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Home » Defense of Traditional Publishing

Defense of Traditional Publishing

Thanking the Publishers

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon September 24, 2015
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When you’re an agent, you get to see a lot of what publishers do every day.

At the same time, because you don’t actually work in their offices, you don’t know a lot about what they do.

Since I’ve been an agent a long time, I don’t need to write a blog like this to butter up the publishers. They already know me. But because there’s such publisher bashing, I think now’s a good time to consider what publishers do for their authors.

To the publishers, thank you for:

  • Thinking through each and every book project before bringing it to market. This means vetting each manuscript through several meetings, composed of different groups of people who’ll have a say in whether they think the book will be a success. As a result, every author will have a team of publishing professionals behind each book. No one stands alone in a publishing decision. Does this mean each book will be a bestseller? No. But it does help more authors become successful once they are published.
  • Investing many dollars in each book. It’s hard for authors, and even agents, to understand just how much money we’re asking a publisher to invest in an author. Great cover designers, editors, marketing people, accountants, contracts people, administrators, and author relations people don’t come cheaply – nor should they. It must be frustrating for publishers to hear authors complain that not enough money was invested in their particular books. Maybe in some cases, more money could increase sales; maybe not. But even the last book on the list has still had considerable investment.
  • Hiring fabulous editors. As an agent, I can attest to the high quality of editors in CBA. I would hate to be an author going it alone in the publishing wilds, hoping to find an editor on my own. And while not every author and editor are a good fit at every publishing house, the publishing houses I work with consistently hire the best editors in the business. The fact that I rarely if ever read a book review saying, “The author could have used a good editor,” regarding a CBA book is testimony to the fact. Readers of secular book reviews will see such criticism time and time again – justified or not.
  • Caring about their authors. Yes, this is a business. And sometimes authors don’t “feel the love” but the editors themselves really do care about their authors. I’ve seen the tender loving professional care editors give to their authors’ books – and real friendships can develop.
  • Caring about the quality of the books they publish. The editors and publishers I know truly want to glorify the Lord by presenting readers with quality books. Isn’t that what authors want as well? What more can we ask?

Your turn:

What would you like to thank your publisher for, as an author?

As a reader, does anything come to mind?

 

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Category: Book Business, Defense of Traditional Publishing, The Publishing LifeTag: publishers, Thanks, The Publishing Life, Traditional Publishing

How Many People Are Involved in Publishing Your Book?

By Steve Laubeon May 18, 2015
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The above photo is somewhat illustrative of the number of people involved in getting your book to market. Even if you self-publish there are still many functions that you may have not done yourself. Below is not an exhaustive list but a rambling stream of consciousness when thinking about the people who are involved in the publishing process: Author (kinda important) literary agent (we think this …

Read moreHow Many People Are Involved in Publishing Your Book?
Category: Book Business, Book Business, Defense of Traditional Publishing, Marketing, The Publishing LifeTag: Book Business, Traditional Publishing

Who Owns Whom in Publishing?

By Steve Laubeon September 9, 2014
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Updated December 20, 2022 For a comprehensive list check out The Christian Writers Market Guide. Available in print at your favorite retailer or as an online subscription (updated weekly) at www.ChristianWritersMarketGuide.com. Our emphasis in this post is the Christian publishing industry. There are many fine commercial publishers that do not publish Christian books and thus are left out of this …

Read moreWho Owns Whom in Publishing?
Category: Book Business, Defense of Traditional Publishing, Get Published, Steve, The Publishing LifeTag: Book Business, The Publishing Life, Traditional Publishing

Ebook-Originals, the Next Step in Traditional Publishing Strategy

By Steve Laubeon July 19, 2012
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Guest Post by Sue Brower

Our guest today is Sue Brower. She is Executive Editor at Zondervan in charge of fiction and thinks she has the best job in the world…she gets paid to read all day!  Zondervan is currently looking for completed manuscripts to fill the Zondervan First fiction eBook platform.  The ideal stories will primarily have romance-driven plots and vivid, realistic characters.  We …

Read moreEbook-Originals, the Next Step in Traditional Publishing Strategy
Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Defense of Traditional Publishing, E-Books, Get Published, TrendsTag: ebooks, publishing, Strategy

Inside a Publishing Company

By Steve Laubeon June 18, 2012
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by Steve Laube

I just returned from three days at the Write! Canada writers conference outside Toronto. During my time there I presented a six session lecture series on the Complete Publishing Process: From Idea to Print.

When the entire process is compressed into a short series like that it becomes evident how many people are involved in the publishing of a book at any given publishing …

Read moreInside a Publishing Company
Category: Book Business, Defense of Traditional Publishing, Marketing, Steve, The Publishing LifeTag: publishing, Publishing A-Z

Goodbye to Traditional Publishing?

By Steve Laubeon May 14, 2012
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by Steve Laube

Recently Ann Voss Peterson wrote of her decision to never sign another contract with Harlequin. One major statistic from the article is that she sold 170,000 copies of a book but earned only $20,000.

Multiple clients sent me Peterson’s “Harlequin Fail” article and wanted my opinion. My first thought is that this was typical “the publisher is ripping me off” fodder. But …

Read moreGoodbye to Traditional Publishing?
Category: Book Business, Contracts, Defense of Traditional Publishing, E-Books, Steve, TrendsTag: Contracts, royalties, Traditional Publishing

A Defense of Traditional Publishing: Part Five

By Steve Laubeon May 10, 2011
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INFRASTRUCTURE

The more I write on this series the more “boring” it seems to become. Why? Because I’m not revealing anything particularly new or uncovering the secret to getting published. However, the goal has been to talk about things that the traditional can do quite well. And this series ultimately is a journey through the innards of the publishing business.

Today we discuss …

Read moreA Defense of Traditional Publishing: Part Five
Category: Book Business, Defense of Traditional Publishing, Get Published, The Publishing LifeTag: Get Published, Traditional Publishing

A Defense of Traditional Publishing: Part Four

By Steve Laubeon May 3, 2011
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DESIGN

Napoleon Bonaparte, is supposed to have said, "Un bon croquis vaut mieux qu'un long discours," translated "A good sketch is better than a long speech." That has morphed into the modern phrase “A picture is worth a thousand words,” which is a fundamental truth when talking of book covers.

Another cliché states, “don’t judge a book by its cover,” but we do it all the time. We are a …

Read moreA Defense of Traditional Publishing: Part Four
Category: Book Business, Defense of Traditional Publishing, Get Published, The Publishing LifeTag: Get Published, Traditional Publishing

A Defense of Traditional Publishing: Part Three

By Steve Laubeon April 26, 2011
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CONTENT DEVELOPMENT

I need to clarify what I’m attempting to do with this series of posts. I am not digging deeper trenches and pouring the dirt over a head that is already buried in the sand. Some think I’m defending a dying industry and failing to see the changes around it. This series is merely an attempt to remind us what traditional publishers do well. Their critics are jettisoning all of …

Read moreA Defense of Traditional Publishing: Part Three
Category: Book Business, Defense of Traditional Publishing, The Publishing LifeTag: Content Development, publishing, Traditional Publishing

A Defense of Traditional Publishing: Part Two

By Steve Laubeon April 20, 2011
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CURATION

The word "curation" embodies one of the key activities of a traditional publisher. My understanding of this word has been forever enriched by Steven Rosenbaum, the author of the fantastic book Curation Nation: Why the Future of Content is Context. (You owe it to yourself to read this book.)

We usually associate the curator with a museum.

Read moreA Defense of Traditional Publishing: Part Two
Category: Book Business, Book Review, Defense of Traditional Publishing, Get Published, The Publishing LifeTag: Agents, Book Business, Digital Books, E-Books, Get Published, Traditional Publishing, Trends
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