Why Are Traditional Publishers So Angry at Amazon and Indies?

The new digital world of Amazon and self-published authors has provoked surprising hostility among traditional publishers. Amazon is viewed as a threatening gorilla breaking all the rules of the game in the publishing industry. There was a lot of hang-wringing and hair-tearing when it recently bought Goodreads, the biggest online book reading club on the planet with some 16 million members. And traditional agents and editors view self-published authors as little better than self-indulging, worthless vanity press authors.

Is it an "ossified" old man's reaction to technological change?

One may well wonder. Recently author Barry Eisler  raised a storm with his article in the Guardian tellingly titled: The Digital Truths Traditional Publishers Don't Want to Hear. Barry Eisler writes thrillers and is one of the new hugely successful "hybrid authors" (i.e. self-published but also published by Amazon and legacy publishers). His article was instantly picked up by the Passive Voice and it provoked some very interesting comments (to read click here).

As Eisler points out, before November 2007 when Amazon introduced the Kindle,  "the only viable means of book distribution was paper... If a writer wanted distribution, she had to pay a publisher 85% of her revenues for the entire publishing package: editorial, copy-editing, proofreading, jacket design, printing, and marketing, all bundled with distribution."  This worked wonders for some authors like JK Rowling who made millions, but not for others. With the digital revolution, book distribution became, as he puts it, "a push-button à la carte service offered by companies like Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Google, Kobo, and Smashwords". 

The digital alternative had arrived and it was grabbed by an increasing numbers of writers: author David Gaughran convincingly argues that some 25% of the total $1.3 billion e-book sales in 2012 is attributable to self-published authors (read his comment on Nathan Bransford fascinating blog post about e-book sales - that are NOT slowing down! -  and David's own post here). 

Barry Eisler is so articulate that it's always worth reading him and I'm not surprised he's raised a storm among legacy publishers' supporters. In his Guardian article, he recounts how as he was talking about all this at a recent major writers' conference, many in the audience ostensibly walked out, others took to Twitter to urge boycotting him, yet others indulged in name calling - which is both silly and rude. A point that was picked up by  the commentators on The Passive Voice who marveled - along with Passive Guy - at this futile desire to kill the messenger.  

I would only add one thing: there's one aspect of the process of bringing a book to market that is NOT covered by Barry Eisler. It has to do with the book promotion role of legacy publishers: they are able to do something self-published authors cannot. They do this through their hold and control over major literary prizes (the Pulitzer, the Man Booker etc) which are, as we all know, still closed to indies. Furthermore, they are able to "place" the books they publish in major literary journals and get the attention of major literary critics as well as journalists in the main media like the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal, among others.

That's a powerful tool for book discovery and it is still in the hands of legacy publishers...Will they be able to play this card and regain the lost terrain? Or is Amazon going to pick it up and run with it, the way they've done with Goodreads

What do you think?
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Comments

The answer to your question is three words: Lost. Confused. Scared. Traditional publishers are in the same boat with indies and can't find the paddles.
Thanks for the comment, Caleb, you're right of course. But compared to indies, they do have an extra paddle: they can connect with literary journals and the big media in a way indies cannot. And they have access to the major literary prizes and events in a way indies cannot...So book discovery, always the biggest hurdle facing writers, is much tougher for indies than for them!
Renee Pawlish said…
Great article, but I do wonder how much these "crossover" guys like Eisler and Konrath give credit to their mainstream publishers for getting the ball rolling for them. They wouldn't be where they are without that help, and they wouldn't have the audience that they did when they crossed over to indie. Maybe they got bad deals from their publishers...it was what was available to them at the time. However, it's changed now and the publishers need to roll with it...
Also, it's not just publishers who shut out indie authors, it's author organizations like Mystery Writers of America and many others who won't let your books be considered for contests and the like unless you are traditionally published. That needs to change as well.
Jack Durish said…
I think that the traditional publishers would be well advised to consider the history of the railroad industry. They thought that they were in the business of operating trains. They succeeded admirably at the task but lost sight of the marketplace. Had they realized that they were in the transportation business, we might well today have Pennsylvania and B&O RR airlines. They had the money and infrastructure to host the new technology, but they didn't. Likewise, traditional publishers have clung to the business of printing books. How sad for them...
Shelli said…
Eisler did mention that legacy publishers *can* promote books -- but they are very selective in doing so. I don't think that consideration for a major literary prize is a good enough reason to go with a traditional publisher. I think the reason agents and publishers have such a strong reaction is that the truth threatens their very existence.
Renée, I totally agree with you. I've always felt that the likes of Eisler and Konrath made a success out of going indie BECAUSE they already had a fan base that had been built with the help of traditional publishers. A prime example of an indie meeting success without help from trad publishers is of course Amanda Hocking but, that's the point, she reached success BEFORE the tsunami of self-published authors hit the publishing scene.

Now it's a lot harder to emerge and stand out in that self-pubbed tsunami. The days when people filled their Kindles with anything free or cheap (99 cents) are over and I suspect that those who still do, well, I bet they don't even read the stuff they've got!

Which means that "book discovery" has become the number one challenge for any indie. A challenge where trad publishers have a decided advantage over everyone else, the indies most certainly, and even Amazon that is new to the publishing game...

And thanks for pointing out that author organizations like Mystery Writers of America and others don't let indie authors participate in contests. It's important to spread the word about this: it's a major injustice and it ought to be corrected!
That's very true, Jack. But I have a feeling that they are "waking up"! Digital imprints are springing up left and right among traditional publishers...
Shelli, you're right, if consideration for a major literary prize was the ONLY reason to go with a traditional publisher, it would certainly not be reason enough. Contests can only go so far, and if it were just a matter of the Pulitzer or the Man Booker, it would surely not be enough. But trad publishers have their hands on much more than that: they have access to a whole array of major means for book discovery. Whether one likes it or not, the New York Times best selling list is still a top consideration for readers. And a whole range of literary journals are too - just consider Granta's recent publishing of the 20 "best new British novelists": that became general media news and hit all the major newspapers. Fantastic publicity for a young novelist! That's something you'll never get as an indie...

My personal opinion? I think we are deluding ourselves in thinking that trad publishers and literary agents feel that their very existence is threatened: some might feel that way, but surely they know (or at least most of them do) that they have the means to react. They can go digital too and with more money power than an indie can. And above all, they have that winning card to play that makes all the difference in book discovery: access to all the media (and secondarily the contests) that really count!
Anonymous said…
Claude, thank you once again for providing thoughtful insight. I still believe that the best chance a new author has in the present marketplace is to indie-publish and I'll tell you why.

I know new authors who have obtained what we all sought after: a REAL agent and a REAL publisher, only to find that they were on their own when it came to marketing their book. The money (and the clout) that the agents and publishers have is spent on the big name authors. Yes, it was always that way, but not like it is now. I haven't found a single article saying that a new author gets much help from their agents or publishers. And, like I said, I know terrific authors who have both, but are still struggling like the rest of us.

I would like to point to a recent New York Times article I stumbled across, which explains why David Mamet has decided to self publish and how his agency has opened up a special division to assist their authors in this. Why? Because if they don't get with the new technology, it will leave them behind - they will be worthless in the long run unless they embrace it and become a part of it. You can find this article at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/business/media/david-mamet-and-other-big-authors-choose-to-self-publish.html?smid=tw-share

I'm not denying how difficult it is to get noticed in the vast internet world. I'm simply saying that having an agent and a publisher does not solve that problem for the new author.

And remember, others have been successful at this, which means each of us has the opportunity to be successful as well. I might very well come under the category of "Lord, give me patience, and give it to me RIGHT NOW!" But, patience, persistence and smarts will eventually win out - I believe that totally. You can't win unless you stay in the game. I for one, am staying.

Marsha Roberts, proud indie-pub author of Confessions of an Instinctively Mutinous Baby Boomer
Marsha, as always an insightful comment and an upbeat one, who can ever dent your optimism? I'm sure you're right, if you keep at it long enough and if you're good (and you are!) you'll make it! Thanks for dropping by and reminding us that new authors who have managed to get what we all dreamed of, a real agent and a real publisher, are still struggling because trad publishers reserve all their marketing power to their established authors.

That's very true - it was always like that and it is worse now because trad publishers feel pushed in a corner by the digital revolution and are fighting back with what they view as their best weapons: authors with big names. That's wrong of course. And in so doing, they're passing up on a lot of talented indie authors out there. Hopefully some big publisher or agent will stop and notice and take on the risk of pushing a talented newbie - but that, I have no doubt, is a pipe dream! So, let's go on with our self-publishing, it's hard, but as you say Marsha, we'll eventually all get there!
Unknown said…
Oh Claude your definitely a leader in this topic well done. In the next few days there will be a book on Amazon for a couple of days which you can get for free. I will keep you posted.