Three recent news articles prompt this blog. Call it a perfect storm. Here they are, with links:
“Publisher of Houghten Mifflin Harcourt Quits.”
“Fought over any good books lately?” by Joanne Kaufman
“Typing without a Clue,” by Timothy Egan
Why focus on these three? Because taken together they give us a pretty good idea of what’s going on nowadays in the publishing world.
Let’s start with Houghten Mifflin Harcourt. The very name of the company gives you some idea of the direction in the industry—all those mergers taking what once were respected houses and glomming them together into one business. Well, it turns out that the mergers aren’t yet over, and that HMH will likely soon be sold. But it gets worse. HMH—the publisher of such luminaries as Philip Roth and Guenter Grass—recently stopped acquiring manuscripts all together—except for education, children’s books, and a mystery imprint. So I guess all you mystery writers out there can breathe a sigh of relief. As for the rest of us? If HMH has given up on publishing books—what chance do we have? And what does that tell us about the publishing world?
For one thing the old model just doesn’t work anymore. And publishers face competition from authors who are going it alone—from print on demand to electronic book readers to the internet.
Next we have Kaufman’s article, which focuses on the battles that take place in book clubs, forcing members to drop out, form their own groups, or give up on clubs altogether. Ouch. Just when we thought readers might actually find safe refuge among like-minded booklovers in their own living rooms.
And finally we have Egan who utters a plea—who shamelessly begs—for publishers to at least publish books by people who can write. “I know,” Egan writes, “publishers say they print garbage so that real literature, which seldom makes any money, can find its way into print. True, to a point. But some of them print garbage so they can buy more garbage.” Just because you happen to be friends with a celebrity in rehab doesn’t mean you deserve a book contract. “Stop soaking up precious advance money.”
My conclusion? If you’ve been reading my blog, you’ve heard it before. Get your head out of the clouds. Stop thinking that writing a book will bring you riches or fame. But don’t stop writing! Think local, and think small. Work hard to tell your story the best way you can—and then work just as hard at finding the people who want to read it. They’re out there, it’s just that they’re in places that may surprise you: your local dry cleaners, or coffee shop, or hardware store, or veterinarian’s office. After all, if you love gardening, and you have the best organic vegetables in town, you don’t measure your success by how many Safeways in the nation stock your tomatoes. You craft beautiful baskets of your vegetables and hand them out to all your friends. You might even have a stand in front of your house or sell at the local farmer’s market. You get the satisfaction of making a little (emphasize little) money, and the even greater pleasure of meeting the people who actually eat and enjoy the fruits of your labor. It’s time for organic books. Enjoy.
