5 Reasons Why Independent Publishers Are the Future of Publishing

This week, Pubmission: The Blog is starting a series called “The Rise of the Independent Publisher,” and I thought I’d start things off by following up on the pivotal speech Seth Godin gave to IBPA members last May (now available on his blog). If you haven’t listened to it, I highly recommend it. With all of the research I’ve done over the past year to get Pubmission rolling, Godin’s talk tops the list—alongside an interview Tim O’Reilly did last November.

The most striking quote? “Find writers for your readers, not readers for your writers.” The incredible thing that the Big Six don’t seem to understand is that consumers aren’t going to pull a book off the shelves because of the imprint on the spine. Have you ever purchased a book primarily because you cared who the publisher was?

If you’re selling a product that’s designed to create consumer need rather than gratify it, that product isn’t going to meet your sales expectations. And in the book industry, that means a one-way ticket to the shredder. Throwing the same writers out there over and over again, while paying ungodly advances, is only going to generate consumer loyalty if the writing is fresh and speaks to a particular market segment in a new, exciting way. As Godin puts it, the future belongs to publishers who care enough about a “tribe” and that means listening, rather than lecturing, to your audience. (It also means knowing who your audience is.) You can’t just like an author and then hope readers will flock to the bookstores.

So here’s why I think the future looks bright for independents at a time when the Big Six are seeing the bottom drop out of their bank accounts:

1. The end of manufacturing. Godin rightly points out that the move to digital will level the playing field for new publishers who lack the capital to invest in bulk printing and warehouse space. Thanks to e-books and print-on-demand technology, independents can cut through the water at a much faster clip while the larger houses are busy bailing out their inventory-laden barges.
2. The “Local Is Better” mentality. The “Buy Local” movement isn’t confined to the food industry. Local publishers are springing up everywhere and they line the aisles at regional book festivals. That’s because they understand their audience (or “tribe”) better than anyone else. Their customer numbers aren’t big enough to attract the interest of the Big Boys, but with the right marketing and a devotion to meeting their audience’s needs, local publishers stand to gain something the behemoths in the industry are finding increasingly elusive: profit.
3. Editors who edit. Maxwell Perkins, where art thou? (Likely in the unemployment line.) Staffing cuts have severely hampered the age-old practice of assigning an editor to a book who works closely with an author to refine and revise her work. Now, a writer who needs a little push in the right direction won’t get it unless she submits her work to a smaller independent publisher who still understands the power and necessity of the red pen. And don’t get me started on marketing support…
4. No fear. It’s not like the publishing industry hasn’t seen where the resistance to technology and a strict adherence to the status quo can lead. The music industry, anyone? Much as it was with the refusal to give up on CDs, the horribly inefficient reliance on paper, from slush pile to warehouse, is the Achilles Heel of the publishing industry. Think about how destructive the process of book, newspaper, or magazine production is. Most books are still printed in China. Not only are we devastating their forests, we’re consuming all of that energy and fuel to ship those books around the world only to collect dust next to a forklift. Independents are getting it, though. They have to if they want to stay afloat.
5. Unsolicited submissions accepted. If you’re closing your doors to new writing talent, you’re denying your customers fresh ideas and voices. When you’re in the idea business, how can you afford to lock out new ideas? That’s like General Electric dissolving its product development department. Again, this goes back to meeting the demands of your audience. Though I’m sure Justin Cronin is a perfectly fine author, I have no desire to read another vampire virus book. The horse is dead. Please, please let it rest in peace.

Am I wrong? Do you think the status quo is perfectly fine? Are the Big Six just having a bad couple of years? Are independent publishers truly on the rise? Let the debate begin in the comments below. First person to comment gets a free copy of The Passage. (Kidding. Really.)