Precisely why I don't blog much ...

... because I should be working on getting proposals out and answering phone calls and emails. But, here I am instead. Wondering why on earth I threw my opinions out there in there in the first place.

First, let me say I realize we need to change our blog setup so people realize when it's me, SANDRA writing. I'll work on that.  For now, you get to read my words in orange.

Regarding yesterday's blog, I began posting comment replies but they got too long, so consider this a group reply.

I want to clarify that expressing whether or not I approve of TN's decision was not the intention of my post yesterday.  Who really cares whether I approve or not? I certainly wasn't trying to shake my finger at Michael Hyatt. Frankly, I don't know the man, but I do respect his position, and I'm smart enough to know (and humble enough to admit) that he's someone with a lot of influence who has the capacity to make or break careers. Or at least bend them.

My pointing out "what's behind the curtain" had more to do with my frustration about the whole farm team analogy. It just didn't fly for me.

Thomas Nelson's decision to add self publishing to their product line was their choice to make. It's a business model which is different from what's always been done. Does the fact that Nelson and other traditional publishers are stepping into this ring threaten the status quo? Absolutely. Do I respect their courage to at least step out and try something new? Yes, as a matter of fact I do. Am I jumping up and down in excitement about it? Uh, no.

I'm sure this decision wasn't considered lightly. Business ideas are sometimes conceived in a vacuum, but rarely carried out in one. My guess is that the seed of this idea started with a simple question like "how can we continue to move forward and mitigate risk?" For Nelson, this was their answer. Is it the right answer? That's the million dollar question, isn't it?

I realize from Thomas Nelson's perspective, this new division simply offers authors a new choice to make in regard to how they pursue publication. It's a service in exchange for a fee. And it's not like TN is going to go out and hang authors upside down to shake spare change from their pockets. Whether authors choose to buy this service is their choice.

Still, it's needs to be said that good authors work and sacrifice long and hard on their product before presenting it for consideration and this move doesn't make the road to publishing shorter or easier for them. It makes it steeper, bumpier, and harder to navigate.

For most authors, traditional publishing is still the end goal. In CBA, Thomas Nelson has long been considered the brass ring. The stamp of approval. Validation and evidence that an author has earned their way to the top and is deserving of respect as a Christian author. And I believe that respect is something which should be earned. Not available for purchase.

Face it, there is the potential for folks to let their desire to see their name on the spine of a Thomas Nelson book override their motivation to do the work. And, conversely, there is also the potential for TN to let their desire to make money override their motivation to hold to their standards. I'm not accusing. I'm just saying this looks like it has the potential to be a slippery slope and this concerns me.

Obviously I wasn't asked for my opinion on any of this. And as I was talking with another agent this morning, we agreed that it's easy to criticize and point fingers at other people's solutions without offering suggestions or alternatives, so here's mine:

Want a farm team? Go for it. I think it's a great idea. Start a new non-advance, higher royalty division - and perhaps use the Westbow imprint for just such a thing. This would still raise the commitment required from authors without lowering the bar. Help authors who are willing to commit to making the product a success, then spend the money that would have gone into an advance to help the author with marketing. I've done a couple deals this way with other publishers recently, and I have to say, I feel fine about it. There was nothing in it for me upfront as an agent, but in both cases, they are projects I believe have the capacity to not only make money down the road, but also make a difference in the long run.

Just an idea. Conceived in bit of a vacuum, I'll admit. Feel free to discuss. I've got work to do.

Sandra

Comments

[PatriciaW]

Your opinion is your opinion, Sandra. I think most folks understand that blogging is inherently full of opinions. My original thought was that you shouldn't apologize, but then I didn't read the comments on yesterday's post.

I agree with your solution. At the same time, I'm not opposed to a traditional publisher owning a vanity press. But it should be completely separate and apart from the traditional publishing operations, in name and all else, and they should say so upfront and stick to that. My opinion.

I think TN, and other traditional publishers, could also consider an ebook publishing option for books that meet their quality standard--an absolute requisite--but don't look as though they'd be profitable. At least not initially. They could sell these directly to the public via their website, along with offering them in ebook format by way of Amazon and the likes. If the book surprises them and does well, then move to print, as other ebook publishers do. Maybe this is just a variation of what you suggested. Again, my opinion.

No, TN hasn't asked for anyone's opinion, but in fact, the publishing industry doesn't really have a big solution in its coffers. So listening to and weighing opinions might be a chance to find a nugget of gold. Keep talking (but make sure we know it's you.) :)

[Michael Hyatt]

Thanks, Sandra. This is definitely an idea worth considering. I will be interested to see your readers’ response to it.

Blessings.

[Cecelia Dowdy]

I think Patricia's suggestion is a good one...better than what Thomas Nelson is doing now.

However, in order for me to really express an opinion, I'd need to see all the dollars and cents, profit and loss statements, see exactly what's been lost, and where it's been lost. I'm assuming TN's profits were way under budget, so they had to do something before they lost even more money?

[Michael Hyatt]

@Cecelia: Excuse me ... You got all that from our announcement? Wow.

[Sandra Bishop]

Mike,

I will watch with interest, as well. Don't know how many folks really want to continue this discussion though. We'll see. I'm nearly done with it myself.

Cecelia,

You do assume too much here. We all see the writing on the wall and realize change is inevitable. Wise business leaders don't wait until it's too late to enact change.

And good luck getting to those P&L's. Let me know how that goes for you!

[Darin Shaw]

Sandra, thanks for two very thought provoking posts in a row. Perhaps you should blog more!

I came away thinking over two lines from your posts:

First, that TN may have been asking "how can we move forward and mitigate risk?" That's certainly how the move feels to an unpublished author.

Second, for your admitted lack of baseball farm system knowledge, you hit the ball out of the park--the farm system develops players to move up the ranks at the cost of the baseball organization. You could take it a step further, though. Those system players play at a much lower wage than the big leaguers, no perks (it is often a costly endeavor to continue a minor league career). To be a more like a farm system, perhaps TN or whomever could offer up an imprint that paid new authors no advances, with more incentive-laced contracts, yet still foot the bill (and accompanying risk) for POD publishing of a promising author's book. Risk would be minimized, the author would have (by virtue of their talent) earned the TN on the spine of their work, and perhaps, for the publisher, the next Max Lucado would surface.

Again, thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[kyle Watson]

Have you consider how hard it is to get an agent like Chip to represent our books? Just to read a sample page query? I got a good response from Alive Communications once but no cigar. Even authors with agents haven't made it to Ted Dekker's level. Heck, some are no further than myself. Death may catch a writer first going this route. So at least the Farm Team gives you a chance to find out before you leave this earth. You can say I gave it a shot and have no regrets for trying.

For too long the publishing industry has only allowed a select few through the door of success. John Grisham was rejected 40 times. I wonder how many like him gave up and never attempted again. The farm team gives a writer the chance and the readers can decide the fate.

[Sharon A Lavy]

I have a suggestion, Sandra. Could you post your picture with your blog post? Then we would know right away that this was your post.

I enjoy reading your posts.

[Tracey Michae'l Lewis-Giggetts]

I'm still formulating an opinion on TN's new venture but I do think that what you have proposed could work, Sandra. I am both an indie published (fiction) and traditionally published (nonfiction) author. Quite frankly, because of my growing platform I make more money and reach more people that way. However, in my indie publishing I don't use a vanity press. I hire editors, designers, etc myself because it gives me full control and generally costs less. However, there are many writers out there who don't know how do to this and could benefit (and be taken advantage of) in this situation. TN has to be careful that they don't become the latter.

A better option would be to address the real need of indie authors while still limiting their risk. This would mean accepting unsolicited manuscripts, finding the best ones (to uphold the TN standard), use advance dollars to help with marketing (per Sandra) and open up TN's distribution channels. The problem of risk is addressed by TN and the problem of entry, marketing, and distribution for good writers is solved. Furthermore, this becomes a true development imprint that feed the traditional imprints.

[Tim Osner]

Very cool public dialogue - a successful literary agency, a publishing heavy hitter and writers on all levels. It must be good for the industry if it does nothing more than get the juices flowing. This is why I like to check in on this blog. Thanks and keep it coming.

[Robert Treskillard]

Sandra,

I gave a response at my blog:

http://epictales.org/blog/robertblog.php?title=why_thomas_nelson_opened_a_self_publishi&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

Thanks for stirring this up!

-Robert