Books Like Records
Ah, now see? This is what I've been getting at. I suspected it was a common enough comparison (even if handled a bit facetiously by flavorwire), and I'm glad to see I'm not the only one thinking in these terms.
So: small press publishing. At best, they can attract a devoted readership by consistently putting out high-quality work that is catered to more discerning or adventurous tastes. At worst, they - just as indie record labels have so often done - can be horrible at following up on the promises they've made to vulnerable authors who usually aren't in a position to argue.
There's a famous anecdote from a legendary band who talked about doing business with an indie label. I'm not going to search out the direct quote just now, but it ran something along the lines of, "We knew they were screwing us. When they gave us some money, we asked if we could see the accounting behind it. 'Well,' they said, 'you can see the accounting or you can see the money. Which would you like it to be?'" I'll bet there are a million similar stories in the small press publishing world.
And I'm not really sure that small publishing houses have been as successful at developing their brand identities as indie record labels. I get the feeling they haven't found ways to snag the "young eyes" to the same extent that the young ears have been successfully colonized over the years. Every now and then, I'll see a House of Anansi bookbag when I'm on the subway. But they're few and far between, and not as prevalent as the Arts & Crafts buttons I see on jackets and backpacks.
But once again, I think the allure of indie-scaled publishing is that you can stop shaping your work according to what's been landing 6-figure deals in exchange for slowly cultivating a readership that will feel strongly about your work. For projects that won't ever be considered commercially marketable, that seems like a far healthier place to be writing from. All of which is really easy for me to say at this point.
I don't have enough experience yet to do more than guess at how things will play out. I guess we'll just see, right?
So: small press publishing. At best, they can attract a devoted readership by consistently putting out high-quality work that is catered to more discerning or adventurous tastes. At worst, they - just as indie record labels have so often done - can be horrible at following up on the promises they've made to vulnerable authors who usually aren't in a position to argue.
There's a famous anecdote from a legendary band who talked about doing business with an indie label. I'm not going to search out the direct quote just now, but it ran something along the lines of, "We knew they were screwing us. When they gave us some money, we asked if we could see the accounting behind it. 'Well,' they said, 'you can see the accounting or you can see the money. Which would you like it to be?'" I'll bet there are a million similar stories in the small press publishing world.
And I'm not really sure that small publishing houses have been as successful at developing their brand identities as indie record labels. I get the feeling they haven't found ways to snag the "young eyes" to the same extent that the young ears have been successfully colonized over the years. Every now and then, I'll see a House of Anansi bookbag when I'm on the subway. But they're few and far between, and not as prevalent as the Arts & Crafts buttons I see on jackets and backpacks.
But once again, I think the allure of indie-scaled publishing is that you can stop shaping your work according to what's been landing 6-figure deals in exchange for slowly cultivating a readership that will feel strongly about your work. For projects that won't ever be considered commercially marketable, that seems like a far healthier place to be writing from. All of which is really easy for me to say at this point.
I don't have enough experience yet to do more than guess at how things will play out. I guess we'll just see, right?
posted by pf at
12:38 AM
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