notes on a revolution

“We’re in the writer-reader connection business”

That statement was made as part of a talk I have referred to and shared so many times now you would think I was on some kind of commission. The source, Richard Nash  said it as part of a keynote he gave at a gathering in Toronto of book publishers. It’s available here, you should watch it if you haven’t.

At the time Richard was in the process of pulling together a start-up, Cursor, which is a socially-driven publishing platform. He’s of course not the only one, Seth Godin and Amazon have a much-publicised project together to try and “re-invent publishing”, and most of the major publishers are, in various ways, throwing whatever they can at the wall in the hope that something, anything, will stick.

This quote was ringing in my ears though when an email arrived from Amazon a couple days ago. @author is a service they’ve just launched to allow readers to pose questions to certain authors from either their Kindle or from the Amazon site itself. The tagline? Connecting writers and readers.

I somehow don’t think a call-and-response mechanic was what Richard had in mind when he made the above statement. It will be interesting to see how they build this out, particularly in light of their moves to become not just seller but publisher of original works. The most famous face among the authors featured, Tim Ferris, has already said his next book will be published exclusively through Amazon. Tim is no stranger to experimenting with what it means to have a relationship with your audience through writing, going so far as to put on a workshop detailing how he has managed to achieve his success with both the Four Hour Week and the Four Hour Body. That bootcamp of writing and marketing would set you back $10,000 - if you could still get a ticket. It was well and truly over subscribed, with people filling out a form TED-style in the hopes of having the chance to attend.

Ferris’ approach is a little closer to what Richard had in mind, though I wonder if he had figured it as brazenly commercial and unapologetic as Ferris’ execution. Regardless, its experimentation that the industry needs. If the music industry went about things in this manner rather than simply creating new contracts that tapped into revenue streams that were traditionally out of bounds for the major labels, you might see something as interesting, and potentially even more ludicrous, than a $10,000 work shop bearing all the hallmarks of attendees who have failed to beat, so are paying to join.

(If I had a spare $10k, I’d probably be doing the same)

Related articles

• Amazon Lets Readers Ask Authors Questions Directly From E-Books (readwriteweb.com)
• Seth Godin to Forgo Traditional Book Publishing (nyconvergence.com)

“Publishing is a marketing strategy for the owner of a community”

Unfortunately, his words, not mine. I was lucky enough however to spend some time with Richard when I was in New York in September, and the man is every bit as lovely as he is smart.

Which let me tell you, is very, very smart.

His words were ringing in my ear last week when well known DJ and mash-up specialist Girl Talk dropped his latest mix, All Day. Anyone who was interested has no doubt already acquired it, but if you have failed to do so you should get it and can do so at little personal cost on account of the fact that it is indeed free.

This is not the first release Girl Talk has put out for free - his last one, 2008’s Feed The Animals you could pay if you wanted to, but it was entirely optional. Since that release however he has gone from a US-based club-hopping DJ to an international act spending much of his time on the road rather than in a lab in Pittsburg.

Given Girl Talk’s music is made almost entirely of samples, there is not the kind of revenue stream available to him in the form of publishing royalties which is where any act of a certain size will make the bulk of their money. What he does have though is a loyla following the world over, and sold-out shows wherever he appears.

(cue lightbulb)

In making his music, he acquired a fanbase (aka a community). His income is drawn from connecting with them via live appearances, and in the interim he gives them souvenirs (his albums) they can take and share with others. He publishes to market his community.

Deus Ex, a custom motorbike shop here in Sydney did the same, publishing a book showcasing its highly sought-after motorcycles. It also extended itself into clothing, and is soon (shh don’t tell anyone) to extend itself State-side.

Most companies start with a product then go and find an audience (including the two examples above). What I think we’re going to start seeing more of are communities where the owner moves into publishing content from that community, or for that community. The titans of the media world would have us believe the sky is falling - and for those who have no choice but to put “industry” after “publishing”, it is.

But for those who publishing is now just another tool in the business and marketing warchest thanks to the vastly diminished costs of doing so, options that were never on the table are now open to everyone.

My question is, what are we going to do with them?

Digital Strangelove - or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Internet

Digital Strangelove (or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Internet)

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