Who cares about books and publishing?

This week I read a great piece by Shawn Parr asking a simple question: Does anyone care about authors, publishers and books?

My answer? No one thinks they do, but everyone does.

Indulge me in a little philosophy before I emphasize what I think Parr got emphatically right.

Why we care

There is not a single person whose life hasn't been touched by an author. Whether that was through a textbook, a religious text, a novel, a self-help book, a business book, or any other of the many manifestations of books, we have all been influenced. Even those who don't read very much are in contact with other people who are voracious readers and who espouse ideas they pick up or put into books. People turn to books for guidance, inspiration, direction, enjoyment, solitude, recreation and any number of other things. Everyone cares about authors, publishers and books.

What very few people care about is how those books are produced. As an author, I care a lot. But as a regular person, I don't think much about how music, film, art, events, buildings, public transportation, food and many other things that are part of my daily life are produced. I don't have the space in my brain or the time in my day. Usually because I'm thinking about books!

Why authors need to care more

Parr wrote his article because he's thinking about self-publishing a book this year, probably an eBook. He writes a lot about Guy Kawasaki, who recently published a great book called A.P.E. (Author. Publisher. Entrepreneur.) Parr writes:

Guy sees the new wave of self-publishing that’s becoming more like an artisianal publishing movement that will be good for content, community and commerce.

Artisianal Publishing.

That's the part where I think Guy is spot on, and the part I think Shawn got emphatically right. Artisinal brings to mind hand-crafted, small production type operations. Someone smoothing the arm of a newly carved chair. Someone frosting a cupcake at their bakery. Etc.

That's how authors approach writing a book, and how those with the technical chops can approach it now. It's what needs to and is happening in publishing. The person who cares the most, the author, needs to be in charge of the process, and needs to have the right tools within reach.

Publishers care, but they have big business concerns as well. It seems that publishing houses will shrink or split, and hopefully all of the talented people who work in them will continue to work in smaller author-focused service formations. It's not the people at the large publishing houses who are out of luck with this revolution, it's the business structure.

That's why I think it will be authors, the ones who care about publishing and books the most, who drive the next steps in this evolution.

What do you think?

Image courtesy of Daily Pic via flickr