The Future of Publishing

We find that we’re having some difficulty synthesizing the “Future of the Book: Dead or Alive” panel we attended on the final day of the hectic, overwhelming 2007 South by Southwest Interactive Festival. Perhaps it’s because the topic requires far longer than a one hour session. Perhaps it’s because we’re still wrapping our rain-soaked mind around the definitions of “future” and “book”. Or perhaps it’s because there wasn’t a single representative of today’s publishing establishment on the panel. It isn’t about the future of books; it’s about the future of reading. We will acknowledge that this particular panel was not […]

Darlings, Where are you? We have been in the lovely city of Austin (the sun is shining, the grackles are, well, one doesn’t need to discuss the private functions of birds) since Thursday and haven’t seen you anywhere. We have gone so far as to take the rather rude step of reading nametags rather than looking our fellow humans in the eye. It’s about creating content, melding content with technology, expanding the story beyond traditional boundaries. South by Southwest, the interactive festival, is in full swing. Already, the panel sessions are cram-packed with innovators looking for the next Next Big

It is an interesting question: what role do publishers serve in this modern world? In the past, the work of the publisher was very clear. Editing, marketing, and distribution occupied the days of those who poured out of Manhattan office buildings for lunch, for those who devoured manuscripts on the subway ride home. But as the business model begins to shift, will publishers continue to be relevant? Are publishers really ready for honest, open discussions about their books on their websites? Stephen Page, chief executive and publisher of Faber & Faber, argues “Yes.” He would, of course, being one of

The creative community has an almost unnatural fear of piracy. Billions are being spent to protect works of art from “unlawful distribution”. Billions. Like millions, but bigger. Because it starts with a B. The belief is that each and every time someone grabs something off the Internet for free, a sale is lost. There isn’t much evidence to support this theory. If you treat your customers like potential lawbreakers, then, well, you know what a self-fulfilling prophecy is, right? There are, indeed, people who will go out of their way to acquire illegal merchandise. We would never be so precious

Maybe it’s because we spent our childhood in a room lined with books. Truly, every wall, except for the ones that were really doorways, was filled with books. Eight feet of books, or maybe six feet*. Or maybe it’s because our schedule means that so much of our reading is done online. Really — there’s something tacky about pulling out a novel while you’re on a client’s clock. Or maybe it’s because, like all readers, it didn’t matter what form the reading material took — scraps of paper on the floor of a subway, cereal boxes, flashing signs over freeways

In between this and that this week (mostly that, hence so little this), we have been intrigued by the recent business venture announced by HarperCollins. As one of the few publishers who took a lead in digitizing its catalog, HC decided it could turn the free advice it has been offering fellow publishers into a business. This probably means that we should take back at least one snarky comment we’ve made about the lack of innovation in the publishing industry. We’ll have the assistant search the archives for just the right words for us to eat. We are not, however,

Gosh, it seems like a year since we sat in a room and listened as a representative of Microsoft outlined the company’s ambitious plans for its book search project. In reality, it’s been closer to nine months. Which would make it six months since the company wooed authors and publishers at BookExpo America. “Come to us, and let us scan your books,” they said. Before we get into the point of this post, we want to dwell for a moment on this concept of scanning books. Unless policy has changed very recently, scanning is indeed how Microsoft is getting published

If you didn’t realize that Google was moving toward a paid content model with its various book initiatives, you haven’t been paying attention. Though the news has apparently just crossed the Atlantic Ocean, this goal was made clear at this year’s BEA (and, well, should have been obvious to everyone from the beginning). While publishers and authors continue to take the litigation route, Google is moving forward with plans to sell digitized content. This is great news for those publishers who are seeing increased interest in their products. This is also great news for consumers who can’t get access to

While we presume our dear readers are doing whatever it is that they do one day before Thanksgiving, we got a free pass on the cooking thing this year. Which is fine because this six-percent royalty for e-books issue is gnawing at our soul. Heck, 10% and maybe even 20% would gnaw. Book publishing, as we know it, is a highly inefficient business. After all the writing and editing is done, the physical production and movement of boxes of paper begins. Though publishers have handy computer algorithms and charts teeming with statistics, the truth of the matter is that they