Austin, Ho! Publishing University

As a writer with several books traditionally published, and one aiming to place the next with a commercial or university press, what in thundernation am I doing signing up for the Independent Book Publishers Association's two day annual Publishing University? 

Pug-assisted. In a future blog post 
Uli and Washi will demonstrate
the number 1 book marketing
principle. 

Well, inspired by the likes of Kenneth Ackerman, Sophy Burnham, and Sandra Gulland, I have become what is called a "hybrid author," that is, an author who has some books with traditional publishers (in my case, University of Georgia Press, Milkweed Editions, Unbridled Books, Random-House Mondadori, etc) but others going out under one's own imprint (mine being Dancing Chiva). 

In particular, like many authors, these past few years I've been busy bringing out the electronic editions of some of my older works, published back in the days of yore when publishers didn't care about digital rights (what did they know, ha.  And yes, Miraculous Air in Kindle is selling like gorditas.) And more recently (for various reasons detailed in this talk for the American Literary Translator's Association), my own Dancing Chiva brought out both the Kindle and paperback editions of Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution: Francisco I. Madero and His Secret Book, Spiritist Manual.

Bright, charming and talented in multitudinous ways,
 my assistants do not do website updates.
Here they are asking, "You want us to do whut?

That said, I'd love to place my next books with a publisher who can do more for them than

I can with my own itsy-bitsy pug-assisted operation, and that may happen with the next novel and the work-in-progress on Far West Texas... we shall see. But the thing is, for the rest of my life, a long one I hope, many of my many books' editions may remain in my purview. So, I figure, I'd better grok this game.

I've learned a lot-- 2014 was my year of scrambling up the POD learning curve-- but undoubtedly I have more to learn, and since things are changing faster than a rocket to Mars, I guess it's just going to be (...sigh...) an ongoing process. But hey, I get to visit Planet Austin! Can't complain about that. 

Dear reader, if you are going to Publishing University, zap me an email or tweet @cmmayo1 or @dancingchiva. It would be grand to meet you in person there.

> Your COMMENTS are always welcome.

It's Not Like Making a Peanut-Butter and Jelly Sandwich

But It's Not Rocket Science, Either 

or, How I Made my PODs (And You Can, Too)

Self-Publishing for All the Right Reasons

Why Aren't There More Readers?

A Note on Curiosity, Creativity, and Courage

My Recollections of Maximilian

Traditional + Indie = Hybrid Publishing: Three Authors Dish at Jane Friedman's Blog

I'm not the only one (my previous publishers include University of Georgia Press, University of Utah Press,  Milkweed Editions, Whereabouts Press, Unbridled Books, and in Spanish, Planeta and Random House-Mondadori) now going indie. Maybe that long list of publishers sounds impressive; I think it's evidence of the crack-up in the publishing industry. Read about three other authors' indie adventures over at Jane Friedman's excellent blog:

Eileen Goudge: "Why I Made the Leap from Traditional Publishing to Indie" 

Claire Cook: "Why I Left My Mighty Agency and New York Publisher (For Now)" 

Leslie Wells: "A New York Editor Goes Indie"

(I already linked to Leslie Well's article in this previous post, noting that her book's cover was one of the best I've yet seen for a Kindle.)

COMMENTS always welcome.

+ + + + + + + +

SURF ON

> 30 Deadly-Effective Ways to Free Up Bits, Drips & Gimungously Vast Swaths of Time for Writing

> Cyberflanerie: Writerly Whatnot Edition

> Cyberflanerie: Epic Travel Edition

> Self-Publishing for All the Right Reasons (Reporting on The Writer's Centers "Publish Now!" Seminar)

> Guest-blogger Regina Leeds on 5+1 Resources to Make a Writer Happy in an Organized Space

And on the home page, www.cmmayo.com:

>Giant Golden Buddha & 364 More Free 5 Minute Writing Exercises

>Recommended Reading on Craft

>The Manuscript is Finished --(or is It?)-- Now What?

> Once-in-a-purple moon newsletter

The Changing of the Guards (A Comment on Self-Publishing)

• • I couldn't resist jumping in on this one. Here's my comment to Saurav Dutt's blog post, "The Changing of the Guards."

    @intralingo [Lisa Carter] tweeted this blog post, which is how I found it. I didn't have it served up to me in the NYT or whatever. The whole writing & reading scene is going horizontal & networked, that's the thing.

    I'm a writer now working on my 7th book, not counting anthologies, and, variously, I've been published by big commercial publishers, small independents, and university presses. For my latest book, Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution: Francisco I. Madero and His Secret Book, Spiritist Manual-- rather niche, as the title suggests-- I looked back on my experiences and the kinds of contracts & PR & marketing I could expect and I realized (in about 2 minutes) that trying to find a traditional US publisher would be in neither my nor the book's best interest. Frankly, it amazes me to say this. But I say this.

    Strategy: Kindle (done), POD CreateSpace under my own imprint (done), IngramSpark (in-progress) and once that's done, a postcard mailing to libraries, review copies to Mexican historians and others who would find the book of interest, Netgalley.com, and my newsletter will go out to subscribers. And I'll give a few talks here and there. So no, I'm probably not going to be able to buy a yacht, but I do think I can expect, over the long term, to do better than I would with the typical small or university press. Maybe I'm wrong about that. But I'm willing to take the risk and find out. And I will admit that, despite my previous experience as a literary magazine editor and as an author-- translation: I get it about hiring an editor and quality book design-- I have had to climb a bit of a learning curve… alas… but one big help has been joining the Independent Publishers Association. I do warmly recommend that.

    My take on publishing now is that, for various reasons and in many (though I hasten to add, not all) cases, publishers are simply not doing enough for their authors. They are struggling, they lack vision, and too many of them are trying to market books as if they were tubs of cottage cheese. But generalizations can only go so far; authors and their titles are an extremely heterogeneous bunch. For some authors and some titles a traditional publisher is, in fact, the best option and I think that will continue to be the case. (If I were not an independent writer but a faculty member aiming for tenure, I would not self-publish, for example.) But this is no longer the case for many authors and books, and increasingly so. The stigma of self-publishing is definitely less than it was only a few years ago.

    
    [This last bit is in response to examples of editorial arrogance Dutt cites:] 

    I do have sincere and enormous respect for many of my editors and the marketing staff I've worked with in the past. I say many, not all. As in any industry, or any society for that matter, there are some insecure, ignorant, and unhappy people. But bless 'em. One day they'll figure it all out. Meanwhile, one can fly wide of their orbit. Or maybe write them into one's next novel.

    COMMENTS always welcome.

    
    

    “Freedom in writing is akin to knocking down walls. Tyranny is a process of building them.” --Saurav Dutt

What Is Happening to the Publishing Business? Watch Philip Evans' TED Talk: How Data Will Transform Business

A highly recommended, brief, business-oriented TED talk. Take home point: the nature and role of institutions (plug in "publishing house" here) are defined by transactions costs. Transaction costs are plummeting because the economics of communicating and processing information are plummeting. Ergo, as Philip Evans puts it, "technology is driving the institutional boundaries beyond where we are used to thinking about them." 

After having published several books with publishers ranging from bloatedly large (Random House-Mondadori) and small (University of Georgia Press), I went ahead and self-published my most recent work, Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution: Francisco I. Madero and His Secret Book, Spiritist Manual. It wasn't that I couldn't sell it, I couldn't see, and I still cannot see, how it would make sense for me to do otherwise.

Evans talks about polarizing scale (little ol' me can publish a book out of my home office now) and the breaking up of the "value chain"-- value chain in the past as seen in a publishing house's multitude of employees, from acquiring editors to sales reps. But I can now very easily, at the click of a button, hire a freelance editor, freelance book designer, cover designer, and so on. As for printing, binding, distribution, and fulfillment, that's easy, too. And isn't all amazon. There will also be iTunes and Gumroad editions. And more.

But enough about the book biz. What will these sea-changes mean for how we buy food, clothing, and so many services? It's already very interesting. And I haven't set foot in a mall in an age.

COMMENTS