The pangs of childbirth are neither gentle nor predictable. I’m the father of five children, so I’m well aware of the worried anticipation, the maddening wait, and the painful struggle involved in bringing a new child into this world (though my wife would be quick to point out that I haven’t actually experienced the painful part). The whole experience seems to be very similar to bringing a new publishing company into the world. The incubation period has seemed like an eternity, and the unexpected complications have brought plenty of anxiety. As we move beyond our original due date, I’m forced to accept the fact that some things are beyond my control. So what exactly has caused the delay in Boombox Media’s 2008 launch?
AMAZON
Well, first and foremost, it’s been the swaggering presence of Amazon. Yes, the online retailer. Once hailed by consumers as an underdog alternative to entrenched corporate giants, the innovative company is now beginning to act like a Microsoftian bully. With visions of marketplace domination dancing in its head, the monopoly wannabe dreamed up the amazing Kindle, a breakthrough device that breathes new life into the often-hailed but long-stagnant revolution of e-books. Time will tell how much of an impact it will actually have on the publishing world (I recently saw a quote that of the 125,000 books available in both the Kindle and in print formats, the electronic version of the book represents more than 6% of overall sales at Amazon), but the very nature of the device is sheer brilliance. This standalone product is available only from Amazon, operates anywhere on a wireless connection controlled by Amazon, and acquires new content exclusively through Amazon. There’s no need to ever go to a store, plug the device into your computer, or deal with any other service provider. It’s a self-contained consumer food chain that would make even Apple proud. Of course, the Kindle itself has nothing to do with the delay of Boombox Media. I just got off on a tangent.
But another recent Amazon innovation does…
As all of you know, the Boombox business model relies primarily on the ever-improving “print-on-demand” (or p-o-d) technology. While production of traditional books only rose 1% in 2007, p-o-d output was up 39%, so we’re not the only ones pursuing this option. Some of you may not know that Amazon jumped into the p-o-d business themselves when they purchased Booksurge. Up until recently, Booksurge has been just another p-o-d option for publishers and self-publishing authors. We looked into using them, but decided to go with another company who offered lower pricing, better quality samples, more experience, and a built-in connection with the industry’s largest bookstore distribution network. The printer we’ve partnered with also offers distribution through Amazon and other online retailers. Once we had set up our account with our printer, we were ready to roll.
But then Amazon announced a new policy concerning p-o-d books…all on-demand publishers who don’t use Amazon’s subsidiary BookSurge to print their books will not be allowed to sell their books directly on Amazon.com. The decision has not been popular. For more details, see this article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: “New publishing policy at Amazon angers authors”
Already there are lawsuits being filed by small publishers who feel threatened by this decision. We don’t want to go that far—after all, we want to work with Amazon to make our publications available to as many people as possible around the world—but Amazon’s announcement did make us delay our publication schedule. Do we stick with our current printer that offers widespread bookstore distribution but no Amazon presence, or do we switch to Booksurge which offers Amazon presence but higher fees (and consequently less creator royalties) and minimal bookstore distribution? We are still thoroughly researching all of our options to ensure that the path we choose is in the best interest of the independent creators we represent, but in the meantime we want to start moving forward again.
SUBMISSIONS READY
The printer dilemma affects us in other ways too. Each one wants final digital files formatted in a unique way, which is why we haven’t called for final files on any of our initial publications. We can only hope that all of the creators we’ve planned to publish (this means you!) will remain patient.
CREATOR CONTRACTS
Also, the nitty-gritty final details of creator contracts can’t be nailed down until we’ve decided on our p-o-d partner. We want to avoid having a separate contract for Amazon sales. At the very least, our contracts will cover two formats, while anthologies will be treated separately…
- PRINT
Printed publications will be those of a physical nature which will be printed and bound into books distributed to comic book specialty shops, traditional bookstores, and online retailers.
- PDF
PDF publications will be those of a digital nature which will be produced specifically in Adobe PDF format and made available through online reader services.
- ANTHOLOGIES
Anthologies will utilize a separate contract that details the clauses and exceptions unique to this format, as well as the breakdown of each contributor’s creative rights and compensation.
Stay tuned…
