Why The Publishing Industry Is Obsolete

No, this is not one of those “the death of printed books” posts. I love books. I buy them all the time and they’re all over my house. I strongly prefer relaxing in a big chair with a book over a laptop or other electronic device. There are far too many people like me, so I don’t ever think books will become obsolete.

The issue I’m talking about here is the failure of the mainstream publishing industry to embrace the Internet and the Information Age.

I’ve been agonizing over what to do with my next book concept. It’s a killer concept, totally groundbreaking, and is sure to sell a ton, probably even more than my best-seller Never Cold Call Again has. My choices are to go with a traditional book, through a traditional publisher, or to release it myself, perhaps as an information product or an online course.

I’ve made the decision to skip the publisher and do it myself.

Why?

Because the Internet has made publishers obsolete and increasingly irrelevant now that we’re fully in the Information Age.

My logic is very simple: Years ago, if you got a book deal, your publisher would promote your book. After all, that’s what a publisher is for. They’d do promotions, set up media tours, and get the word out about your book.

Today, with the exception of celebrity authors, publishers don’t do that anymore. They way they operate now is to seek out potential authors who have a large Internet platform, presence, and mailing list, entice them with a book deal, and then rely entirely on the author to promote the book. (That sounds frighteningly similar to companies who order their sales reps to cold call in order to avoid marketing expenses, doesn’t it?)

Now, this obviously makes sense for the publisher – it allows them to all but eliminate their marketing budget – but it’s a foolish choice for anyone who has a large Internet presence, as I do.

The problem comes down to the very fundamentals of what publishing entails: Giving up the lion’s share of profits from your book in return for a small royalty percentage. In consideration for keeping the bulk of the profits, the publisher is supposed to spend their money to promote your book. That’s the very basis of the legal doctrine of “consideration” – if you give something up, you must get something of equal value in return, or a court can declare the entire contract void.

Sadly, publishers just don’t get it. They’ve been in business for so long that they can’t understand just how much the Internet empowers those of us who know how to use it to publish and sell our own material and keep 100% of the profits. I had a chat with a literary agent the other day who told me the industry is getting downright dismal and editors are more grumpy and unhappy than ever. Yet, it’s their own fault for ignoring the threat of the Internet and believing that they can continue their antiquated business model in the Information Age.

To make matters worse, the amount of quality information that goes into a book with a cover price of, say, $19.95, that ultimately sells on Amazon for around $11.00 and pays the author a dollar or two per copy, could be translated into an information product that would easily sell for $97, $197, even $497 by someone with the Internet presence to do so. (To be totally honest, my published books took more time and work to create than my high-dollar info products, largely due to the publishing industry bureaucracy.)

Looking around at Internet marketers who I know, a shocking truth becomes clear: Some of those marketers who have made the most money have exactly zero published books out there. They know they’re better off selling their knowledge directly, in the form of information products, seminars, and coaching programs. That’s where the real money is. I even heard an Internet marketer, who has made well over twenty million dollars online, openly mocking published authors for their foolishness!

So, for those of you who always ask me how to get a book published, my advice is this: The Internet is making publishers irrelevant. Skip the publisher and learn Internet marketing, because that’s where the real money is!

EDIT – 3/15/10 – After posting this, publishers came out of the woodwork with, “Wait! Hear us out first!” So, I may entertain some book offers after all, only if those offers include guaranteed minimum marketing budgets and specific promotional plans.