Wellington Leg: Big time publishing entered the celebrity sweepstakes years ago slipping through a side door of the entertainment industry by fawning, flattering, and finally begging the doorman to let them in. Perhaps uneasy in silk shirts and gold chains publishing execs kept an emergency supply of tattered cardigans on hand in case a blogger sank its teeth into the bling and began to chew. You know how that hurts.
It’s More Fun to be a Rapper: The seminal error of the publishers was to focus on the author rather than the work. Like many mistakes this seems harmless enough in isolation but we’ve moved beyond marketing and promotion into a mad search for It Girls and Boys who have star quality. They look good. They sound good. Non Fiction publishers have the added twist that their authors squandered fortunes, ruined lives, eroded property values but they’re all better now and they look good. We can learn from this lesson from their tales: before you destroy your life and the lives of those around you, build a platform. Nothing’s more tawdry than the decline and fall of the weatherman.
Et tu, Fiction? Writers of fiction are notoriously unkempt. We mumble and blink a lot. Few of us are telegenic. Faced with this dilemma the industry created the fake memoir, a hybrid in the commercial tradition of cable television. This is based on a true story. Really, honest, I swear. One shot at Oprah, that’s all I ask. I inhaled exhaust fumes from a Buick Six writing this damned thing.
Promoting the author is the core of the Industry Belief System. The flaws in this approach are many and may prove ultimately fatal to the big guys in New York. Why? Even if the title breaks out follow up is tough. After all how many trips to rehab involve book length drama, crazed and vengeful relatives, long walks off short piers? The answer is one. One and you’re done. Your second book a novelized version of your memoir and your third book will never be written.
I would be more optimistic about the traditional publishing business if I am wrong about this and refocus on the work being presented. Can they? Sure they can, they still do on the margins of the business. Will they redeploy their resources, that’s the real question.