Readers follow Writers, not Publishers

Publishers Weekly put the exclamation mark on what writers know, readers follow writers, not publishers. In 2009, 764,448 titles came from micro-niche publishers and self-publishers compared with 288,355 from traditional publishers. That’s an 87% increase from the non-traditional publishing side.

How did traditional publishing lose ground so rapidly? As an author who has worked with 5 traditional publishers (including two major houses), here’s my opinion:

1. Traditional publishers failed to recognize the significance of social media marketing. They cling to promotion by the old ways which are more expensive and slower to achieve results.

2. Traditional publishers are paternalistic – it’s still a good ole boy system. New and mid-list authors are like “yard children” outside the Master’s house where the hot ticket authors dine in splendor.

3. Traditional publishers use the “spit ball” approach by putting out quantity of works and waiting to see what “sticks” with readers. Those who rise to the top get more attention, while others languish on the shelves.

4. Traditional publishers have the “politician’s game” rules: promise plenty in the beginning, deliver as little as possible and charge everything imaginable against the author’s royalties.

5. Traditional publishers thought they would always “own the game” without realizing how creative people would gravitate to eBooks and self-publishing options.

6. Traditional publishers are slow to get a product to market. When the topic is hot, the work needs to be produced quickly. After producing an academic book complete with citations and APA form in 90 days, I received a printed copy of the book 23 months later!

7. Traditional publishers left a void which micro-niche publisher smartly filled. The micro niche publishers played fast break basketball to keep pace with the market which the traditional publishers were still on the croquet court wondering what just happened.

Bottom line: readers follow authors and genres, not publishers. When I find a fascinating book by a top-notch writer, I don’t care how it transferred from the author’s brain onto paper. The publisher does not matter to the average reader. Do you hear that writers? Whether your book is published out of New York or not makes no difference to your readers. Respected Publishers Weekly’s statistics proved this.