The big news in the publishing industry so far this month is the sale of
Harlequin Romance Publishing to News Corp where the romance giant will become a part of Harper Collins. Harlequin has shown disappointing sales in the past four years, citing the slowdown in paperback sales as part of their issue despite their strong showing in digital and international sales.
I write romance as
Susan Kelley and have contracts with two different small presses. Both have been in business for a long time and I'm comfortable with them. What does this big publishing news mean for me? Not a lot at this point in my career. When I first starting writing, signing a contract with Harlequin was the ultimate symbol of having made it as a romance author. I've always written fantasy or science fiction romance so back in the day when I submitted those type of novels, Harlequin wasn't interested. Like so many other writers who wrote something a little different, I found a place that would take a chance on me and my writing.
With this sale, the 'big boy' publishers are becoming fewer in number. The smaller, independent presses are becoming more numerous. Will it be more difficult to 'make' it with a big publisher? Will readers search out those 'outside the box' stories put out by small presses?
Do you care about this publishing news? Do you as a reader purchase books put out by small presses? Do you have experience with Harlequin or Harper Collins? How will affect their current stable of authors? Should any of us care about this if we're not involved with those publishers?
15 comments:
Wow, this is my first time hearing about the Harlequin and Harper Collins merger. Hard for me to say how this will affect any authors involved. As a reader, though, I don't see it affecting me, since it doesn't matter to me who publishes a certain book, as long as the book is good!
Doesn't matter where the book comes from to me. I find most online, so it's a mixture.
As a reader, it doesn't matter to me who owns what. But as an author, I do have questions since I'm published with Carina Press and Harlequin owns Carina.
Harlequin has not impressed me with how it handles Carina. Time will tell how Harper Collins fares.
The mergers are scary. What happens when there is only one big publisher?
What's sad for small publishers is that there are still areas they can't break into. I saw an article recently on what teens are reading, and over 90% of the titles came from the big publishers. Whether it's because of high school libraries or bookstores, their exposure to small publishers and self-publishers is very limited.
While a big publisher might help in catching people's attention, for me the quality of the book is what is most important. And when you find a great book from a smaller publisher or self published well that makes it extra special and more worth sharing I think.
I am going to go out on a weak limb and say that most people do not pay attention to who publishes a book when they read it. I would say that most readers (who are not writers) couldn't tell you who the Big Publishers are. Wouldn't know that there have been mergers. They would know that publishing has changed because of e-books. I think most people are aware of what books are out there because they can see them. In the library. In the bookstore. At stores like Walmart and Target. And that means that the Big Houses are getting the best space. They have more marketing dollar to spend.
I think the average reader who owns a Kindle or Nook has come into contact with self-published books and small press books because of the e-book format. Do they know there is a difference? I bet many of them do not.
To a WRITER, these things are huge. Like Diane said above, every time big houses merge it gives aspiring writers fewer options. Being stuck in a Big Houses mid-list (and getting little to no marketing exposure) can be more frustrating than going with a small publisher who intends to actively market your book. It can be difficult to make a good choice (when you don't know what is coming). Where did I put my crystal ball????
Well, I'm not planning on approaching any publisher at the moment. But I do think it could be a good thing if it causes more people to approach small publishers who might be more likely to take a chance on those "quirky" genres. Yes, they may not get the same exposure, but at the same time ebooks and small publishing is an area that's growing all the time.
I think the biggest publishers have become so corporate that they'll only take on projects they believe have a chance to go BIG.
Have a feeling all the creative, nuanced books that blend genres will come from smaller presses and independents from now on and in the future. But, hey, as long as writers keep writing them, they'll find a way to get them to readers. :)
If it is good, doesn't matter where it comes from. Although yeah the big publishers are becoming fewer and fewer, so only those with an in seem to be getting there.
The pub industry is changing every second, and I think merging is a good thing. We, as writer's, should be aware of what's happening even if it doesn't affect us.
At some point, it may...
Hopefully it's good news for the Harlequin authors and will expose them to a wider readership. I haven't seen any complaints from them yet but it's so early yet. Fingers crossed for them!
I don't care where a book comes from, just as long as it's a good story. If I can get through the first page, I'll usually buy it.
I have a partial under review with Harlequin at the moment. With this news, I'm not sure if I want to sell to them without knowing what the companies will be doing.
Great questions, Sue. As always. :)
I'm not sure how I feel about the merger. While I have no experience with publishing house mergers, my experience with other businesses merging has shown it to get harder and harder on the employees (so in this case, the authors). I don't know if it will work that way with this sort of business or not, though.
I am ALWAYS interested in publishing news. I think it's fascinating about Harlequin. They've been around forever. So weird how these companies are all combining into huge massive companies.
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