. Check my blog for the entire tour schedule.
And please join me at my next stop tomorrow:
Lori’s Reading Corner
November 6, 2010
Posted in: Guest Blogs
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11 Responses
Great interview!
I agree with Debra that this is a great interview. I have read Identity Crisis and would highly recommend it.
I agree that the publishing industry is in flux. I’ve been out of it for a decade and it’s now as if I’d never done any published books. All the rules and tribal rituals have changed. I would still never self publish, but the hoops to jump through are ubiquitous now.
Your intriguing post calls to mind the Seth Godin videos author CJ Lyons posted on her blog the other day…they are well worth watching http://marketingwithheart.blogspot.com/2010/11/world-of-publishing-according-to-seth.html
Anyway…not sure I agree that e publishing is the future of books–my sense is that the way in which people read will be divided between print and digital, perhaps even in favor of print–not sure. But without a doubt e rights need to be reckoned with, and the “value add” (as Seth Godin puts it) of publishers is in doubt there.
Fascinating how it will all shake out. And your post definitely makes me think about my agent’s and my desire to stay focused on the majors.
Thanks for your comments. And thanks for your kind words about the book, Pat.
Self-publishing isn’t quite as hard as it once was. Not only do POD publishers like CreateSpace make it easier, but being able to self-publish ebooks make it a snap for authors to publish their own work.
Given authors’ ability to make actual money publishing ebooks, this gives them an alternative to signing contracts that unduly favor publishers’ interests.
Since most authors aren’t going to command six-figure advances, they’ll fall into the midlist category (and get little, if any, publisher marketing and promotional support). The question then becomes how to divide the profit from ebook royalties. Given the industry’s position (generally, 25% to the author — and some of that goes to the agent), signing with a traditional publisher is no longer the no-brainer decision it once was.
Regarding the focus on the majors, Jenny — I completely understand an agent wanting to focus on them. They can pay the bigger advances. They have more marketing resources. Presumably, the result should (note I said “should” rather than “will”) be a bigger payoff for the author and (as a logical result) the agent.
However, things that should work out in theory don’t always go that way in practice.
In any case, if your agent can swing a REALLY good deal for you, then more power to the both of you.
However, e-rights are the wild card in contract negotiations. You might want to check out Joe Konrath’s recent post on this: http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2010/10/observations-at-8.html
Sort of complicates things, doesn’t it?
Ebooks can be an opportunity for authors but what about those readers who still want print books? Ebook authors need to search out print self-publishing companies who will work with booksellers and wholesalers. As a bookseller, I can live with nonreturnability but not with short or no discounts, which is what we get from outfits like Lulu and CreateSpace.
Debbi, thank you for sharing your thoughts here on a testy but exciting subject
Great point, Lelia! This is why I’m going directly through Lightning Source this time. No more worries about the wholesaler’s discount. Got that covered. And it’s great to know some booksellers are willing to live with nonreturnability. Now, if only marketing and promoting the books were a bit simpler.
And, BTW, I still love print books and want to publish them for readers who also love them. I suspect print books will continue to exist for a long time, no matter how popular ebooks get.
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