Trot out the pawns and cannon fodder…
I like the NY Times. I am a subscriber, of the old-school
paper version no less. But their taking a position on the Amazon-Hachette
squabble bothers me. And that is what it is: a squabble. Two multi-national
corporate behemoths engaged in a sissy-girl slap-fight (“I get to make the
rules!” “No! I get to make the rules!” “No! I get to!” “No I get to”) – and it
deserves about that mush press. But I digress.
The Times’ involvement in this bothers me the same way that I
am bothered when a friend who knows better uses a derogatory remark as a joke
in front of those the remark defames. It is a sad, unfortunate seen and you are
deeply embarrassed for your friend’s ignorance. But yet, they continue.
Pander They Must.
The Times reported recently on Stephen Colbert’s ill-informed punditry.
The back-story is that Colbert, a few weeks ago, piled on with the others and
began tossing out words like monopoly and such. And in a defiant act of “I’ll
show you,” he elevated to fame the Hachette backed debut author of the post-apocalyptic
novel California, Edan Lepucki. Colbert
implored people to go forth in droves and pre-order her book from independent bookstores,
explaining that this whole spat was “toughest on young authors who are being
published for the first time.” For Ms. Lepucki, this was a lotto winning
moment.
Have Some Faith.
The Times reported, “Nobody expected much” from California. They relate that corporate
giant, Hachette Book Group, assign to the project an editor with virtually no
experience and would only fork up for a paltry 12,000 copies in the first
printing. Oh, and the marketing budget? Goose egg. But then lightning struck.
I congratulate Ms. Lepucki. I wish I were her. I wish someone
like Colbert would single me out, hold my book up, and say, “Let’s teach those
giant multi-national corporate publishing empires a lesson. Go out there today
and buy this great book produced entirely by a self-published author.” Dang!
There is a story within a story here, lest we not notice it.
California was not written by one of
Hachette’s corporate stable of writers. Its publication was no doubt the payoff
of a lot of hard work and persistence by Ms. Lepucki’s agent. The Times
dutifully noted that the author’s first book failed to be picked up by a
publisher. So this second work must have shown much more promise. But
obviously, Hachette did not have a lot of faith in it prior to the Colbert
report. And while the book has received a ton of praise, it is hard to know
whether that praise came before or after the lightning strike. Many authors
with books to sell have attached their names and praises to what has become Hachette’s
biggest selling debut novel, ever. That is going to be some good exposure.
Sure, I am envious. Who wouldn’t be? But take away the
Colbert plug and you’d have another unknown author who sold their rights to a
corporate giant. And for the privilege, they were given six months and no
marketing budget to ether be a hit or be forgotten. After six months, if you
failed to meet certain metrics, Hachette will pull your book, relegate you to
no-man’s land and there your work will wither, because it is not your work anymore. It
is theirs.
Mr. Colbert should note that this is what is toughest on
authors just starting out: the lack of faith, and the time necessary for a
debut to gain traction and take off. Six months and no marketing support is a
strategy that relies on luck just as much as any business acumen.
Congratulations Ms. Lepucki. You are one very, very lucky
author. I wish that would have happened to me.
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