The New Author Economy: Welcome to the Future
I’m on a panel this Tuesday at the Digital Book World conference (www.digitalbookworld.com). The panel is called “Back-Loaded Book Deals: No (and Low) Advance Contracts, Profit-Sharing and Other Innovative Business Models” (http://www.digitalbookworld.com/backloaded). Not a very scintillating title, I know. But given my fantastic co-panelists—Bob Miller, Roger Cooper, Ira Silverberg, and moderator Lorraine Shanley—I’m certain we’ll have an excellent discussion.
I think there is a lot to talk about regarding profit-sharing deals like the ones Bob and Roger are doing and other really intriguing but as yet less-developed models that are emerging. But in addition to all this, there’s one new model that is particularly interesting to me as an agent of nonfiction books (and some fiction, too). That new model is what I’d call the new author economy. The new author economy is, fundamentally, a shift in the author’s (and agent’s) understanding of the objective and the process. In the new author economy, the first objective is not the book deal. The first objective is owning your cultural conversation.
What does this mean? Owning your cultural conversation means that even before you have a book deal, maybe even before your vision of your book is even a glimmer in your eye, you have created your very own platform complete with a healthy number of followers with whom you are communicating on a regular basis.
A perfect example of this is the current bestseller THE HAPPINESS PROJECT by Gretchen Rubin. Gretchen started writing her blog, interacting with her audience, and building her following all before she got a book deal and wrote her book. But because she cultivated her following all the way through, and because she connected all the dots in advance, when her book came out, it climbed right onto the bestseller lists. Another example is a fantastic book that Bob published, CRUSH IT by Gary Vaynerchuk. Same story.
For years now, we gatekeepers in publishing have essentially required that most (nonfiction) authors have this formerly elusive platform, which in the past usually meant a public profile as evidenced by print or tv exposure, an ultra-booked lecture schedule, or, more recently, your own reality tv show (only sort of kidding here…). But discerning a true, compelling platform that could translate into book sales was sort of an art form. Now, for the first time, platforms are quantifiable. Anyone can see how many followers a person has on Twitter, on Facebook, or how successful an author’s blog is. The numbers in conjunction with the quality of the conversation speaks loudly and clearly.
This simple fact—that platforms are now quantifiable—is actually great news for authors. How? When you have a large and verifiable platform, when you “own the eyeballs,” as we’ve all heard our industry thinkers say, then you have power. You have power because then you have a certain ownership of your cultural conversation—you have a brand and your brand is working.
So what can you do with your brand? Our key question as agents is how can we get authors real leverage where they are the centers of ownership in a multimedia world and not just a cog in someone else’s vertical? At my agency, we’ve been having strategy conversations with our authors about how to approach these challenges. We’ve recognized that a change of models might be required, and that, for certain kinds of authors and projects, the agent might be involved in more kinds of strategy and deals than ever before. We have to help authors develop multiple streams of income.
The great news is that even as advances are going down and publishing structures are changing, new opportunities are emerging that are going to help authors nurture their followers and make a living in more ways than just through book deals. In his recent talk at Mediabistro’s Ebook Summit, Douglas Rushkoff discussed his version of this new model. He told us that making his living is a constellation—books, speaking, and videogame narratives. Cory Doctorow is doing a cool DIY version in addition to his mainstream publishing. And Seth Godin combines books with free gifts, constant communication, and highly-paid speaking engagements (and, I’m sure, many other things).
The message to authors is this: in order to have power and choices in this new world, you must gather an audience to you. Some of the most effective tools are now in the hands of the authors, if they choose to use them.
What’s the model of the future when you own your cultural conversation? You might get a great book deal. You might combine that with some cool stuff you put out for free on your own. You might follow the Kevin Kelly model of “1,000 True Fans” and earn your living delighting those fans. And you might investigate other spokes of the hub—your hub. Only you can determine the right answer for you—but this is the most important fact: you’ve got choices.
In my next post, I’m going to discuss one of the new opportunities available to amazing creators with followings. Stand by for the future!
Thoughts?
