Innovate with Integrity
November 24th, 2009 by Jenni BurkeThe internet is abuzz with chatter from publishers, writers, agents, and other self-professed “word nerds” like myself… tweeting, blogging, and commenting on the rapidly expanding role of self-publishing.
Many industry insiders say that the traditional publishing model is broken. The speed of change taking place in recent years proves that even if it’s not broken, it is definitely evolving. And while those waves of change have and will continue to upset the status quo, the companies and individuals who recognize the inevitability (and potential benefits) of change will find creative ways to adapt and stay ahead of the curve. Those who do this well will keep the needs of their customers in mind and always partner innovation with integrity.
I love the concept of innovation: to create or introduce a new idea or method. Of course, those who lead in innovation will inevitably attract criticism and resistance from those who fear change or like things “the way they are”. Thomas Nelson’s CEO Michael Hyatt is highly respected in the industry for his innovative leadership style combined with integrity; that combination has led Thomas Nelson on as one of the most successful Christian publishers in the world. Hyatt has also attracted criticism from some lately for his company’s recent bold move into self-publishing.
He posted a thoughtful yet animated response to this criticism on his blog on Friday: Why Agents May Be Opposed to Self Publishing. In the post he examines the three most common arguments leveled against self-publishing by “the guild”, or those within the industry. He also points out that over half the books published in the United States are self-published and that the reason people (especially agents) lash out against the approach may be because they feel threatened by a disruption of the status quo. Interesting, no?
Hyatt concluded his post with this reality-check on the inevitability of change, challenging everyone in publishing to examine how they might be dragging their feet instead of taking steps forward:
“As a form of user-generated content, self-publishing is a disruptive force that isn’t going away. It is arguably the fastest growing segment of publishing. It will ultimately impact everyone in traditional publishing. As a result, publishers are having to change and so are authors. Maybe it’s time agents took a hard look at their own business model and asked how they can add value in the new publishing economy.”
We at D.C. Jacobson & Associates agree with Mike that the “traditional” business models need to be re-examined. Our company was, after all, founded on principles of innovation and integrity. When Don Jacobson sold his successful Multnomah Publishers to Random House in 2006 and asked himself how he could continue adding value to the industry he loved, he saw the need for a new kind of literary agency.
While our primary focus is placing excellent books with royalty publishers, our growing team of specialists is passionate about contributing to the production and promotion of life-changing messages on multiple levels. Together we offer our clients the highest quality of service in three distinct but complementary branches: Author Representation, market-informed Literary Consultation , and Publicity Campaigns & Consulting. The community at BelieversPress is a great example of vision and values, which is why we love working with them.
Some who prefer things “the way they were” have taken shots at us; maybe they’re the ones Mike Hyatt’s blog post is speaking about. We don’t listen to them; we listen to the success stories of our authors and publishers. We will continue to look ahead and innovate with integrity. As the saying goes, “keep your heart pure and drive on.”
QUESTION: What do you think about the changes you see taking place across the publishing industry?
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Jenni Burke
D.C. Jacobson & Associates
Jenni Burke is an author representative and literary consultant at D.C. Jacobson & Associates. Jenni holds a B.S. in English communications and minor in business administration from Corban College. Her lifelong love of reading and passion for missional living led her into the Christian publishing industry, beginning with an internship with a literary agency in 2003. She then joined Multnomah Publishers' production and editorial department, where she worked on a wide range of fiction and nonfiction titles. In 2006, Jenni put her business and publishing experience to use as she joined Don Jacobson in launching D.C. Jacobson & Associates. D.C. Jacobson & Associates is an innovative author management company that offers literary representation, consulting, and publicity to Christian communicators. Don’s career as owner and President of Multnomah Publishers brought 1,000+ Christian books into publication, including hundreds of bestsellers by authors like Max Lucado, James Dobson, Shaunti Feldhahn, Francine Rivers, and many more.
10 Responses to “Innovate with Integrity”
Let all writers have their due esteem, but compare none of them with the Word of God. We will not refuse their service, but we must abhor them as rivals or competitors. It is the sign of a distempered heart that loseth the relish of Scripture excellency.
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Great post.
I respect Michael Hyatt a lot for his integrity and willingness to engage online!
So do I, Pete. Engaging in the virtual conversations with transparency is so important.
Jenni, I agree with you entirely and personally consider this an unprecedented excellent opportunity for some unpublished authors to be reputably published.
Unfortunately, there has been a vicious response and attack on Thomas Nelson and Harlequin Horizons for daring to take on this venture and no-one, nothing has been spared. For example: Laura Resnick says to my comments:
“all info and advocacy groups for writers–have all come out with statements condemning this new vanity/subsidy venture and explaining why Harlequin Horizons is NOT a publishing opportunity, let alone a “new kind” of publishing venture, but rather a same-old same-old attempt to empty the pockets of gullible aspiring writers.”
While Victoria Strauss says:
“This kind of publishing absolutely is there to make money off of writers. It wouldn’t exist otherwise. It’s big business, and it is extremely lucrative, and that’s why commercial publishers like Harlequin and Thomas Nelson have gotten involved–not from any desire to open their doors to writers.
One of the things that bothers me most about vanity publishing of any stripe–from the old-fashioned vanities that shipped you boxes of books to molder away in your basement, to the print on demand self-publishing services that are trying to re-brand themselves as “indie” publishers or “assisted publishing”, to the sleazy deceptive pay-to-play companies that pass themselves off as “real” publishers–is that they take advantage of authors twice: first by taking their money, second by brainwashing them into believing all the deceptive hype.”
http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2009/11/sfwa-on-harlequin-horizons.html
So you see Jenni, if one hasn’t got one’s head firmly screwed on, one could get quite dizzy by some of the information that is being thrown around the place.
The danger is that many authors are so desperate to “get published” they don’t have their “head firmly screwed on” (it’s in the clouds). They believe the hype — and don’t know enough about publishing to see through it. There are many companies that use this to sucker authors into bad publishing deals.
After you’ve read enough of the horror stories, you understand why people have reacted so harshly to WestBow and Harlequin Horizons. Time will tell, but at the moment, they look like a wolf in sheep’s clothing to many in the industry…
I should have posted with my other email so you could have a picture of me!
Eva, thank you for your input! Also, thanks for bringing in some of the other voices out there. Incidentally, I believe that many subsidy publishers DO take unscrupulous advantage of authors. This is a sad fact and I am definitely not endorsing them. Every aspiring author should VERY carefully consider their options and educate themselves on the pro’s and con’s of trad publishing vs. self-publishing.
One way you can educate yourself about the hidden hazards of many of the publishing options out there (self, subsidy, and otherwise) is to read the Hidden Hazards of Self Publishing.
I appreciate you being cautious and I agree, there are lots of vanity presses out there that are absolutely useless to aid an author in my predicament otherwise I would have self-published with them long ago. What I object to is that the above quotes were referred directly at Harlequin and Thomas Nelson’s new imprints, openly implying that Michael Hyatt is telling a pack of lies, which I hardly think is the case.
My dear Nick, obviously the bit about the head being screwed on firmly is referred directly at me, no doubt. I suggest you keep your remarks on a more civilized and gentlemanly manner otherwise I shan’t even bother answering you.
Not at all — I wasn’t referring to you in the least.
I was referring to the stories of publishing dreams smashed by unscrupulous subsidy publishers (many times masquerading as traditional publishers) that litter the net. Some are outright fraud (Airleaf Publishing is one example).
Others, like Publish America, pretend to be a publisher but will publish anything, while buttering up the author with their excitement about the manuscript.
PA even claim to be “proud of their reputation as a Christian publisher” (link)– which they are definitely not, yet they get a fresh crop of aspiring authors every month who fall for it.