The state of publishing: Lessons from one editor

May 2, 5:50 PMDC Publishing Industry ExaminerWendy Coakley-Thompson

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Rakia Clark

Kensington Books laid off Editor Rakia Clark in January of this year. In less than five months, Clark has gone from unemployed editor to successful freelancer. She has much to say about the state of publishing today. “It’s going through some changes.”

According to Clark, the industry has been struggling since 2002. The inter-industry competition has been particularly bruising. “There are lots of books to compete with,” she says.

Moreover, editors generally have more books on their lists than they are able to handle. It is not easy to get the attention, in the form of publicity, for these books. Adding further to the challenge for overwhelmed editors, Clark explains, “It’s tough to break anything new.”

Most recently, the industry is heading with great urgency in a digital direction. Per Clark, Penguin, Grand Central Publishing, Simon & Schuster, Random House, HarperCollins all have digital publishing divisions. However, says Clark, “There’s a learning curve. They’re figuring out how to make it work… trying to play catch up.”

In addition to playing catch up, the industry is attempting to incorporate digital publishing with its traditional paradigms and strategies – another challenge. “The publishing industry’s not like other media,” Clark explains. “For example, if the product doesn’t sell, the retailer sends it back.”

The advance is also an inviolate entity, peculiar to publishing. “The advance was traditionally set up so the author could live on it, but most books don’t earn out [make back their advances through sales]. With a successful book, the profit margins, in relation to that of other industries, are quite low.”

Clark predicts that, as an adjunct to the digital publishing challenge, the publishing industry will need to work with Amazon’s business model and technologies like Kindle 2 and other e-readers in other to survive. Readers will be more fluent and comfortable with these new technologies, viewing them as supplementary to books.

Clearly, change is coming. The question remains: What is the level of organizational readiness for it? Clark breaks the staff down into two factions:

• The Old Guard: Comprised of editors that have been in the industry for decades. The Old Guard is and has always been comfortable with the status quo. The Old Guard has something to offer in the way of their wisdom. They’ve survived previous industry upheavals.
• The New Guard: Comprised of editors that been around for a decade or less. The New Guard is ready for the changes on the horizon but is not quite sure of how to take advantage of them. The New Guard has great ideas but, as many in the New Guard don’t know how the industry ticks, they will most surely encounter resistance to the incorporation of those ideas.

Authors, both published and aspiring, will also have to change their mindsets if they wish to survive. Given the new technology-driven paradigm, Clark says that the onus is on authors to have more of an online presence beyond a personal web site. “Five years ago, having your own web site was sufficient. Now you need blogging, web site, newsletter linked to other people’s blogs,” she says. “That can have an effect on what projects get acquired. You want someone that has the acumen to handle the new digital world. This can drive the book in a way that’s helpful.”

Editors too, have become more discerning in the current climate. Editors have begun asking whether an author is a technophile or a technophobe. More often than not, authors need a hook in order to sell their books. The dynamite novel that can stand on its own is a rarity. Clark says, “I’ve been in meetings where it’s been asked ‘What does the author look like?’ ‘Can they speak?’ Anything that can help marketing-wise has the potential to sell books.”

When asked what lessons can be learned from this era of layoffs, slashed imprints, and other attempts to make publishing leaner, Clark minces no words. “It’s clear to everyone now that they have to pay attention to what is happening on the digital side. It’s vital. Any publisher with good sense will be incorporating the new technology into their overall strategy.”