Independent book shops are in a panic as they fight against the dominance of Amazon. They know they should have taken the company more seriously when it emerged from the digital test tube 15 years ago. As Amazon now moves now into book publishing, traditional publishers need to rethink how they do business?
Much of the UK book industry operates on centuries old practices that include large print runs and warehousing of books. But predicting print runs is a gamble, and unsold books stored too long in warehouses are likely to be pulped.
However new digital technology means that books can be printed as they are ordered, reducing any need for gauging sales in advance. Avoiding large print runs means that publishers can take chances on new writers who might attract only a small niche of readers.
But mention the technology of print-on-demand (POD) books to many UK publishers, and you are likely to see a sniff rise from a very traditional nose.
The US has range of innovative book publishers taking advantage of digital opportunities:
OR books specialise in fast-moving changes within politics and culture, publishing two titles a month and selling direct to customers who want in-depth analysis of the latest trends. www.orbooks.com
Dzanc books is a non-profit operation working with budding writers to improve their manuscripts. Dzanc publish the best of the polished works. Publishers Weekly in the US hailed them as the future of the industry. www.dzancbooks.org
Amazon itself is offering writers the chance to bypass publishers and use POD to sell their books as they are ordered through the retailer.
In the UK, POD tends to be limited to academic presses.
However, at Hookline Books we too are taking advantage of digital printing.
The UK has more than 50 universities offering MA programmes in writing. Graduates study the concepts of plot, dialogue, character development much as art students study visual concepts. But, as large publishing houses close their doors to submissions, few of these graduates reach publication. Realising that talent was being missed, we decided to accept submissions only from students and graduates of writing programmes. But rather than judge the submissions ourselves, we have a network of 30 book groups who read the early chapters, create a short list and decide the top fiction we should publish.
For four years now we have been bringing together new writers and serious readers in this way. As book groups sift the manuscripts, it is fascinating to watch the fiction that rises to the top. So far we have published a variety of genre from literary, historic to chick-lit.The readers love being involved in the publishing process, and the budding writers feel they are given a fair shot at publication by the people who matter – serious readers.
More than half our sales are now through e-books, but even this digital innovation is treated with disdain by some UK publishers who simply reformat existing scripts and stuff them into a digital sausage with no gamble in content or innovation in voice.
The digital world offers publishers opportunity, but while many in the UK fear the sky is falling on their old book presses, some of us are looking into the dawn of a wonderful future.
0 comments:
Post a Comment