The Indie Revoluution Has Been Won, So Why Are Publishers Not Adapting?

It’s literally been years since publishing industry experts first scoffed at the current self-publishing methods, as the book world as a whole looked down their noses at authors’ feeble attempts to get published. From the beginning, self-publishing was the kiss of death for a book, if not for the author; as big-name authors began to get big-number contracts off their self-published efforts, that attitude began to change, in the eyes of the publishers and the readers. But if self-publishing has adapted to the market to the point that authors can find a level of satisfaction in the process, why aren’t traditional publishers changing their business practices to recreate that process for their own titles? In an article for HuffPoBooks and her blog, author Alanna Brown explains what is currently holding traditional publishers back, namely, the tired-out archaic strategies that they have relied on for decades. And while she brings up two well-known complaints with traditional publishing–insultingly lower royalty rates by comparison, and the snail’s pace of getting a book from the submission stage to a bookshelf–it’s really the marketing of books that quite possibly may be hurting publishers. As Brown explains, publishers just aren’t able to make SEO happen. “James Altucher, an author who’s taken both routes, candidly discloses the abysmal lack of marketing effort he’s experienced with mainstream houses. Of the handful of books he’s released, the two he self-published sold more than five of his traditionally published books combined. He affirms that the chief inquiry of a big publishing company is, ‘How big is your platform?’ Before even looking at a new author’s proposal, ‘They want to know how you can market the book and if they can make money on just your own marketing efforts,’ says Altucher.” Traditional publishers want to see a steady following–or built-in consumer base–before agreeing to work with an author because their marketing dollars just aren’t there. The joke of finally being given some measure of validation by the publishing industry in the form of a book deal is that the author is still going to work just as hard on marketing as a self-published author, but for a 15% royalty instead of the typical 70% offered through ebook distribution platforms. The Indie Revoluution Has Been Won, So Why Are Publishers Not Adapting? is a post from: E-Reader News

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/electronic-readers/the-indie-revoluution-has-been-won-so-why-are-publishers-not-adapting/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-indie-revoluution-has-been-won-so-why-are-publishers-not-adapting