The old guard "brick and mortar" publishing industry is crumbling. This is no secret to anyone who has been paying attention; everybody has an e-reader and a Facebook page, and stores like bookstores like Borders and Barnes and Noble are hemorrhaging money. Still, like a stubborn child, the publishers continue to drag their heels and desperately try to hold on to the reins. Of course this doesn't mean you need to keep playing by their outdated rules. For the savvy 21st century author the change is already here, the tools are in place to take what's yours.
Traditionally, the distribution of roles and responsibility between author and publisher has been quite one-sided, with the publisher performing most of the roles, and retaining most of the revenue. We should all be able to agree on that, right? That is no longer true in the 21st century, however. Authors now have the power to drive their own success by assuming more and more roles that publishers were responsible for. This claim I suppose I'll actually have to back up. After all, the 21st century author doesn't just think something is true because she read it on the Internet. She's smarter than that. In order to make this point, I'll break down the book publishing process into 4 easy to swallow stages. No spoon feeding here, just food for thought.
Creation
Writing the books! Without books, there is no publishing industry. Think about that for a second. For all of the royalties the publishers lop off the top of your earnings, they wouldn't even have a book to peddle if it weren't for the authors! The publishers should be working for you, and not the other way around.This is the author's domain. No matter what, the publishers can't take this step away from you.
In that light, while this step hasn't changed in terms of "yep, i'm still the one writing books," it's importance has increased significantly.
Having good content is the foundation for finding success. Creating a brand, marketing yourself, building a fan base, all requires that you have a product worth selling. I could go on for days about that, but for now the most important point is that the actual writing of new material has always been the authors' ace in the hole. If you write good books, you have the ability to sell them.
Gatekeeper
If you've ever thought of the publishers as big bullies, it's probably because of this step right here. The publishers look over manuscript after manuscript and the vast majority are turned away. It's almost hard not to think of a scene out of Lord of the Rings... "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"
Well the internet has changed that. Obviously it's not a night and day change, but as long as you have an internet connection (you're reading this aren't you) then you're already ahead of many past authors whose work never saw the light of day.
It's also important to note that the author is not necessarily her own gatekeeper either, and I would even go so far as to say that the fans take on this role. Again it all comes back to writing quality content, and that is within the author's control.
Philosophically, I would take it even another step, and say that the only gatekeepers there should ever be are the authors and the readers. Anybody else that an author has to go through in between is just getting in the way. This is not to diminish the great help and support that authors receive from editors, agents, and even publishers. We just think that ultimately the author should have to answer to the reader.
Manufacturing and Distribution
In the past, for the books that are deemed worthy, the publisher prints the books in mass scale. Now, If you're book says "Harry Potter" on the cover I'm sure that the publisher will be happy to dedicate all the trees and printing presses that your heart desires to the printing of your book. If you're relatively unknown however, this is an expensive step for publishers. Any author who has tried out print-on-demand can testify to this. It's not easy for authors trying to self-publish, and if you didn't get past the gatekeeper you can forget about the publishers doing this for you.
Again the internet is the 21st century author's best friend. Write the book, convert it into different file types if you need to, and you're done. E-books! Audiobooks! The only cost to you is time and effort. Granted there may be a bit of a technology gap for some authors, but the internet is full of people willing to help you out (including us), and compare digital publishing to the cost of printing your own books.
Distribution is very similar to manufacturing in terms of how it has changed. Traditional publishing deals and printed books need trucks and planes to take them to the stores, and that costs the publisher a lot of money. Your e-books however can be delivered straight to the reader from Amazon.com, the iPad Bookstore, or anywhere else e-books are sold. You can even podcast your book. It's quick, it's easy and it's free.
The 21st century author does not need a publisher to reach the public.
If you're still married to the idea of printed books being just plain better than e-books, well... There's an argument to be made; many people do feel that way, and for good reason. I'm simply suggesting that 21st century author shouldn't limit her opportunities because of an old way of thinking. The internet and digital technologies are amazingly powerful tools at your disposal, so don't be afraid to use them. At least consider this: it's much easier to land a traditional publishing deal if you've already leveraged the internet and digital tools to build a fan base ahead of time. Which of course leads us to...
Branding
This is where it really gets fun for the author. You have control over your brand. After good writing, this is the #1 most important thing that an author has to master. Is it difficult to master? Yes. Does it take time to be effective? Yes. Is it within your means? Yes. I could write an entire post on this, but for now the point is that the ball is in your court.
You have the ability to create your own brand without any influence from a publisher, and when you have an established brand you have a lot of leverage, both for negotiating with publishers later on and for gaining new fans now. This is the foundation for the 21st century author's success.
Marketing
In a traditional publishing deal a publisher will put your book on the front bookshelves stores all over the country. They will have a team of marketers coming up with ads and posters and promotions for your book. Okay I admit, that's pretty sweet, fair enough. But allow me to poke two holes in this boat and sink the Titanic marketing campaign.
First, the publishers will do all of those wonderful things for you if your name is Tom Clancy or James Patterson, which I'm guessing it's not on the grounds that the publishers probably pay somebody to read blog articles like this one for them. Publishers want home runs, not feel good stories, and they're not going to pour their marketing budgets into risky projects (read: unknown authors).
Second, it's not sustainable. Okay stay with me here... for this type of marketing, through mass media, the publishers must continuously funnel new traffic, or eyeballs, to your book (through ads, promotions etc.). Most of those eyeballs (attached to the faces of potential fans and customers) will overlook the product or simply not be interested. This tactic works solely because of the massive scale, but it's tremendously expensive and inefficient.
The most important takeaway however, is that once the promotions are gone, so is the public interest. A mass media marketing campaign can have the plug pulled at a moments notice, leaving you high and dry.
The 21st century author would love to have those things, but should not depend on them as the only way to be successful. By leveraging the power of online social networks (this has a lot to do with brand again) an author can create buzz in their reader community. Think of it as a grassroots or community marketing campaign.
You can't pay for the kind of marketing that your "true fans" can do for you by getting the word-of-mouth machine up an running, and spreading the word throughout their social networks.
Fans will be more invested in you because they are part of your community, not just a passerby at the bookstore. And just like branding, it's under your control, not the publisher's.
So what does all this change mean?
With the exception of creation, performing the roles of the publishing model in the time honored, traditional manner is prohibitively expensive for authors to do themselves. And we're seeing that it is prohibitively expensive for the publisher too! The publisher has to invest a lot of money and effort, and in the end most authors do not get published. The ones who do hardly see any reward, as the publisher takes most of the royalties. The publisher owns the book, the process, and your soul! Well, the first two at least. In the past this system was King because there were no alternatives.
This is no longer the case. E-readers are now commonplace, everybody has internet access, and it's imminently possible to find your audience, engage with them in a meaningful manner, and create a fan base that supports you. This holds true whether you decide to go it alone or work to get a traditional publishing deal. Is it more work for the authors? Yes, but the opportunities are boundless. The author has complete control over her brand and her book, and at the end of the day the author collects the reward.
Imagine a world where the relationship between the author and the publisher has changed: the author owns the book, and owns the process. The publisher provides services for the author only has needed. The balance has finally shifted to make this possible, and to help authors reach their readers with little or no interference.
The 21st century author recognizes her value as the creator. She is no longer simply the pawn, but can now play the many roles of the Queen.
