Today’s authors don’t just write. They advocate, they promote, they market, they publicize, they sell, and they influence. And many, as you’ll see from the four varied examples here, are making an ever bigger impact on the publishing landscape itself as they advocate for readers and fellow authors in P.R. firms, publishing companies, book stores and author education:
Author Courtney C. Stevens Lends PR Perspective at JKS
After introducing earlier this year an expansion of author and book publicity services, new staff hires and a revamped website, Nashville-based JKS Communications, one of WWW’s recommended stellar partners, announced that author Courtney C. Stevens (2014’s FAKING NORMAL, HarperTeen and THE BLUE-HAIRED BOY, HarperImpulse; and the forthcoming November 3 release THE LIES ABOUT TRUTH, HarperTeen) has joined the veteran literary publicity team as its Author-in-Residence.
We love this concept! Stevens will bring to the JKS team her perspective as an author who has developed creative and effective book publicity plans around her successful young adult books. She will provide vision for the publicity team in how best to create publicity campaigns from the first-hand experience of the author.
Courtney is well-respected in the industry for providing mentoring for authors who are not in a position to afford professional marketing support and is partnering with JKS to create even more DIY marketing materials for those on a shoe-string budget.
Author Cornelia Funke Launches Own Publishing Company
This recently in from Publishers Weekly: Bestselling children’s author and illustrator Cornelia Funke has decided to start her own press, called Breathing Books. Funke’s partner in this endeavor is Mirada Studios in Los Angeles.
Breathing Books plans to release two to four titles a year. Funke says. “I feel I’m at a time in my career when I can afford to do this, and where I can say, as long as I cover my costs, I’m fine. I have many traditional publishers in Europe, Asia, and South America who still earn me money. And I can finally be a storyteller for all ages.”
Mirada, a multimedia storytelling company that launched in 2010 in Los Angeles, follows a unique production model that integrates classic storytelling with emerging technologies. The company offers story development, design, 3D animation, and digital software, and with Breathing Books it is now also in the business of publishing.
Author Hugh Howey’s AuthorEarnings.com
Hugely successful self-published author Hugh Howey grabbed the collective attention (and in some cases gasps) of the indie world with his AuthorEarnings.com website.
Said Hugh, “When my partner and I started Author Earnings.com, we did it because of the many sleepless nights we had while wrestling with how best to publish our works. We had a choice, and we wanted to make a good one. Many authors face this difficult decision, whether they just finished their first manuscript or their tenth. On the one hand, you have the promise of bookstore distribution, marketing muscle, and the validation of your work. On the other hand, you’ve got the readers — who end up providing the only validation an author ever needs.
“It’s easy to say now that I made a smart decision. But I wish I’d known then what I know now, so I wouldn’t have stressed so much about that choice. We started Author Earnings.com because we want authors to have visual insights into what’s happening on the largest ebook retail store in the world. I wish this data had been available for me three years ago. I wouldn’t have done anything differently; I just would’ve felt less anxiety about making that choice.”
To view the most recent September 2015 Author Earnings Report, CLICK HERE.
Author Ann Patchett’s Indie Bookstore
The world of independent bookstores got a new member and a popular new face when best-selling novelist Ann Patchett became a partner to open Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee four years ago. She was asked often and by many, why she decided to open a small, independent bookstore at a time when similar stores are closing.
Ann says, “When I look back on all this now, I’m dizzied by the blitheness that stood in place of any sort of business sense, like the grand gesture of walking over to the roulette table and betting it all on a single number. Anyone I mentioned this plan to was quick to remind me that books were dead, that in two years—I have no idea where “two years” came from, but that number was consistently thrown at me—books would no longer exist, much less bookstores, and that I might as well be selling eight-track tapes and typewriters.”
We’re happy to report that Parnassus Books has suvived and thrived, weaving itself into the fabric of Nashville’s literary community. And we’ll leave you with this quote from Ann herself (you can read the entire article at A Word from Ann on Parnassus’ site that embodies the theme of this article and the possibility each of us have as authors to make a difference:
“Maybe we just got lucky. But this luck makes me believe that changing the course of the corporate world is possible. Amazon doesn’t get to make all the decisions; the people can make them, by choosing how and where they spend their money. If what a bookstore offers matters to you, then shop at a bookstore. If you feel that the experience of reading a book is valuable, then read a book. This is how we change the world: We grab hold of it. We change ourselves.”
Well said…
Have an example of an author (maybe it’s you!) that’s helping to alter today’s publishing landscape, apart from their writing? Add them with your comment below — Such authors deserve a shout out!