In my last blog post I examined an outdated book publishing industry, and the disadvantages it presents to both authors and publishers. Authors lose out to publishers, who take a large cut of the profits because they are the ones investing the most money and taking on the greatest amount of risk. Some of the profits also go to retailers, who buy at wholesale price. In short, the more steps in the chain from author to consumer, the less money comes back to the author.
The combination of Amazon, e-books and social networking means that publishing companies are no longer essential for marketing books. Vanity publishers and scams aside, some self-publishing sites have helped authors reach considerable success. Traditional publishers can no longer ignore a technology which allows authors to edit and submit their book online, then market it using their own resources and print-on-demand companies. While the majority of aspiring authors may still seek the prestige of being published by an established company, the self-publishing route offers an alternative to those rejected by well-known publishers, and to others who feel the system is unfair.
Self-published authors do not need to sell to bookshops at a greatly reduced wholesale price, but can sell from their own websites, or from Amazon. They can interact directly with their readers on twitter, and establish their presence online, which can be as effective for marketing as posters put up in bookshops. This is exactly how Paulo Coelho has achieved success, using his presence on three social media platforms in order to generate publicity and maintain his connection with his fans.
Additionally the considerable savings available online means that the general public’s consensus of how much a book ought to cost has fallen. If a consumer is used to spending £5 on a book bought directly from the author or on an e-book from Amazon, they will be less willing to spend £10 on a traditionally published book from a shop. This increase in competition, as consumers begin to spend their money where it will be worth more, means that publishers are faced with the perceived value of their product diminishing. The Amazon/Macmillan conflict showed that publishers consider the value of an early-release e-book to be the same as that of a hardback, i.e. the consumer is paying extra for the privilege of early access, not because they are buying a product with a different cover. The fact that most consumers incorrectly think they are paying more because a hardback book is more expensive to produce means that they are unwilling to pay that price when purchasing an e-book.
If publishers want to remain competitive in the new environment, they need to interact directly with readers and find a way to reward them for their loyalty. However, though some publishers have made half-hearted attempts at forums on their websites, predictably user participation is minimal and their efforts seem to have stopped there. A quick look at the Penguin Readers Group, which has an average of 2 posts per topic, shows just how little thought has gone into these early social activities. Though most publishers now have a Facebook page and twitter feed (and Macmillan doesn’t even have that), these are used solely for broadcasting news, not for engaging with consumers. The Gatekeepers Post, launched in February, hailed itself as ‘a leading book publishing industry community’, but the interactive features of the site are minimal, and it hasn’t attracted much attention from readers, who are the ones publishers should be targeting.
While publishers are hesitating to make use of social technology, Facebook seems to be following Amazon and heading into publishing. These are both companies which understand how to apply social media to the new publishing model, and are making use of technology, not fighting it. If Macmillan and the others want to keep up, they need to work out how they can make e-books and online sales work for them too.
In my final post, I will look at ways in which publishers can incorporate social technology into their business model, and use it to add value to their product.
Really interesting topic Rachel, and particularly to get that insight into how the established, traditional publishers are (or aren’t!) engaging their audiences using social. I wonder if you found any authors looking to provide a “Pottermore-esque” experience, by creating a social presence not just for themselves, but their characters as well?
“If publishers want to remain competitive in the new environment, they need to interact directly with readers and find a way to reward them for their loyalty.”
Absoulutely agree.
But to pick up on a few of your other assertions: buying a book in whatever format from a publisher gives a reader confidence in the quality; Paulo Coelho did not achieve his success from social media but from his publisher’s initial marketing campaigns, and now he can maintain that profile through social media – social plays a part but was not the catalyst for success that you assert; ebooks incur VAT at 20% and print books do not, so just how incredible are the savings online? I’d appreciate a more nuanced polemic here.