Saturday, February 04, 2012

My thoughts on the publishing industry

Have we seen a lot of changes over the last year? I think we all will agree that we have been overwhelmed at the least. And these changes have affected everyone from the Author, the Agent, the Publisher, the Distributor, and most importantly--the READER!

Everyone has the ultimate goal of selling a book to a reader. What is important to understand is that now everyone wants to control the process. It is assumed that the reader--he/she, on the other hand, just wants to find a good book that meets what they like to read and at the best price.

My projection is that we will see more detailed breakdown on who is responsible for generating the actual sale and that person, be it publisher, distributor, or author be more fully compensated for their work.

For example, if the sale results from an ad the publisher ran,the internet can track where the connection came form and give credit where it is due, but if the sale came from an interview the author gave, then the author should make a higher percentage.

Also, the ultimate voter is the one spending the money--the reader. The route the reader takes to find the book will determine who gets paid more. Readers can be very loyal and when they understand this, I think they will be on the side of the writer.

Your thoughts.

Johnny Ray

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