Publishers Weekly Update on Subsidies

I've given some thought to my response to PW's article on Author Solutions ("Change Maker: Kevin Weiss" 12/ 21/09,) and its misuse of the word "self-publishing" to describe the subsidy press.

Publisher's Weekly is a trade magazine aimed at publishers and bookstores. It is not in business to serve small independent publishers, self-publishers or authors.

That said, the book publishing industry is hurting. (As are all publishers. Last year, Publisher's Weekly laid off employees including their editor-in-chief, Sara Nelson.)

Enter the subsidy publishers...they are kicking butt. Now Harlequin joined forces with Author Solutions and many of the traditional publishers are following.

Since the subsidies have already hijacked the self-publishing term, PW is going to run with it. It sounds better than "subsidy" or "vanity" and what do they care? They are reporting on the sector that is making money and that can potentially save traditional publishers.

Think about it--instead of publishers risking their money on authors, they charge them to provide services and a product. If the book actually sells, even better!

Who wants to guess when we hit 1 million books published in a year?

Publisher's Weekly Should Get Publishing Terms Straight

Is it too difficult to ask that a magazine about publishing get the terms of its business straight? The article on Kevin Weiss, “Change Makers” in the December 21, 2009 issue of Publishers Weekly is teeming with semantic misnomers. These errors surround the usage of the word “self-publishing.”

Self-publishing, by definition, means that the author publishes their own work. It means that the author forms a publishing company and owns the ISBN. The author/publisher chooses what services they want—editors, cover designers, copyeditors, etc. Finally, they chose a printer—either POD or offset.

Throughout this article, Lynn Andriani incorrectly uses the word “self-publish.” For example, Andriani writes: “It’s been an eventful few weeks for Weiss, thanks to the controversy that erupted last month from writers over Harlequin’s partnering with Author Solutions to launch a line of self-published books.” Let me make this clear: Author Solutions is a PUBLISHING company. They are, specifically, a subsidy or vanity press and hijacked the word “self-publishing” because vanity and subsidy have bad connotations. Subsidy presses own the ISBN and are the publisher; therefore, the author is not self-published.

According to Andriani: “This year, nearly 250,000 people inquired with [Author Solutions] about self-publishing their books…” The article then says “Author House, iUniverse…have published more than 120,000 books.” If the books are “self-published”, why does the article state that the publishing companies published the books?

These so-called “self-publishing publishers” prey on the naïve wannabe author. Writer’s Digest magazine is filled with advertisements from the subsidy presses; they promise the aspiring author to “self-publish” their book for them. Readers of that magazine would never know that real self-publishing exists!

Subsidy publishers are making money, while traditional publishers are hurting. This is why all the traditional publishing houses—like Harlequin—are clamoring to join the bandwagon. It’s a beautiful thing for the subsidies—instead of having to pay royalties and advances to the author, the subsidies collect money from the author! Every subsidy works differently, but they collect fees for all kinds of things, including jacket design, editing, and promotion. So, before a book is sold, the publisher has made money! If the books actually do sell (and the vast majority sell less than 100 copies) then the publisher makes even more money!

This is a win-win for the subsidy publisher.

Self-Publishers

I'm guest blogger on Weirding Word this week. Here is the beginning of a post written yesterday.

When I published my first book, Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify & Energize Your Life, Your Home & Your Planet, I dreamt that The New York Times Book Review would review it. They didn’t. They did not review the book because Stan Tanenhaus, chief editor of the Book Review, does not review self-published books.

For the rest of the article, go here: Weirding Word.

The New – and Disimproved – Meaning of “Self-Publishing

This article was originally printed in PMA Independent , February 2008.

Not long ago, an issue of Publishers Weekly had numerous articles -- and eight-pages of ads from subsidy publishers, which included a four-page advertorial -- on how the book publishing world is changing.

The lead article -- “Can Small Press Distributing Survive?” -- cited both the recent demise of Book World Companies and National Book Network’s recent statement that it was phasing out Biblio, its small press distributor. (Biblio distributes my book and it’s in the clear until at least next September.)

In the meantime, Barnes and Noble just gave its online store a makeover and Borders released a beta version of its new site; B&N continues to be a major shareholder of iUniverse, and Amazon owns Booksurge. Books printed by subsidy presses like Booksurge and iUniverse rarely make it into bookstores. Clearly, Barnes and Noble didn’t become an iUniverse stockholder because it counted on money from store sales of iUniverse books; it did so because iUniverse makes money off the authors and the books sold online.

Online, buyers shop differently. With search words and listmania lists and other tools, they can and do find a wider variety of books, including books that would never fit into a physical store.

Online, B&N and Amazon know that there is a place for specialized books. So do the executives who have come from the traditional publishing world and other professions to run the modern vanity presses that have now hijacked the terms “self-publishing” and “self-publisher.”

Which leads me to the eight-page advertisement. Headed “Self-Publishing Comes of Age,” which includes four pages of text. The subhead on the ad insert says, “Leaving vanity behind, today’s top self-publishers achieve success and offer models for the future.”

The text then coyly suggests that this kind of “self-publishing” is profitable and smart for authors. “The category [self-publishing] once so aggressively cordoned off by other participants in the industry, has over the past decade turned into a booming market, drawing entrepreneurial investment and top editorial talent.”

After discussing how the term vanity press came to be and how authors used to spend lots of money with vanity presses only to have their books collect dust in their garages, the ad announces that now it’s all different. “Self-publishers” help authors market their books and make storing them unnecessary because copies can be produced one at a time with Print on Demand (POD). The ad also sites the Internet as a huge factor in getting these books into marketplaces—something I do agree with. But it really irks me that these subsidy publishers are using the term self-publisher—which they and their authors aren’t.

My company, Lingham Press, is a self-publisher. Now that the subsidy press has latched onto the term, though, it makes my company sound bad.

Enticing Unwary Authors

All of us true self-publishers aside, the worst threat from this advertorial is to naïve wannabe authors, who may fall for the idea they have two choices: publish with a traditional publisher or with a subsidy publisher.

Wannabe authors can get a bit of a reality check from a close reading of PW’s coverage. Some of my favorite lines:

“…there’s no guarantee of success—and the top providers have become savvy about keeping reality in check for their author, since referrals and satisfaction are critical to their business models.”

“… hopeful authors—who remain self-publishing companies’ primary revenue stream ...”

“Our sales of self-published authors are minimal overall, but some rare, self-published authors sell exceptionally well.”

“Today’s top self-publishing companies are heavily invested in the idea that a happy customer is a valuable customer, which leads to the management of expectations, along with the provision of services that can genuinely help author achieve success.” [Gosh, how swell are they!]

What ticks me off most about all this is the gleeful message that this “new model” of publishing is making oodles of money for cutting-edge “self-publishers” coupled with statements showing that only a fraction of the authors using it will have anything more than a trophy book.

Having read what the subsidy publishers wrote for the publishing world, I needed to read the ads they aim at authors. Looking through the current issue of Writer’s Digest, I noted how each publishing company offers something slightly different. (or uses phrases that make them appear to).

Outskirts Press allows authors to contribute to making their books by, for example, using their own cover designs. Lulu lets authors set their own prices. Trafford guarantees that its method is the best.

The only company honest enough to use the word subsidy was Vantage Press, established in 1949 and probably just getting over referring to itself as a vanity press.

Although I saw many ads for subsidy publishers in Writer’s Digest, I did not see any ads for book printers, graphic designers or book cover designers.

Again, the message to the uneducated aspiring author is: There are only two choices: publish with a traditional house or “self-publish” with a subsidy publisher.

The Real Alternatives

I find it interesting that there are seasoned author/publishers who agree with the statement that subsidy published authors are self-published. Some quick comparisons among three types of publishing companies will illuminate why they are not. Please note that hybrids exist, but these are the three main types.

Traditional Publishers

An author who signs a contract with a traditional publisher usually receives an advance against royalties. The publisher owns the ISBN, but the copyright is generally in the author’s name. The publisher pays for and makes decisions about the editing, cover, size, price, production and marketing of the book, and sales channels generally include book wholesalers and retailers, perhaps along with other conduits to readers.

Authors are expected to do a good deal of book promotion and publicity (although this is often not explained to them until it’s too late).

This general business model has not proven to be all that effective, as publishers often report losing money on the books they issue.

Subsidy Publishers

Authors who are accepted by subsidy publishers – and I’m estimating 99% of them are -- pay to have these companies publish their books and get royalties on copies sold.

The publisher generally owns the ISBN, but the copyright is in the author’s name. The author pays for all steps in the publishing process but the publisher makes most or all of the decisions about editing, cover, size, price, and production of the book, and sales channels are generally limited to the Internet and whatever routes to readers an author can use.

Authors are expected to do all or close to all of their own promotion and publicity. If a book sells exceptionally well, some subsidy publishers provide [is this free?I ‘m not sure] promotional services. (Wheatmark, for instance, does this for books that sell 2000 copies, which it says 1% of its books do. This is brilliant -- not only an attractive come-on, but also good business since if a subsidy book actually sells 2000 copies, it is in the publisher’s best interest to take advantage of the momentum.)

Unlike traditional publishers, subsidy publishers take no risks; they get paid up front for their services. And since they make money up front, there is no incentive to design a standout cover, or to be particularly careful about fixing typos and other glitches. If a book actually sells, the publisher makes even more money.

Self-Publishers

Self-publishing authors assume all responsibility for their books and get 100 percent of the profits. They also own their books’ ISBNs and copyrights; they pay for and make decisions about the editing, cover, size, price and production, and they can use a wide variety of sales channels, including but definitely not limited to the Web.

Self-publishers understand that they must do all their own marketing, including promotion and publicity. If a self-published book sells exceptionally well, traditional publishers may want to buy rights in the book from author/publisher.

Call Me Independent

I hope this comparison makes it clear that subsidy publishing is simply a way of doing business that requires payment from authors for publication of their books.

Subsidy publishers is not self-publishing but subsidy publishers have ruined the term self-publisher. From now on, I will be referring to myself as an independent publisher.

Norma Lehmeier Hartie’s first book, Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify & Energize Your Life, Your Home & Your Planet, is the Grand Prize Winner of the 15th Annual Writer's Digest International Self-Published Book Awards and Finalist in ForeWord Magazine's and Nautilus Book of the Year Awards.
http://LinghamPress.com

Rant on Subsidy Publishers, Part II

I’m still thinking about what is going on in the publishing world and trying to make sense of all it.

The Publishers Weekly ad/article mentioned how the subsidy presses were “drawing entrepreneurial investment and top editorial talent.” These people knew that they needed to change the perception of a subsidy publisher into something far more tempting. Thus, as vanity became subsidy, subsidy became self-publisher.

I had read an article by the subsidies geared towards the publishing world, now I needed to read their advertisements to authors. Looking through the current issue of Writer’s Digest, I noted how each publishing company offers something slightly different. (Or uses phrases that make them appear to.)

Outskirts Press allows the author to contribute to the making of the book, like using their own cover design. Lulu lets the author set their own price. Trafford guarantees its method is the best way to publish the author’s book.

The only company honest enough to use the word subsidy was The Vantage Press, established in 1949 and probably just getting over referring to themselves as a vanity press.

Concurrently, a number of the subsidy publishers are merging and each publisher will offer something slightly different to authors. Just like the different imprints at the big, traditional publishing houses do.

There were many ads for subsidy publishers in Writer’s Digest, but I did not see any ads for book printers, graphic designers or book cover designers.

For the uneducated aspiring author, there appear to be two choices: publish with a traditional house or “self-publish” with a subsidy publisher.

The other point I want to make is that I find it interesting that there are seasoned author/publishers agree who with the statement that subsidy published authors are self-published. The following comparison between the three types of publishing companies will illuminate why they are not. Please note that hybrids of the three exist, but these are the three main types of publishers.

Traditional Publisher

An author who is accepted by a traditional publisher will receive an advance on royalties. If their book fails to sell enough copies to cover their advance, they will have to return the portion of the advance. In this way, the publisher helps to mitigate financial loss.

The publisher owns the ISBN, but the copyright is in the author’s name. The publisher pays for and decides on the editing, cover, size, price and publication of the book.

VIP’s aside, the author is expected to do most of their own promotion and publicity (although this is often not explained to an author until it’s too late). If the author does exceptionally well, the publisher will kick in some money for further promotion.

This generalized business model of the traditional publisher has not proven to be all that effective, as publishers often lose money on unknown authors. I am guessing that in the past few years, large traditional publishers have reduced the amount of unfamiliar authors that they accept, making it even more difficult for authors to get traditionally published.

Subsidy Publishers

An author who is accepted (99%?) by a subsidy publisher pays to have them publish their book and receives royalties if the book sells.

The publisher owns the ISBN, but the copyright is in the author’s name. The publisher pays for and decides on the editing, cover, size, price and publication of the book. (With minor exceptions, see above.)

The author is expected to do all of their own promotion and publicity. If the book sells exceptionally well, some publishers, like Wheatmark, offer promotional services. (The book must sell 2000 copies, which 1% of their books do. This is brilliant! Not only is this an attractive come-on to potential customers, but if a subsidy book actually sells 2000 copies, it is in their best interest to promote it.)

As opposed to the risk-taking traditional publishers, subsidies get paid up front for their services. Since they make money up front, there is no incentive to make a stand-out cover, or be particularly careful about fixing typos. If an author wants to do some of the book production themselves, great—cheaper for the publisher. Finally, if the book actually sells, this will make the publisher even more money and everyone is a winner!

Self-Published Author

An author assumes all financial responsibility for the book. Profits from book sold are 100% the author’s.

The author owns the ISBN and the copyright is in the author’s name. The author pays for and decides on the editing, cover, size, price and publication of the book.

The author understands that they must do all of their own promotion and publicity. If the book sells exceptionally well, traditional publishers will offer to buy book from author and promote it.

I hope this comparison makes it clear that subsidies are simply another way of doing business in the publishing world. Authors who have used a subsidy press have simply paid a publishing company to publish their book.

Subsidy publishers have ruined the self-publishing name. Hence forth, I am referring to myself as an independent publisher.

For more information, go to: Harmonious Environment:Beautify, Detoxify & Energize Your Life, Your Home & Your Planet.

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Wednesday Afternoon Rant: Publishing World 2007

Last week’s Publishers Weekly , (October 15), had numerous articles (and an 8 page ad) on how the book publishing world is changing.

The issue begins with an article called “Can Small Press Distributing Survive?”, citing the recent demise of Book World Companies and National Book Network’s recent statement that they were phasing out Biblio, their small press distributor. (Biblio distributes my book and it’s in the clear until at least next September.)

Barnes + Noble just gave their online store a makeover and Borders released a BETA version of their new site.

Barnes and Noble is a major shareholder of iUniverse and Amazon acquired Booksurge. Books printed by subsidy presses like Booksurge and iUniverse rarely make it into bookstores. Clearly, Barnes and Noble didn’t become a stockholder because it counted on stocking iUniverse books; it did so because iUniverse makes money off the authors and the books sold online.

On a different note, I’ve also noticed lately that Barnes + Noble and Borders have less books and more sidelines. Sidelines make good impulse buys. In my local B+N, books on tape have replaced several bookshelves of books.

Clearly, the chain brick and mortar booksellers have learned that they sell mostly blockbuster titles, impulse items and coffee. People seem to go into a store knowing what they want or are only willing to browse the new titles stacked on tables.

But online, buyers do shop differently. With search words and listmania lists and other tools, the buyer can and does find a wider variety of books. Specialized subjects can be searched for and found—titles that would never fit into a physical store.

Online B + N and Amazon know that there is a place for specialized books. So do the executives who have come from the traditional publishing world and other professions. These executives run the vanity presses that were renamed subsidy presses and are now called Self-Publishers.

Which leads me to an 8-page advertisement in this week’s Publishers Weekly called “Self-Publishing Comes of Age” that includes a 4 page advertorial. The subtitle of the article is “Leaving vanity behind, today’s top self-publishers achieve success and offer models for the future.”

The article coyly suggests that this is a profitable and smart place to be if you are the publisher. “The category [self-publishing] once so aggressively cordoned off by other participants in the industry, has over the past decade turned into a booming market, drawing entrepreneurial investment and top editorial talent.”

The article discusses how in the 1950’s, the term vanity press came to be and that an author would spend lots of money to have books printed only to have them collect dust in their garages.

The article says that now it’s all different. “Self-publishers” help authors market their book and they don’t have to sit on them because they can be produced one at a time with Print on Demand (POD). They also site the Internet as being a huge factor in getting these books to marketplace—something I do agree with. What really irks me here is that they’ve also dumped the word “Subsidy Publishers”, which is what they are and replaced it with Self-publishers—which they aren’t.

My company, Lingham Press, is a self-publisher. But, now that the subsidy press has taking over the word, to call my company that makes it sound bad.

All of us true self-publishers aside, the real danger of this article is to naïve wannabe authors. (Of course, subsidies' deception in advertisements and practices are legendary.) Aside from the phrase “striking out entirely on their own” nowhere in this article is there any information that talks about true self-publishing. Your choice as an author is to either make your book with a traditional publisher or a subsidy publisher.

Geared towards the industry, the wanna be author would benefit from a close reading of this article for a reality check. Some of my favorite examples:

· “While there’s no guarantee of success—and the top providers have become savvy about keeping reality in check for their author, since referrals and satisfaction are critical to their business models.”

· “That means that hopeful authors—who remain self-publishing companies’ primary revenue stream.”

· “Our sales of self-published authors are minimal overall, but some rare, self-published authors sell exceptionally well.”

· “Today’s top self-publishing companies are heavily invested in the idea that a happy customer is a valuable customer, which leads to the management of expectations, along with the provision of services that can genuinely help author achieve success.” [Gosh, how swell are they!”]

· “…in an industry almost categorically populated with demanding customers.”

Essentially, this article appears as a self-congratulatory orgy over this fast growing phenomenon called self-publishers to the traditional publishers. To say we are as good, if not better than you guys, because we embrace technology and the future. What’s more we charge our customers/authors and make money when we do manage to sell a book or two.

Check out Wheatmark, who describes themselves as both a traditional and subsidy publisher: when a book sells over 2000 copies through author’s efforts (1% of books) it is enrolled in the company’s Great Expectations program, offering all kinds of services. I would think if you sold 2000, you wouldn’t need them?

What ticks me off most about this article is the gleeful presentation that this “new model” of publishing is making oodles of money for these cutting-edge publishers, while admitting only a fraction of the authors will make anything more then a trophy book.

For more information, go to: Harmonious Environment:Beautify, Detoxify & Energize Your Life, Your Home & Your Planet.

Technorati Tags:
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