Thoughts on Trade Publishing After Reading Mike Hyatt

A recent blog of Mike Hyatt’s, CEO at Thomas Nelson Publishers, led me to formulate some of my own thoughts about trade publishing in general and about platforms from which to publish in particular. Mike stressed that, though it was difficult, it was possible to build a following through such devices as the Internet from which to enter the field of published authors.

I certainly agree with the thrust of what he said, but I also think writers should keep in mind that book publishers are having an extremely difficult time of it. So, keep your expectations realistic. These are tough times for everybody.

Here are some things to keep in mind as you seek to minister to your audience and to publish useful literature.

• It might be better to help someone who is already established than to start from scratch and build your own audience. Example: I once approached a publisher about bringing into print those books that had been most influential in the spiritual development of C. S. Lewis. These books would have been the books that Lewis himself had endorsed in his letters to various correspondents who wrote seeking advice. Reaction: rejection: you are the wrong person to be pursuing this. You aren’t recognized as a C. S. Lewis authority. True! Now if Dallas Willard had approached the publisher, I suggest the reaction would have been quite different. So, maybe the best approach would have been to help Dallas Willard build further on his already existing platform. That way the publisher might have been more receptive. It never hurts to at least try a different approach.
• Partner with someone who has real marketing talent. Oh, of course, you have real marketing talent too! You can certainly build your own platform, but you are also a writer and need to be spending your time creating your product; and, frankly, that is a full-time job! Trying to do two full-time jobs will just make you miserable and frustrated. Seek help.
• Try to produce literature that will sell through multiple distribution outlets. It certainly seems to me that the regular book store is dying. I almost hate to go into a book store these days for fear that I will only find toys, gift items, paper weights–all types of sundries, but no books! As for the chain stores, they are pitifully few, and I wouldn’t buy stock in any of them. My current bestselling item, Louisa May Alcott’s Christmas Treasury, sells almost exclusively through Starcrest and Anderson Merchandising. Yes, being in the Miles Kimball catalog can be a terrific revenue source.
• Finally, you’ll have a better chance at publishing success if you think in terms of the series concept of writing. You develop a following because people have come to look for the next book in your series about the Amish, about the wild frontier, about how to find a job (What Color Is Your Parachute?), about developing your prayer life. Become identified either with a topic or a cause and let your platform develop from that.

Now, what are your own thoughts on these matters?