Writers Now Have A Choice

In his keynote address at the 2012 Writer's Digest Conference best-selling author, Barry Eisler, gave his thoughts about the future of publishing.

Eisler began his address by stating what hasn't changed in publishing: readers love to read and are willing to pay for good writing, and writers have an obligation to write the very best book they can.

Eisler's most fascinating thoughts, however, were about the revolutionizing elements in publishing. Digital publishing is causing the traditional publishing model to change. For decades, publishers have used a business model built on distribution. Authors have always needed traditional publishers to distribute their books to a wide audience that they could not realistically accomplish on their own. Eisler explains that this is why publishers typically take 85% of money for themselves in a standard book contract.

However, things are changing rapidly. Amazon has distinguished itself within the publishing industry as being the first company to implement direct-to-consumer marketing for its authors. Eisler believes this can change the face of publishing as we know it because writers now have a choice. They no longer have to be subjected to traditional publishers' business models and can choose publishers with direct-to-consumer marketing, which makes writers, in Eisler's eyes, the number one players in the new world of publishing. Eisler admits that his comments are controversial. Nevertheless, we can only wait and see if his predictions will come true.

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