While I was at the Gathering of the Tribes I had a long conversation about publishing and writing with Scarlett Ross, who's written several books. One part of the conversation focused on on how publisher and writers can work together.

It might seem at first glance that this is a no-brainer, but in reality, in the publishing industry, the author and publisher tend to be at odds a fair amount. The publisher has to worry about layout, distribution, and marketing, as well as providing editing for the author. The author, on the other hand, has to worry about writing, revision, and promotion.

Scarlett told me how she shopped a really good book idea around to several publishers but was told by them that the book idea wasn't marketable. In fact, the book idea is marketable and she's currently working on a manuscript for it, with Immanion Press/Megalithica Books [which Taylor is managing editor for] as the potential publisher. So what's the problem here? The problem is that most publishers don't listen to authors and likewise authors don't always listen to publishers.

Communication is a two way street. It involves speaking and listening. It also involves consideration of what is heard and spoken. Sometimes it involves research. Mostly it involves a willingness to work together, which means sometimes compromising.

As authors, you ideally know your market. Certainly, I make it a point to research and review the occult market. When I go to festivals I talk with fellow authors, but I also spend a lot of time with the festival goers. The reason is twofold: I do it partially to enjoy the company of people, but I also do it to research my market. I want to know what my potential readers are reading, what they like about it and what they don't like about it. I want to find out what matters to them, so that I can factor that into what I will write next. Indeed, as authors, it is our responsibility to be in touch with our audience. Unfortunately, at festivals, a lot of authors tend to retreat after giving their workshops. I urge all of you to not retreat. Get to know the festival goers. It leaves a strong impression on them and can be a lot of fun (Lupa and I were very well fed and taken care of by three different camps this last weekend). The other reason you want to be out there is to know your audience, which helps with promotion efforts down the line. People who met you and like you will talk about you and your work.

When you know your audience, you also know what sells. Ideally the publisher will listen to you. However, as I've heard time and again the big publishers don't listen to their authors and treat them as second rate commodities. This is why I make it a policy to find the works that those publishers say aren't marketable and get them published. Needless to say the non-fiction line for Imanion/Megalithica does well because it specializes in unconventional works that the audience is looking for because they're tired of the 101 books put out by the other publishers.

I also think that listening to you and showing you that your suggestions are valued, also shows you that I think of you as more than just a commodity. Without authors a publisher cannot exist or produce.

On the other hand, the author needs to realize that without a publisher it's much harder to produce a book, at least a quality one. Getting a book edited, proofed, lay out provided, etc., requires a lot of work. When you add in distribution efforts, the publisher is busy. The author needs to listen to the suggestions the publisher has and work together with the publisher to make the production of the book as easy an affair as possible. The author shouldn't put on airs with the publisher, especially during production stage, when a book is being put together.

When the book is ready to go, the author needs to carefully proof it and catch errors. Inform the publisher immediately of any errors, so that when the book goes to press it's hopefully error free. Occasional typos may come up. It happens with every work. Be understanding about it and remember that editing and revision is a team process.

We are a team. And as a team we need to work together, communicate, and do our best to produce a quality work. The publisher needs to listen to the author's ideas without discounting out of hand, but the author needs to respect the publishing side of putting the book together.

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