Want to Understand the Publishing Industry? A Few Comparisons

Warning: I’m feeling subversive today, so this post might raise some eyebrows. But I’m willing to risk it. Why? Because I’m a writer and it’s my job to explore controversial topics. At least this is what I tell myself.

We talk a lot about how writing is a craft, while publishing is a business. And this is true. So true. Neither side is right or wrong. They are just different, with different goals around the same core product. Writers NEED to write. Publishers NEED to sell.

Alright, what about the juicy and subversive parts?

Okay, here we go.

SUBVERSIVE COMPARISON #1. Writing is a drug, and publishing is the cartel.

That’s right. I’m comparing books to street drugs.

Let me explain. For the writer, words on the page are a buzz, a personal high (“YES, I made that word count today! Yay me!”). For the publisher, words on the page mean the bills get paid.

For the writer, connecting with readers about their stories is like smoking out together with friends at the same party (“Dude, I freaking LOVE your protagonist. I could totally live in that world forever and ever and ever. I'm serious, man. If you stop writing this series, I'll literally die. I can’t put it down.”)

But for the publisher, writers who connect frequently with readers on social media will sell more books. This is a crucial difference that I think many writers fail to understand. Which leads me to…

SUBVERSIVE COMPARISON #2. Writers who want to become successful in today’s market must understand both user and dealer, without succumbing to the trappings of either role. So yes...forgive me, but I’m just going to say it…today’s top published authors are like veteran drug lords.

It’s a rough comparison that doesn’t make either side look good, which is exactly my point. Throughout history we’ve glamorized the publishing industry, as if selling books is somehow less prone to the politics found in other types of industries. Here’s the truth: If you want to become a semi-successful published author, you will encounter an industry that’s more Breaking Bad than Jane Austen.

Now wait. In my last post, “How to Sell Your Book Without Selling Your Soul,” I made a big point about using “idea-based marketing” techniques to get your book in front of readers, so that you’re not always having to pimp yourself out to everyone you see. Now I’m saying that you need to be like the hardened leader of an illegal drug cartel. Which is it?

I guess I can understand your confusion. Illegal drug cartels might be a stretch. What about legal ones?

SUBVERSIVE COMPARISON #3. Writing is the cure for cancer, and publishing is the pharmaceutical company that wants to fund the research and secure the patent.

Better now? It’s certainly a more noble comparison. But the pharmaceutical industry has a lot of problems, too. I mean, not everyone out there is trying to cure cancer, right?

Here’s my point: There’s stuff behind the scenes in every industry that most people don’t see. When you take a tablet of Advil, for example, you have no idea what happened to bring that Advil to your home. When a kid parties one night, she probably doesn’t think about how many people were beheaded in Mexico to make it happen.

Business is business.

People who become successful in any industry—be it publishing, the illegal drug trade, or pharmaceutical cancer research—learn the rules of that industry and work to master them.

Violent beheadings aside, I think it’s still fair to say that writing is like a drug. The written word is powerful and dangerous. Always has been, always will be.

And you know what?

I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Certainly not anything involving a Mexican drug cartel. (Though one of my characters might…)

Audiobooks and the Impatient Reader (aka me)

I don't know about you, but I'm quite fond of audiobooks, particularly since they now come downloadable to one's favourite electronic device via the internet, rather than in boxes of countless CDs or, for those of you who remember, actual tapes. Those things always seemed to conspire against me by hiding the most important part somewhere so that I'd end up buying the book anyway (I have the sneaking suspicion that the cause for the cd/tapes disappearance is somehow related to the One Missing Sock phenomenon). These days (thankfully) it's hard to lose parts of your audiobook if it's right there on your phone or what have you. 

But I digress. 

So, I've told you I'm quite fond of audiobooks, particularly for long car journeys, boring waits for appointments, long, solitary walks and even during my runs. The problem is that some books are rather exiting, and it turns out that I have no patience WHAT SO EVER.

My most recent audiobook favourite is The Lion of Senet by Jennifer Fallon. It's an older book,  a fantasy of the political intrigue kind (no real magic). Brilliant book, the first of a trilogy, and so engrossing that about halfway through I had to buy the ebook and finish it RIGHT AWAY.  

The problem, you see, is that I read somewhat faster than the presenters of audiobooks are capable of telling the story. I've always been a fast reader, easily finishing exiting books in a single day (well, if they're not too long, anyway), and I've been known to read late into the night to find out WTF happens to the hero/heroine...(way too late, in fact...)...

In and of itself this is not a problem. Right? Right.

BUT.... well.

I've never done a course on speed reading (and yes, there is apparently such a thing), but it's through my troubles with audiobooks that I figured out the way I read so fast:

I skip things.

And by that I don't just mean that (GASP!!!) I sometimes flip to the end of a book to see what the last page says (SACRILEGE!!). I skip words and sentences and let my mind fill in the blanks. I'll consciously read, say, (and I'm guessing here) every 6th, 7th, 10th word, and just sort of register the rest of them.

I think.

Which explains the problem of ebooks... you can't skip ahead (well, not easily, anyway), and if you make it play faster you get Mickey Mouse voices. *grumbles*

It's frustrating!

So here's my point, or rather question, for the day (and yes, I have one):

What type of reader are you, and, if you're a writer, what type of reader do you think would enjoy your book most?

There's all sorts of readers out there, and I'm in no way saying that one way is better or more legitimate than another (where would be the fun in that?). Some people like to savour every word and ponder sentences, others drop into the flow of things and can't stop without getting to the heart of the book. Some skip ahead like me, and some would never even dream of looking at the last few pages ahead of time.

Do you think there's a certain type of book that invites (or seduces?) the reader to hurry forward in their nail-biting exitement to figure out who it was, and others that invite the reader to linger? Is it a genre question?

Let me know what you think!

I promise next time I'll tell you all about that One Missing Sock Phenomenon. : )

In Defence of Paper

I'm pretty certain it won't surprise you to learn that I'm a voracious reader - in fact, most writers I know read as much as time permits. And although I've long since given up resistance and bought an ebook reader, my favourite kind of book is still one that crinkles when I turn a page, that gets dark rings on the cover if I rest my cup of tea on it, and that gets that peculiar, nose-tickling musty scent when it's been sitting on the shelf for a while, feeling neglected. No kindle, nook, iPad or what have you can give you the same tactile reading pleasure as a real, physical, printed paper book. 

So today, I'm going to give you ten reasons why The Book (Paper Edition) is a great thing, not to be forgotten...

1. You can hold it in your hands...

A paper book is a physical phenomenon that can be touched - you can stroke it, you can hug it, you can even throw it into a corner or rip it up and burn the pages, depending on whether it meets your approval or not. 

2. It sticks around...

We are a very technical society - so much of what we do and what we say is recorded in little noughts and ones somewhere on a circuitboard, invisible to the eye. I've heard it said that in a couple of centuries our time will look like the dark ages, because all that data will be in an unreadable format. I'm not sure if it'll go quite that far, but be honest, who (ok, who over a certain age) doesn't have the odd backup floppy disk lying around that will surely never be read again? This will never be a problem with a printed book, now will it?

3. You can browse in an actual bookstore...

I'm all for the convenience of shopping from your armchair, but I don't really want Amazon to be the one who decides what I might or might not like to read. I like wandering through a bookstore, picking up random books that catch my eye with a great cover, a good title, or perhaps just the way they were placed on the shelf by a well-meaning book store employee (and not sent into my mailbox by a you-might-like-this-algorithm). In fact, I've discovered a lot of new authors just like this. It's also nice to be able to read a couple of pages before you buy a book, to see if the author's style suits. 

4. You can show off your library...

And by show off I don't mean to anyone else, it's sufficiently satisfying (if you ask me) to show off to yourself all the great favourites and/or classics you've read. Bookshelves make a house cosy and more home-like, if you ask me - I'm fairly leery of people who have no visible books lying around in their homes. I mean, really, what do these people do with their free time? Maybe it's writerly curiosity, but I'm quite fond checking out other people's bookshelves. You can tell a lot about a person by seeing which books have creased spines, which are carefully dusted and what shelves are sorted by (are you an alphabet or a genre sorter?). 

5. Physical books have character...

...or at least I like to think so. New books have a certain feel to them, a cleanness of uncreased paper, sometimes the vague scent of ink not unlike that which you get from a freshly printed newspaper (if you still read newspapers in physical form, that is...). With older books, you can sometimes get a feel for the previous reader(s). Are there many dog-eared pages? Did someone make notes, or highlight, or maybe just very faintly underline things in pencil with lines so light you have to tilt the page a certain way in the light to be able to tell? Are there coffee stains on some pages, or is there, perhaps, a squashed bug preserved in paper prison for all eternity? Did someone carefully fold the beautifully designed dust jacket of a hardback book and tuck it between the last pages for safekeeping? Or were the flaps used to mark the pages read? 

6. Books have great covers...

(link to Amazon)

...by artists like Michael Whelan (my personal favourite). There's something to be said for a large, hard-bound book with a well designed cover. I know ebooks have the same covers, but still, I think the impact of art is bigger in physical form. 

7. Friends can share the joy...

You can give people your favourite book, you can wrap it up as a present, put a bow on it, write a dedication that will stay in the book no matter what. It's even possible to lend someone a book or give your books to charity once you're done with them.

8. Books make you focus your attention...

Occasionally I read ebooks on my mini iPad (which I adore, btw). While this is all well and good, though, and there are soooo many advantages to having thousands of books at your fingertip (no I don't have thousands of ebooks in my kindle library, but I do have a couple of hundred...), I do find myself flicking between books if one is a bit slow in a chapter, or skipping over to the Facebook app to check what people are up to, or...well, you get the picture. With a physical book, this temptation ceases to exist, and you can pay proper homage to the written word. 

9. You can write things on paper...

And yes, I'm one of those people who write things into their books. I even (GASP!) use a highlighter on occasion. Mostly, though, I stick post-its onto pages with my little notes (or even just plain multi-coloured post-its). And yes, I do know you can add notes and highlights to ebooks but I really, really don't like doing that. 

10. But really, what's important is the reading...

because reading is essential to the writer (there's even articles that say so - it must be true!). Reading teaches, inspires, wakes up the muse. Do you know any writers who do not read? I can't quite believe there are any. 

So go on, read. Buy a paper book if you're a tactile sort of person (like me), or download the ebook if you don't care about that, but buy a book, sit down and read. It'll make you a better writer, even if (worst case scenario) it only teaches you what not to do in your own book.