Getting Lost in the Amazon: Part One-Introduction

As an aspiring writer trying to come of age in the digital age, I have a lot of thoughts on how the changing publishing landscape will affect my dream of distributing my stories to the masses. I'm sure you have the same thoughts too if you're reading this.

Everyone's talking about what the new normal in publishing will look like. Will the organized selection, distribution, and payment for books that the traditional model encompassed be replaced with a wild, wild, west where every single idealist has his or her own mediocre novel uploaded to Amazon? Or, will the democratization of near free e-publishing open up the reading community to hordes of new, groundbreaking ideas which had been written off as "unpublishable" in the past?

It's hard to say. But I wanted to spend the next few blog posts covering what I think could be a probable future and simultaneously starting a discussion with fellow readers/writers.

Let me start by describing, in simple terms, how I see the traditional publishing industry, in a series of fundamental components: Craft, Selection, Distribution, Compensation, and Reception. I believe none of these components are vanishing but rather morphing, with emphasis shifting among these areas. Each of the following posts will cover each of these components in more detail.

At the heart of the traditional model, an author must first write his novel (Craft). Simple enough, right? Don't we wish. Then he must be noticed and chosen by a publisher through query letter, pitch, inside contact, etc. (Selection). This is arguably the biggest barrier to entry for writers into the traditional book market, which, I will show has served an integral purpose. After being miraculously selected for publication the publisher/author together negotiate with bookstores, libraries, interest groups, etc. for the sale of books (Distribution). Who cares about these business details though? (Note: you should.)

Also included in the negotiation is how the author, and the publisher, will receive payments (Compensation). Again, on a simple level, the end consumer pays a bookstore directly in cash at the register. These funds go directly or indirectly toward the compensation of the publisher (either on an agency or wholesale model), which in turn fund the compensation of the author (advances, royalties, etc). Lastly, readers react to the book through sentiment, writing reviews, posting best seller lists, holding media interviews, making movie deals, etc. and begin to form a reputation for the author (Reception).

Simple right?

The above is, obviously, an oversimplified depiction of the traditional publishing industry. I would happily accept additions to the basic premise but I think the above is enough to discuss the meat of the changes that we can foresee will happen. The post is getting a little long now but I wanted to set the scene for my logic. In the next post, I'll start with Craft and describe through economic incentives, tastes and preferences, how writers will see their stories altered, if at all.

If you like what you read here or have differing opinions, I would love to hear from you in the comments where we can discuss what we think will happen. Also feel free to forward this to your contacts and bring them into the discussion; diversity of thought makes for the best consensus.