I am working on an infographic which shows emerging relationships in a "Future Ecosystem of Publishing."
Studying this conversation happening on the post at O'Reilly Radar,
"Publishers: What are they good for?" is showing me a wealth of intriguing positions on the value of publishers, editors, and how
writers may find a rosier path of publishing in the near future.
Terms of Engagement
A term I had not seen before:
Pair-Writing (editor and author work). Another term that makes sense to me, as publishers are replaced by online distributors like Amazon:
Distributor-Publisher. I'm playing with the term
"Self-Authoring" to describe what writers do to become authors, which until recently was exclusively in the hands of publishers.
Thoughts on the article on O'Reilly Radar:
The path of self publishing grew wide when we began to recognize the power and opportunity in blogging. Now, after six years in the blogging world, I am seeing the
effect of the absence of the editorial presence. Blogs started out as a mess and got messier the first few years. As they began to show signs of making an income, more attention was paid to quality. It has taken all this time for writers in general to become interested in the potential of the blog to get their work out in front of an audience.
The role of blogging in the development of self publishing is huge. Pushing a blog into Kindle, effectively monetizing it, is another bloom on the agar. The big question remains, "What are we trying to grow?"
I like the crazy idea of editors entering the blogging world. While some (Penelope Trunk) advocate releasing responsibility for language, grammar and spelling in the face of "we don't need it any more," I see an opportunity for editors to partner with writers to produce spectacular new forms of content.
I know a lot of
readers who want to read artful, beautifully crafted writing. They seek it. Writers partnering with editors in new ways seems to me a fertile island in the future ecosystem of publishing.
One question referred to in this post:
"Is editing as important as publishers think it is?"
I think this is the wrong question. We're past what publishers think is important. What's important is realizing we can discover what readers want (by developing our own community of readers, which is getting easier and should be high on the web developer's list), and working from there, ask how we can foster an ecosystem that allows writers, editors, and publishers to deliver the writing. This may be seen as a hard-core stance that suffocates the creative process for writers. It's not. It's part of the ecosystem.
Recognizing excellent work which is the product of writers working with great editors, and
rewarding that in systems of monetization, fosters a culture that supports creative writing.
The story is something like this. Writers who have labored to produce works of fiction over the past decades are tired of the reality that they will never be rewarded for this work. For some it may be enough just to write. For others (like me) there is no way out of writing, it's going to happen no matter what. But for most writers, working within a culture that supports writers simply means more energy for the writing.
Let's hear from writers as to the reality of that statement.
We won't be able to sort out how people get paid until after we understand the roles. But I do see writers being paid for their work in a more balanced ecosystem in the future. I agree with Tom Anderson's comment on the post: "Editors are relatively well-paid employees of publishers, and
authors are low-wage temps."
The writer's risk
In terms of the risk self-publishing authors would take in hiring their own editors and book designers, I don't see how that is so different from the risk writers take by churning out material year in and year out with no prospect of being published. This is another area in the ecosystem I want to illuminate with ideas. How might writers find and establish relationships with their great editors on their own? How might editors collaborate with publisher-distributors (like Amazon) to bring the work forward? How can the potential for writers to do it on their own (Amanda Hocking) be included in the consideration for payment?
I'll post any other bright ideas from today's #Kindlechat (on Twitter) here, when I can get back to the blog. Below I've posted the questions I'll throw into the mix during the chat, which happens on Fridays from 3-5 pm PST.
See you soon. -- Suzanna Stinnett
Tweets: Today on #Kindlechat we enter the future ecosystem of publishing. New roles emerge. See
http://dld.bz/VFHF - rich comments. 3-5pmPST
(That's the link to the O'Reilly Media Radar post with many interesting comments about editorial roles and roles of publishers.)
Q1 Have distribution entities like Amazon become the new publishers?
Q2 What are all the great editors out there doing now?
Q3 Could out-of-work editors become entrepreneurs in a new ecosystem of publishing?
Q4 With Amazon leading the sea change for writers self publishing, will they also become a censor?
Q5 How can writers plan ahead to engage their own editors and book designers?
Q5A Could writers, editors and book designers collaborate and share profits?
Q6 How many professionals does it take to produce a marketable, artful book?
Q7 Does the prospect of self publishing make it easier -- or harder -- to write?
Q8 Will deliberate, informed, artful language push crappy writing out of the ecosystem?
Q9 What does the work of marketing do to the work of writing?
Q10 Are ebooks and POD more sustainable than warehouses full of print books?
