So, I’m just getting back into it after being away getting married for the past couple of weeks. Catching up on emails, Appingo progress and blog articles. More on all of this later.
However, I did want t call attention to a couple of articles that were written over the past couple of weeks about the publishing ecosystem. I found two articles, in particular, very interesting (one by Seth Godin here and one by Mike Shatzkin here). Seth Godin talks about the role of book PACKAGERS and Mike talks about the evolving role of book AGENTS. All very intereting stuff and it relates to the writing and talking we’ve been doing about what we think is a new, emerging role of the book PRODUCER (you can read our early thoughts on this role here).
It seems to me that the publishing industry, through some combination of PACKAGERS and AGENTS have been flirting with the idea of book PRODUCERS for a long time. It appears that now may be the time. Publishers need ways to reduce risk and lower overhead costs. A publishing ecosystem ripe with PRODUCERS will do that. It will also create a new role for the talented Developmental Editors, the good Agents and the top Packagers who are finding themselves at a serious crossroads.
The new PRODUCER role which we talk about will require new, creative economic models. The 15% agency fee (mostly earned via the quickly evaporating advances) is just not sustainable. The industry is changing. Distribution outlets are growing. Rights issues are evolving. Fixed costs are being cut….
The industry needs a new/different/evolved model. We’re very interested to see where it goes. We think the PRODUCER model has legs. Anyone else?
- Derek
5 Comments
July 9, 2009 at 6:16 pm
Derek,
I think you might be right. It will certainly be interesting to see how this develops over time.
I suspect that the mass market side of the business will develop in the direction of producers, plucking winning (or losing) projects from the mass of possibles and bringing them together with capital, editorial, design, marketing and distribution talent for the best results!
Eoin
July 9, 2009 at 10:24 pm
Hi Eoin –
Thanks for the comment! I am very interested in seeing how this develops as well. The scary proposition for the publishing world as compared to the Hollywood film model is that (1) Hollywood movies are much more complex/expensive to produce than books are and (2) there is more real $$’s available in a movie budget and more potential real revenue to come from a movie than 99% of books. This means that there just isn’t that much $$ to go around in the publishing world. It’s not going to be a great place to get rich in the foreseeable future.
I’m very glad I’m not a book agent right now…
By the way, I checked out your blog — some v. good stuff there. I’ve added you to our blog roll.
Cheers!
July 10, 2009 at 4:43 am
Thanks Derek,
On the budget point I suspect that you will see thus model at the top end of things, in the mass market type book.
I would expect to see a different model emerge in more niche or genre type markets. Those would develop around communities and the editors who form the backbone of those units will be highly specialized I suspect!
Eoin
July 10, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Yeah…I agree. And there’s still that whole educational book market (not just trade books) which will be interesting to watch as well.
The other thing about the publishing world vs. Hollywood is that publishing is much more susceptible to the value destroying power of the internet than the movie biz is (at least for now)…check out this article:
http://phase2strategy.typepad.com/p2_business_strategies/2009/02/is-the-internet-destroying-value.html
January 22, 2010 at 2:33 am
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