Guest Column: The New Give-to-Get Publishing Economy: Edith D. Wilson, R.I.P.
I believe the divergent views stem, most significantly, from a dearth of authentic copy on what publishers get right. Publishing houses are chock-full of interesting, educated, highly creative, talented and usually very funny people who know a vast amount about books, reading and packaging, and have wildly interesting opinions and judgments. But, in the online theater, these people are largely anonymous office workers to the opinion leaders who host the daily discussion of what publishing is doing wrong. Publishers have little tradition of revealing what is inside their black box that isn’t focused on meeting specific author and title marketing goals. They have little practice of turning the spotlight toward their contributions in ways that are authentic in today’s marketplace—and that simultaneously support their authors and a community of readers. This is rooted in old conceptions of publicity as a department, as a discrete function with one-way, outbound messaging. Yet today, authentic, personalized, continuous engagement is the way the social economy works. Publishers need to be personally and organizationally engaged with the tools they are asking their authors to use. There are no wallflowers at this digital dance.