Looking into IndependentPublishing? You Should Read This.

Danielle Ryan discusses the Independent publishing seminar during The Dubliner Writer’s Festival from a personal point of view.

I’ll be honest. Until recently, I knew next to nothing about independent publishing. Having come across an advertisement for ‘The Indie Scene’, an independent publishing seminar on the Dublin Writers Festival website, I decided it was time to educate myself. Last Saturday was the day. After seven hours of talks and panel discussions I can safely say I am far more clued up on the topic than I was when I woke up (way too) early to head to town for the day.

The seminar was held in ‘City Wall Space’ Wood Quay venue, a relatively new state-of-the-art function room, incorporating the original Hiberno Norse Viking city wall, which I’m told dates back to 1100AD, and served as a pleasant backdrop to each of the day’s speakers. Now, before I go any further, I have to admit, at a couple of points I may in fact have gotten distracted while counting the numbers chalked onto each stone in the wall, but that’s neither here nor there.

“Does it really matter who publishes the books we read? Is the dominance of the multinational failing to meet the real world needs of readers and writers? Does corporate culture stifle creativity and diversity of opinion? And if so, can a vibrant and innovative independent publishing scene better deliver our reading fix?”

These were the questions of the day. 2003, Zoe Dattner and her business partner quit their jobs at Macmillan and decided to start their own business, Sleepers Publishing. Their goal, she says, was “to make books and literature as revered as sports and movies were in Melbourne”. No easy task. Especially if you’re the kind of publishing company publishing only between two and six books a year to start- it can be hell just trying to stay afloat. But is it worth it?

Independent publishers offer something that the multinationals often can’t. They offer their care. They may not be able to offer the big advances and marketing campaigns a traditional publisher can offer, but rest assured, if they choose you, they really believe in you, want to see you succeed and are prepared to put the effort in. They’re not in it purely for the money (just as well, because they‘d be waiting!). They’re doing it because their passion is to introduce new and unique writers to the world. With an indie publisher, you’ll get better terms, loyalty and

genuine interest. I don’t mean to sound completely anti-mainstream, because I’m not, but let’s face it - too often the corporate giants really don’t care about you or your life’s work and you may be forced to accept awful terms and conditions in return for Apple or Amazon uploading an e-file and adding a ‘buy’ button to your book. No promotion, no personal contact, no advice, and no loyalty. “You’ve got to make your writers feel like rock stars” says Dattner. In fact, a book launch party is written into the contract at Sleepers.

At this point a comment came from the audience. “I’m a writer, and I like advances - it’s what I live off!”, to which Dattner replied that with an indie publisher, advances are often simply impossible to offer and that’s just “the nature of it”. There’s a trade off to be made and that’s something you’ll have to weigh for yourself.

Precisely because of this trade-off, indie publishers often run into the realization that the loyalty they offer doesn’t always run both ways. Frequently an independent publisher who has found and nurtured a new writer, will find that the writer’s agent will sell them off to a multinational as soon as success comes knocking, making it a constant challenge as an indie publisher to retain your best authors. With the mainstream “poachers” alive and well, the challenge is simply “staying alive”.

A lively debate surrounds these questions. Should loyalty really flow both ways? Does the writer really bear any responsibility to the indie publishers who gave them their first break or should he or she recognize that their own needs evolve, and that this evolution may require partnership with a more mainstream publisher?

Some regard the choice of a writer to move on to a multinational as necessary, while others regard it as killing the goose that lays the golden egg, so to speak. If an agent can offer a deal with a multinational, which would allow the writer to quit the day job and write to their heart’s content, is there really any reason why a serious writer would turn that offer down? As such, these decisions can lead to tension filled relationships between writers, publishers and agents alike.

So where do e-books and digital publishing fit into all of this? Well, with so much changing in the world of publishing, challenges are building for these small publishers, in much the same ways as they are building for the multinationals. Business models that publishers have been working on for so many years are, figuratively speaking, being shot to pieces. Business models don’t exist the way they used to, in any industry. It’s all about ability to adapt, not the ability to stick to a traditional business model.

While on the one hand, the rise of digital publishing can be great news for the indie writer (reaching more readers in more places), publishers are increasingly nervous about what this means for the artifact - the traditional book itself. Some publishers are swimming against the digital tide, while others are facing it with open arms. Yet, we shouldn’t overestimate this shift. The publishing industry is dominated still by the traditional printed book. Currently, under 10% of book sales are e-books (or just under 11% depending on which survey you believe), which isn’t too big of a problem to deal with just yet, but something tells me that those with open arms, seeing this transformation as an opportunity rather than a threat, will reap the rewards.

Sophy Williams of Black Inc mentioned a recent Financial Times article which referred to the e-book as a “continuing disruption”. Continuing they may be, but regarding the e-book as a ‘disruption’ is a fatal mistake. Bricks and mortar simply do not exist in a world on their own anymore. Rather “clicks are mortar” are where it’s at. Such a cantankerous and combative attitude can only be regarded as unproductive and unnecessarily antagonistic. Success for both indie and mainstream publishers alike, hinges on the development of an “embracing and innovative approach” to digital publishing.

Follow @Spunc, @ZoeDattner, @SleepersPublish and @BlackIncBooks on Twitter for greater insight into the world of Indie Publishing.

To see more pictures of The Indie Scene seminar and the City Wall Space venue, see our photographer’s Flickr.

Or if you’re looking for concise answers about an industry in flux, check www.isthebookdead.com for all you need to know!