Given the changes that publishing faces in a digital age, how will the author-publisher relationship change (or how MUST it change)?

1. The Future of the
Author-Publisher Relationship
{ Jane Friedman | @JaneFriedman
VQR, University of Virginia

2. A Brief History of
Author-Publisher
Relations
{ in about 60 seconds

4. How publishers view authors
(sometimes)

5. The publisher’s greatest asset and marketing tool

7. Who’s Empowering Authors?

8. { Agent driven
RockItReads
{ Author driven
Authors swelling into collectives—
formal and informal

9. Tim Ferriss
Stephen Covey
J.A. Konrath
Barry Eisler The growing
Penelope Trunk { Amazon
collective
Jon Krakauer
Penny Marshall
Lee Goldberg
Seth Godin

10. “Authors are, in effect,
the „other customer.‟”
Amazon’s Jon Fine
VP of Author and Publisher Relations
Digital Book World Digital Marketing Conference 2012

11. Srsly?
BookCountry/ASI
is all you’ve got?
Who’s Not Empowering Authors?

12. If publishers’ greatest
asset are authors, what
does a successful
publisher of the future
look like?

14. Director of Author Community
• Organize and offer educational resources
and programs
• Webinars, screencasts, Q&As
• Lynda.com
• Referrals to trusted, expert help
• Develop niche author collectives
within the publishing house
• Create a private communication
hub for the house’s authors: resource
& knowledge sharing
• Straight-forward and early
communication about marketing support
• Ongoing and in-depth sales information
Don’t just tell them to market/promote; give
them the tools and trusted community to do it.

15. • Improve B2C, move away from B2B
• Impact & reach readers more directly
• More online touch points & impact
• Amplified sales and marketing impact
as authors share knowledge & help
each other reach more readers
Key Benefits to Publisher

16. • Formalized author involvement in
acquisitions and development
• Authors as writers-in-residence
• Annual events involving authors for
both education and
promotion/publicity
Going Further

17. • JaneFriedman.com
• Twitter: @JaneFriedman
• facebook.com/janefriedman
• VQR | vqronline.org
(University of Virginia)
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