Thomas Nelson and Self-Publishing

While I've been moving my daughter Kate into her first apartment, the internet has been buzzing with news about Thomas Nelson (a huge CBA publishing house) announcing that they are moving into the self-publishing business. You can read all about it here http://michaelhyatt.com/2009/10/should-you-consider-self-publishing.html and here  www.news.thomasnelson.com  

Some people are angry, thinking Nelson is profiteering... but my feeling is, "They're a business. OF COURSE they're profiteering." I mean, I'm in business to make a profit. That's what a business does! The team at Nelson has simply noticed the abundance of wannabe writers out there, and decided to create an option for them to get into print. Nothing wrong with that. The industry is changing rapidly, and we're all trying to figure out how to make a living in the new economy. If Nelson wants to start a self-pub unit, it's not much different than if they started a "plush toys" unit or a "TV movie" division. That said, I do think there are some issues to think through.

First, there's no getting around the fact that the Thomas Nelson name has huge cache. So there's the potential for offering a bit of a "come on." I think that's what has upset people -- the notion that the team at Nelson is saying, "Self-pubbing with WestBow is sort of like publishing your book with Thomas Nelson." And that's just not true. 

When the president of the company, Michael Hyatt, blogged about it, he alluded to this when he stated self-pubbing "provides us with a kind of 'farm team.'" Um... Mike... please. I respect you very much, and I've publicly sung your praises, but that looks like you're letting the marketing guys create your copy for you. You're already publishing 500 titles per year, and these books weren't good enough to make your list. Sure, if somebody self-publishes and sells 10,000 copies, you might sit up and pay attention to them -- but so will everyone else. A "farm team" implies that your editorial and marketing people will be investing in these authors, shaping them for a brighter publishing future. And that won't be happening. 

(A side note: Mike also mentioned that authors wanted to self-pub "without getting ripped off." Uh... ripped off by who? Haven't the majority of the complaints been aimed at iUniverse and XLibris and Author House? Nelson has announced they're doing this in a partnership with ASI, who, um, owns iUniverse and XLibris and Author House. So if you're concerned authors are getting ripped off, it's by the very company you're partnering with. But I'm not trying to cast aspersions. I don't have any firsthand knowledge of problems with Author House, for example. And I know Michael Hyatt -- he's a good man, who's just trying to make his company successful.)

Second, the Nelson group must understand that some folks are afraid of the huge potential to scam people -- having some editor say, "We're not interested in publishing your book through our regular publishing company... but have you considered self-publishing with us?" No, I don't expect that will happen. But do you know that's exactly why members of the Association of Author Representatives aren't allowed to have their own editing services or publishing companies? There's too much temptation to look at every bad manuscript that passes an agent's desk and say, "This isn't ready... but for $500, I have an editor who could really get this in shape." A successful agent would have a bonanza -- EVERY crappy manuscript would have the potential to earn the agent money. (And there are several literary agents who do this -- running an editorial service or offering "proposal consulting." They'd be drummed out of the AAR for that reason. Stay away from them.) 

Third, the folks at Nelson probably wish they hadn't decided to use the name WestBow. They used it for expediency (Thomas Nelson already owned it; WestBow was the name of their fiction program a few years back), but that creates real issues... Can a WestBow author now say, "I'm published by the same imprint that publishes TED DEKKER"? Yeah, they can. (And yes, the WestBow authors are livid about this.) My guess is that they'll change this. 

Fourth, I have a real problem with the blog stating, "We want to work with agents and affiliates as 'WestBow Press Affiliates.'" That would mean I, as an agent, would supposedly send an author to WestBow, so that I could get a bird-dog fee? Um... no. Sorry. That's a clear ethical violation. 

In retrospect, I was surprised the Nelson folks did this so publicly, since most people in publishing look down on self-pubbing as the low-end, potentially seedy side of the business. Another CBA house, B&H, has a self-pub company -- Cross Books -- but they keep it under wraps. So far as I know, there are no connections between their self-pub side and the actual B&H publishing business. And if this whole enterprise is going to come back and bite Thomas Nelson in the backside, it's because of that. There's at least one publishing house who has sent out rejection letters stating, "We've decided not to publish your book... but you may want to consider self-publishing with us." That doesn't pass the smell test. 

I'm not down on self-publishing. In fact, I've self-pubbed my own books (they were books of card tricks) and done very well. But all of us who work in the industry have seen poor quality, badly written books with no editing and poor production qualities. So, to make sure we leave with a learning tool, let me answer one question: Who should self-publish? 

The answer is simple: Only authors who can sell their books. Period. If you can't sell your book -- either by speaking to a group or pitching them to your organization or offering them to your regular readers, don't self-publish. You'll just lose money. It's extremely rare for a fiction writer to sell any self-published books, no matter what company name is on the spine. So be aware, and do your homework. 

Comments

[N. J. Lindquist]

Thanks for saying a lot of what I wanted to say Chip.

There is already no lack of companies out there who are more than willing to take money to "make books" for authors. If Thomas Nelson could add some tangibles to the experience, that might be worth doing, but I'm not holding my breath.

Unfortunately, the cost of going to a vanity press is usually very high, both financially and emotionally. As it stands, I would never advise a writer to go to any of the Author House companies to have their book published.

I work with writers all the time, and my concern is for all the people (and there are so many) who don't understand that this is a business, who are just trying to minister through their writing, who publish in the same way they might buy a lottery ticket (maybe this will be the next Shack), and who are getting ripped off.

My heart aches every time someone gives me a copy of a vanity-published book, and I look at it and cringe because I can see right away that it isn't well-done.

I'm not opposed to self-publishing. Ten years ago, I formed an independent publishing company and we've produced 8 books. I know that you can create a great product without having a major publishing house. But I'd had three royalty publishers prior to publishing my first book. And I hired graphic artists, printers, etc.

Most people don't know what's involved, and don't realize that they need to do a lot of homework first. And 99% don't know that the time to start marketing your book isn't when you have a book, but at least a year before that. I know people with rooms filled with low-quality books that cost 3 or 4 times as much as they should have cost and absolutely no hope of selling them.

Yes, there is a real need to help people who want to write and be published. But I don't believe that helping them get their books published "as is" is the answer.

[Todd Rutherford]

The deception is that West Bow is a self-publishing company. They are really a vanity publishing company. If an author self-publishes, they won't be paying someone to publish and then receiving a 20% royalty. If West Bow wants to provide legitimate services that assist authors with the self-publishing process for a fee, that would be different.

Many Christian authors will be deceived by this charade because they believe they might have a chance to be picked up by Thomas Nelson.

I believe in capitalism. Create a profit by offering legitimate services, not by deceiving people.

[Richard Mabry]

Chip,
Glad to see your take on this one. I suppose that what gets to me as much as anything is the economic pressure on publishers that's brought Thomas Nelson to this point. It's hard to get published by a royalty publisher, and obviously getting harder.
Seeing an established house venturing into self-publishing, which I perceive as a gray area, is like seeing an actor I've always respected reduced to doing a commercial for Depends.

[Michael Hyatt]

I answered many of the questions you raise, Chip, on Mike Shatzkin’s blog. I won’t repeat myself here, but some of you may be interested in reading my response.

Also, one thing to note, ASI is a “roll-up” of the self-publishing houses you mentioned. They have brought professional management and standardization to them. It is better run than most traditional publishing houses I have seen.

Time will tell whether we pick up some of these authors from WestBow. I would wager that it will be sooner than you think.

[Michael Hyatt]

Oops. Here's the link to my response on Shatzkin’s blog.

http://www.idealog.com/blog/the-new-thomas-nelson-self-publishing-initiative-more-questions-than-answers

[kyle watson]

I often go to a website of Christian writers. I find their comments and views interesting. Because most of the time my views are very different. I never wanted to be a writer until a little over ten years ago. Most writers on this site have always dreamed of being a great author. For me, I wanted to score the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl.

Michael Hyatt is offering them a chance to make this dream happen. If they don't sell enough to break even. Well, they at least had a chance to find out. And they can try again or not. These writers get rejection letters over and over again. Everything sounded good but for some reason it was rejected. John Grisham was rejected 40 times. What if a John Grisham type comes out of this farm team? Authors must take risk are they will never find out. To me its a win win for both sides.

As far as quality. You have great literary fiction that is boring and doesn't sell a lick. And you have poorly written fiction on the bestselling list because its entertaining. Let readers decide on the books they like most. Movie studios make Oscar nominated films, popcorn flicks, and The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. Mr. Hyatt is allowing room for everyone to squeeze in and be comfortable.

[Sherrie Lord]

Thanks, Chip, for sifting this down to the basics — and from the perspective of a literary agent. Well done.

[Stevie Rey]

Thanks for the fair minded blog, Chip, and thanks for having the courage to say some of the things that you did. "Farm team" does imply, to me, that someone will be actively scouting these authors for talent. If that is really not the case, perhaps the folks at Thomas Nelson should have used some different phraseology.

[Lauren Sylvan]

I think Michael Hyatt made a smart move for his company and his employees. Yes, it is one more hole in the dike of traditional publish-ing, but that dike is gonna fall anyway. How many record production companies are there now? How many record stores? Where did they go?
Digital technology swept them away. Technology that made produc-tion easy and much cheaper, within the reach of any garage band. Online sales and digital downloads that removed the sales intermedi-ary. And now it's very hard to make a living in the music industry, because of the crowded field. But it's great to be a music consumer, because no matter how oddball your tastes, there is music available to fit it.
This is happening to publishing companies. I believe it was Mr. Hyatt who said that we are one device away from an ebook revolution. And there is a whole generation that is going to be more than happy to read books on that device, listen to audiobooks on their cell phones, and buy their favorite products online, on the recommendation of some unknown, unpaid micro-reviewer or blogger whose tastes, however strange, match their own.
And what does a traditional publishing company do with this reality? Go broke, like the big music production companies? Or see the future coming and figure out a way to be part of it?
Yes, letting all these amateurs out there, unfiltered, is going to create a mess for consumers to wade through and dilute everybody's credi-bility as a writer, but readers will figure out a way to sort through the mess faster than you think. And writers of all levels will quickly get wise to the economics of bookmaking, as they already are doing. Even though I can sympathize with the publishing companies, writers, and agents whose livelihood is melting in the new economy, ignoring the train coming at them won't help shore up the old ways. I applaud Thomas Nelson’s courage.

[Sharon A Lavy]

Thank you once again, Chip.

[brandt Dodson]

Wow! This topic touched off a firestorm, didn't it?
I was in Indianapolis this weekend as a panelist at the Bouchercon (a huge mystery fan conference). During one panel I attended, editors from Little Brown and St. Martin's were asked about this very topic - would they "get into" the self-publishing business. Both editorial directors laughed the concept to scorn. One stated succinctly: "We can't keep up with the business we have. That model just doesn't work for us."

This will be the hot topic for a few years - just as the concept of not paying advance is - which illustrates that publishing is a dynamic business.

[David Thomas]

One problem with the "farm team" analogy is that "farmed-out" baseball players are owned by the major league club and all of their movements up and down the system are controlled by the major league club.

They are players the major league club has determined to be prospects -- potentially major-league worthy. The major club club has INVESTED in these players. They play with aspirations of reaching the big-league team, although it does not work out that way for many.

Perhaps a better analogy would be "independent league players." They also are minor-league players, but they are not considered major-league prospects for various reasons. Independent-league players may have major-league aspirations, but they know because of what level they are at that their chances of making it aren't as good as the farmed-out players. Some are hoping just for a chance to it into a major-league team's farm system.

I have interviewed many minor-leaguers at the independent level, and most continue to play solely because of their love for baseball.

There's a place in the market for baseball players and writers who want to pursue their passion. But the "farm team" analogy for writers may create false expectations for those pursuing a dream that is beyond their realistic potential.

[chip responds]

-Thanks very much for coming on and sharing your perspective, Mike.

-Thanks to all for participating -- good comments on these bogs.

-I don't see anything to "applaud" here, Lauren. I mean, what's so "courageous" about setting up a self-publishing company? (Would you say, "I'm applauding the Schnepples for courageously setting up a Waffle House"?) Maybe we don't view this the same way...

[Lauren Sylvan]

Chip,
I would applaud the Schnepple's Waffle House if it kept their employees working and feeding their families. I'm applauding TN for the same thing. This is about survival in the coming change.

The rest of the industry can pretend the change will be small or slow to come, or they can get busy and map out their own plan. Mike Hyatt is doing the latter.

I don't think the farm team analogy is serious, it's a concession, a way to hold out a stick of hope for those who can't imagine a publishing/writing world that looks like today's music industry does.

[Nathan Martin]

I believe Mr. Hyatt made a good business decision. The traditional publishing model is changing quickly. Thomas Nelson recognizes that they're no longer in the traditional book-making business. It is now about content--especially in the nonfiction world. When we want to learn about something there are many, many resources other than the traditional how-to book. Thomas Nelson is actively exploring those other resources to understand how to monetize them. In this case they found a related market to add another source of income.

I like the farm team analogy as they will almost certainly pull authors up to the TN label after they prove themselves at WB. Hopefully those authors do receive some coaching from Westbow on how to become a better writer, promoter, and salesperson.

[elizabeth o. dulemba]

I hope you don't mind - I've quoted you:
http://dulemba.com/index_how.html
e