Amazon's publishing arm is partnering with authors to build a New City On A Hill - no walls involved.
The digital giant has been signing authors for its own imprint, with the latest being thriller author Barry Eisler. Eisler made big news not too long ago by turning down a $500,000 two-book deal from his traditional publisher, saying he was going to publish the books himself. However, a better deal came along and Eisler was smart enough to take it.
Amazon approached Eisler with a "hybrid deal" allowing him to control packaging and some other aspects that mattered to him. Az also fast-tracked the digital version of his book, which was published about a month after the manuscript was finished. The paperback will follow. Eisler thought that traditional publisher St. Martin's was just too slow, and it was even slow in getting him a draft of a contract. In the 4 months it took the publisher to get the draft to Eiser, the publishing world changed.
Eisler says that publishers want to preserve "their own position, perks and profit — that's just what establishment players come to do over time." Legacy publishers, according to Eisler, often slow down the process deliberately, allowing them to earn interest on the money due to the writer which remains in the publishers' hands during their calculated delays.
What mattered to Eisler were his readers because without them he couldn't make a living. He said, " if I can find a way to get readers books that cost less and are delivered better and faster, I want that." And Amazon was willing to throw out the rulebook and negotiate a deal tailored to what mattered to the author. Overall in the Eisler deal, Amazon agreed to get the book out faster, cheaper, to pay the author more money and allow him to retain more control.
Amazon helped create the new digital world and the company is in prime position to - deservedly - reap the benefits. Moving at the speed of tomorrow, Amazon offers some authors a new path - publishing contracts built around the needs of the people who create the work. Imagine, Amazon is actually willing to consider and adapt to individual requests from writers.
It's no longer a one-size-fits-all world and the Publishing Royals no longer get to make the rules. In the new world order, the people who write the books now have choices about how they'll publish them and on what terms. The power has truly shifted back into the hands that should have held it all along - to the dreamers, the creators - the authors.
In the new Amazon City On A Hill writers work with publishers to get their work out to readers faster and cheaper. It's a win/win for everyone except the publishing companies who refuse to throw out the old patterns. In the new world there are no patterns for how a book gets published and there are no patterns for what kinds of books get published.
Perhaps we've finally arrived at a place where a book will be as individual as the person who wrote it, as the company that publishes it and as the readers who will love it and make it their own. Each story is different for each reader. Now each publishing journey can carve its own path.
Traditional publishers best learn to respect the writers who've always made their buisnesses possible. If they don't learn fast, they won't need to bother.