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Publishing Archives.
Writing and Publishing, Part 45:
Becoming your own publisher:
Marketing:
Publisher's Organizations:
In this piece, I want to take a look at two specific publishing
industry organizations. These are the Publishers Marketing Association
(PMA) and the Small Publishers of North America (SPAN). I select
these two because they are the ones I know something about. I
have had membership in both organizations for three or more years.
Both organizations produce a monthly newsletter which I regularly
read.
I can only give you my take on these organizations. The only way to learn the real ins and outs of them is to join. First, you may want to visit their websites. PMA is at http://www.pma-online.org/. SPAN is at http://www.spannet.org/. The membership fees are not unreasonable for what you get. The newsletters alone could justify the cost. Both organizations charge $95.00 per year for membership. A while back I made a foolish statement to the effect that SPAN is the only one worth the dues. Now, I find it necessary to apologize and retract that statement. I feel that both of these are worth the dues.
PMA is that larger and slicker of these two. As you might guess from the name, their focus is on marketing. In general, they are about the traditional model of marketing. However, there does seem to be a tendency in some of the membership toward huckstering. Some of the articles in the newsletter demonstrate that trend. There is a good article on this type of marketing in one of the newsletters. PMA Volume 18, Number 9, Sept 2000. The title is "Necessity is a Mother, Part II." I don't know if it's still available or not.
The newsletter also contains frequent articles dealing with legal issues and changes in the publishing landscape. Examples are articles on recent changes in the ISBN and articles dealing with copyright law. They also address the recent trends in manufacturing, like Books-on-Demand and E-books. All of these are issues of importance to us as small publishers.
In addition to the newsletter, PMA is involved in many publisher oriented activities. They have an educational program for members wherein they hold frequent seminars about the various aspects of publishing. To give you an idea, here are some of the seminar categories. E-Publishing, Internet, Publicity, Business Planning and Strategy. These are just a few. The list is long.
PMA also attends all of the important publishing trade shows where they have staffed exhibits. Small publishers can have their books represented at these shows for a very reasonable fee. This year, I intend to participate through PMA in one of these shows for my first time. I have selected the Frankfort Book Fair in Germany, where I hope PMA will represent two of my publications. I'll see how it goes.
SPAN, as different from the PMA is more limited in scope and size. They are very much into the nuts-and-bolts how-to of writing and publishing. Typical newsletter articles are, "How to Make Your Web site Media Friendly," and "4 Ways to Strengthen Fiction Writing." They also feature news about the goings on in the industry and tips about marketing. A great deal of their newsletter and organizational focus is about marketing.
My problems with both of these organizations has to do with their concepts of marketing. Although it is not my intent, what I have to say about this is sure to anger some of the people in these groups. My intent is to express my thoughts about what I want to be and don't want to be. My own ideal is in sharp contrast to what I read in the newsletters of these organizations.
When I read the newsletters and journals one thing stand out. The small publishers who are successful in this business are really hucksters. What I get from a large number of these people is that they do not write or publish a book to express who and what they are. They write and publish a book for a particular market because they want profit. They want to make money.
Many of these people are not literary folks at all. They could be peddling anything. For them the book is just a product to sell. They do not write what they believe. They do not write from their heart of soul. They write what they think they can peddle. They are writers as a matter of convenience, just to have a product. They might as well be making and selling underwear, diet pills, or neckties. Rather than write what's in their hearts and souls, they write for market.
I do not mean to contend that they are wrong. Huckstering is an old and firmly established tradition. From P. T. Barnum to Bill Gates, hucksters have controlled the world and garnered most of the money. I only say that being a huckster is not for me. It is just not what I want to be or what I want to do. It is not in my soul or my heart.
The very reason that I am not successful as a writer publisher is that I am a terrible huckster. I hate it. I think hustling is unsavory and degrading on the face of it. I have tried and tried to figure a way around it, but I'm not sure there is one. I have almost come to believe that if you are not a good con man, you will not be able to market your product in this culture. Marketing has become about conning people. It has nothing to do with writing. It has nothing to do with quality of product. It is simply about peddling. Thank you Madison Avenue.
Of course. this is what's wrong with the entire publishing industry. It is not about any kind of intellectual concepts. It's about peddling and only that. The image of the man in the wingback chair, with a book, by the fire, is bologna. The entire industry has become nothing but a bunch or harlots; hawking themselves in the market. There is nothing literary about it. They have lost their way. They are to despise.
For myself, I am not going to yield this universe of ideas and ideals to the neanderthal thugs of the publishing industry, not will I yield it to the hucksters. I will continue on. I do not know what the answers are. I do know what are not the answers. Knuckling under to the thugs is not an answer for me and becoming a huckster is not an answer for me.
If I was a good huckster, I would have succeeded with my first book, the Wesoomi Gardening Journal. For myself, I must do what's in my heart. I strongly urge you to do the same. Do what is in your heart, win or lose. I believe you can feel better losing than some people do when they win. If your integrity is intact, you win regardless.
In closing, I do have a few thoughts about what could be done.
Next time I will discuss some ideas I have about a thing I will
call the Writer's and Small Publisher's Outlet.
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