SXSWi: A Brave New Future for Book Publishing
(And yes, I realize I am late to the party with this—but what can I say? There was basketball to be watched this week/weekend!)
This panel was the one to which I was most looking forward to. Obviously it’s the most directly relevant to what I do at DailyLit, but as the follow-up to last year’s infamous “New Think for Old Publishers” fiasco, expectations were high.
The panelists—Kassia Kroszer (aka Booksquare), Tor.com’s Pablo Defendini, HarperStudio’s Debbie Stier, Vook’s Matt Cavnar—and moderator Kevin Smokler (Booktour.com) began by touching on the euphemisms used to describe book publishing (“in transition,” anyone?). But then they looked to what’s next. Or, rather, what’s now. The book industry was developed in and for a world that no longer exists. $24.95 hardcovers don’t work in 2010. To the future!
Lots of interesting ideas were tossed around:
- The bookstore of the future: coffee bar, list of staff recommendations, and an Espresso Book Machine?
- Apple’s iPad might be an entry point for casual readers to embrace ebooks (which the Kindle hasn’t done)
- Democratization of content production means everyone is a competitor to legacy publishers—but also potentially a collaborator.
But the main thing I took away from the conversation was the thinking that the book is no longer the end-product. Rather, the author’s brand, her platform, is the “mothership,” the ink-and-paper book being just one offshoot from it. Authors need to bring or build their own followings or tribes a la Seth Godin and Gary Vaynerchuk, and if they can’t publishers should show them how to build one (as HarperStudio does—one of the many reasons they were held up as exemplary publishers).
There seems to be lots of grumbling about the intrusion of this “brand” thinking into publishing, but it seems to me it’s always been there. What are (was) Dickens and John Grisham if not successful “motherships” that spin off books, speaking engagements, plays/movies?
Similarly, what are imprints and publishers if not brands, known for particular kinds of fiction? That’s they—and the industry—perceive of them, anyway, if not exactly readers. Indeed, I think imprints need to more strongly brand their works if they are to thrive in this new, largely vertically-oriented economy (and I’m certainly not the first to say so).
If this all sounds like stuff you’ve heard before, you’re right—there wasn’t anything earth-shattering pronouncements. Instead, this felt like a window into the steady, continual innovation in our industry. In my mind, we’re right on the edge of major change, and these panelists are the ones standing at the precipice and figuring out where to go next, so we aren’t all pushed over the cliff. And with the next year sure to bring continuing economic pressure, publisher innovation, and the rise of the iPad, I’m already looking forward to SXSWi’s publishing panel 2011.
For more: Read Booksquare’s excellent summary of thoughts and themes at SXSW, and GalleyCat’s collection of all the #futurebook tweets.
Another SXSW post to come on Community Management.
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