Publishing Rant

Over the weekend, the Huffington Post published Part 1 of an essay by Richard Laermer called “Why Book Publishing Is Dead.”

Now, I’m one of the first people to jump on the bandwagon and criticize the publishing industry (or book industry as a whole) for it’s lack of innovation and odd practices. (As a sidenote: why doesn’t the Borders “concept store” have a TV in the fiction section running book trailers? There’s one in food, one in magazines, one in travel—along with a computer where you can book your vacation—and a whole digital center . . .) It’s easy to pile on publishers for being slow and antiquated, but it’s helps if the one doing the piling has some semblance of knowledge about the industry. . .

After reading this Laermer piece—which does contain a few accurate points—I wasn’t sure who should be more embarrassed: Laermer for writing something so ignorant and ill-informed, or the Huffington Post for running this.

Here are just a few of the gaffes:

1. Who’s in charge here? How can a 22-year-old editor bid on a book? What does a post-graduate $32,000-a-year fresh-out know what will hit with the public? Why does this frequently appear to be a case of the nuthouse leaving the inmates to decide!

There really aren’t any 22-year-old editors acquiring books. At best, this 22-year-old editor has to convince his/her boss and the marketing team about a particular title. If you want to talk about the cliched “inmates running the asylum,” then at least blame the marketing folks who could give a damn about quality and really only care about the bottom-line.

3. The editing is done exactly how far in advance? If I write a book that is to come out in say December of 08—they have to have it in February. Why? ‘Cause they have a “schedule to follow,” but it would seem with digital technology you should be able to write right up to the deadline (like we do online).

Uh, wow. You’re right, design, production, pre-press promotion, and printing can take place in minutes these days. No really, isn’t there some P.O.D. thing or whatever? And galleys—screw that, we need to give our writers more time to tinker rather than promoting books to booksellers and reviewers. I’m sure that will work out well. (Granted there are some books—current affairs for instance—that benefit from a short lead time, but Punk Marketing? Kinda doubt it.)

8. You won’t publish me even if I’m the next Tolstoy unless I have a platform of my own? Yeah I get it. I’m all about the podcasts, the blogs, the articles, the mini-tours, the loud hawking, what is dubbed “relentless” push for my product…. In 2002 I got myself booked with the then-adorable Katie Couric on Today Show for trendSpotting and I told the people at Penguin-Putnam who thought I was kidding (“Well, let’s see”) —and when I was scheduled they didn’t bother to alert sales force, stores, or anyone. So 20 million watched me cavorting with that perky thing, and a dozen books were in stores. Publishers don’t know how to sell, that’s the fact. They wait. Very Darwinian. If something takes off THEN they start pumping out the marketing.

This point I think is valid. The sales links between author and customer (author —> agent —> editor —> marketing —> sales reps —> buyer —> bookselling clerk —> customer) can breakdown in a million different ways, and not taking advantage of publicity is a bit problem. But “cavorting with that perky thing” sounds a bit creepy to me . . .

12. Small publishers? Nah, don’t think so. I found they were just as cheap-headed as their older brother, and only provided support when the author paid his own way. Seems like the small publisher is a misnomer-like indie film. Neither exists except as marketing gimmick. In the long run, small comes knocking with finger-in-air offers like the Midwest publisher who nervily said “Here’s five grand” advance for a book about the porn industry’s history of influencing business decisions thru history . . . (Where’s Judith Regan when I need her!!!)

Wha?? Small publishers. . . . indie film . . . doesn’t exist except as marketing gimmick? Head. Exploding.

To answer my earlier rhetorical question, I’m the one who should be most embarrassed, for letting this bug me and wasting precious time writing and thinking about it.