The Aftermath of a Publishing Meeting
The day after a Company Publishing Meeting is a little like the aftermath of a world shattering event. People begin to smile, realize that life is good, and the next meeting is a whole month minus one day away.
Your Manager thinks the project is a good idea after all, the Marketing guys are happy, the Sales Team think they can do a good job and importantly the Chief Finance Officer has all his boxes ticked and has decided it's not too much of a risk.
Publishing Directors are more than ever focussed on spreadsheets and targets, whereas us Publisher types (being of a more creative ilk) are focussed on the Idea, the Writer, the Project, and want it to see the light of day, not least because it's a privilege to be involved with the Idea and work with the Writers.
The Chief Finance Officer, however, is looking at it from an entirely different point of view -- and he now gets to call the shots.
Why is it all about finance? Just like the Music Industry, Publishing is going through a metamorphosis, Clinicians, Students, Writers, Educators are asking what we can offer and (heaven forbid) deciding that maybe they can do it themselves. Writers are taking much more control and ownership of their work.
The challenge for Publishers is to ask their own Publishing House to change their way of thinking and look at how to add, enable, fund an Idea... or maybe that can all be done by Writers themselves now with the advent of Blogs, Twitters, Social Bookmarking, Sharing, Networking, Virtual worlds. After all who needs paper, typesetters, printers when you can self-publish electronically?
Personally I love the move to individual ownership of work, open access, and self publishing in the virtual real world.... bring on the next meeting.
Comments [2]