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DROP: Communal Publishing
1 Dec 2005, 11:42:30 am
4 Comments
Here is an interesting concept: DROP is, essentially, a writer-run publishing co-op operating under the principle of "cyclical publishing". All profits from the sale of previous books goes into the development and publishing of the next round of books. When sales are slow, publishing slows down, but the better the books are, the more that will be published.
I'd be remiss if I didn't use the word "communism," but the performance-based quality control is distinctively capitalistic. And, as with capitalism, start-up costs are something they are going to struggle with. Unless they start producing some best-sellers early on, their plan will be little more than a pyramid scheme revolving around self-publishing: the early-adopters' money will fund their books, and unless those profits are more than the cost of printing the 2nd-round of adopters will have to contribute, and so on, without the system getting ahead. Without significant outside sales -- people other than the writer's friends and families buying the books -- the process will never get ahead.
They also don't seem to realize that a lot of money has to go into advertising, and possibly into distribution (although many POD services help with this today), and at the very least they'll have to shell out for ISBNs and barcodes. Advertising costs the most money, but advertising also drives profits. It takes money to make money, but throwing money at a business doesn't guarantee profit. I hope they've got a good business manager to run things, and enough of a user-base to make their collaborative editorship worthwhile.
From an industry point of view, the DROP plan continues the motion away from monolithic publishers and literary agents. In the past, only well-funded unique works could self-publish, and only well-known writers could make their way on their own. Self-publishing still has an icky ring to it, but it doesn't take much to cross the line into publishing today -- like we did. A publishing company, today, can be started with a couple thousand dollars, one editor, and a number of eager writers. None of those are hard to come by, especially with a well-written business plan and the willingness to cold-call eloquent bloggers (believe me, they've all got a novel or book in the works). The big publishers aren't afraid of slowing book sales -- it's their own book sales that will be sliding, as writers rely less on the big companies and shop their wares to numerous small publishers who can distribute their books everywhere the big guns do.
As long as DROP keeps their eye on the prize -- publishing quality books that sell well -- and does not try to appease everyone's egos, there's no doubt that they will succeed and become a name in alternative small press. There's definitely room for more niche publishers, and collaborative editing is definitely an underappreciated niche. They stand to fail by trying to publish books that are worth less than the money put into them, and that's the same regardless of the size of the publisher.
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User Comments  They're trying something new. It can't hurt, can it? Posted by Khalil A., 12/01/2005 13:45:12 | | No -- well, if it fails the unlucky authors might find themselves adrift, but I hope they have thought it through enough to succeed. I'm no publishing expert (although I play one online), so I can't say they're destined to fail, but if they play their cards right, they'll "become a dame in the alternative small press," like I said in the article. It's definitely a different way to publish, and if they have their head on straight it'll work out for them. Posted by Derek, 12/01/2005 16:46:06 | We're here to help the authors. That's our primary concern. Which is why we choose to not retain any rights during the submission or publication period. If the book isn't selling well, for whatever reason, we'll recoup and count our loses. What we wouldn't do is throw another author into the flames. If the system isn't working, we'll look into fixing it.
If the author decides that it's not working out, we're happy to terminate the agreement.
The last thing we want to do is hinder. As you've both said, we're taking a new approach. People are wondering, will it sink or will it swim? But I think only time can tell.Posted by Nial, 12/02/2005 09:05:51 |
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