New Trends in Publishing
A New Publisher Gives His Take on eBooks and Children's Literature
Oct 31, 2009
Stick Raven Press, publisher and founder Pär South has advice and insights into the world of publishing. Stick Raven Press is a new publishing company, specializing in children’s literature.
Children’s publishing is beginning to go in new and exciting directions, with the new popularity of eBooks, and the rise of exciting tales of children engaged in valor and courage. As a new publisher, Pär is in the unique position of being poised to capitalize on both of these trends. Here, he offers his view, as well as advice for new authors and publishers.
New Directions in Publishing and the Rise of eBooks
Suite101: What made you decide to get into the publishing business?
Pär South: There are stories that just aren't being told. Compelling books, whose audience may not number in the millions, but the tens of thousands, that aren't getting a contract. Conglomerated publishing houses just don't publish them anymore. Instead there are three hundred thousand books flooding the marketplace each year, all telling the same story. When I was in grad school, I was told the story about how one publisher inherited a printing press. He could have done anything with that expensive equipment: sold it, printed encyclopedias, anything. Instead he went on to be a highly successful publisher of fiction. Today, with digital technologies, the barrier to entry is zero. It is like we've all inherited a printing press. What we choose to do with it is the only question.
With the advent of eBooks, where do you see publishing going from here?
Fantastic places. Sure, well-told stories will always be the same. But imagine interactive text, videos of the author and subject, and applets that further the fun. The possibilities are only limited by imagination and technological advances.
Do you believe that eBooks are going to continue to rise in popularity at the rate at which they currently are doing?
Depends. Traditional publishers try to price eBooks as if they chopped down the trees themselves, mixed the ink and laid the type, and need to be well compensated for this effort. If that continues, eBooks could go the way of the music industry and Napster. EBooks cost nothing to produce or to deliver. They should be cheap. Only outmoded thinking leads to the hobbling of this delivery system by not offering it, or pricing it out of reach. If eBooks are allowed to reach their true market price, if eBook readers become more ubiquitous, there will be more readers and consequently another golden age of the book.
What are your thoughts on eBooks for children?
Kids can't afford eBook readers. Today. Yet, parents tell me that they hand over their Kindles to their kids all the time. Children, twenty years ago, who didn't have a phone, now have iPhones! Kids are growing up used to reading words off of screens, unlike their parents. What this means is that kids are poised for the eBooks evolution.
Do you think that eBooks are going to change the way that people view books? For example, Elizabeth Berg, a well known author, has been known to speak of how, as a child, she would pet a book that she liked when she finished it, do you think that people will feel as attached to an eBook as to a print book?
Just try to get an iTouch out of the hands of its owner! Talk about attached. People bond with whatever medium conveys their beloved stories. Look, I'm sure there was talk in ancient times about how books don't roll-up like papyrus, or store as well as clay tablets, but really, where are they now? Paper books have certain advantages which will allow them to continue for some time. I love them. But the eformat will enable authors to reach so many more kids, in a device of the reader's choosing. I can envision a time where people will keep a virtual bookshelf on their eDevices to show their friends just like people share their photos online.
Up and Coming Trends in Children’s Literature
What trends do you see up and coming in children’s literature today?
I'm not much of a trend-chaser, but I can foresee more and more different writer-voices emerging that aren't subject to the New York publishing mindset. Books that will reflect the sensibilities of diverse lives. To me, it's not about whether a book is about the latest trend (steampunk, for example), but is the story integral to the genre it is told in? If one's SP novel could just as easily be vampires or zombies, I'm not interested. As a rule, Stick Raven Press is most interested in books about real kids' lives which are scary and compelling enough, I think.
Do you think these trends are poised to continue?
The democratization of content? Yes. Just look at blogs. Ten years ago, mainstreet journalists complained that these amateurs wouldn't amount to much. Now newspapers are rapidly fading into memory. So too, is the traditional publishing house. People will create unique content and will publish it, with or without the imprimatur of a publishing house. Whether it finds its audience, that's another question. That's where a publisher remains important, not just as a middleman between author and printer.
Advice for New Authors and Publishers
What advice do you have for new authors?
Learn your craft. Revise, revise, revise! No amount of technology will enhance a novel that isn't ready. Use today's many avenues to connect with your potential audience and learn what excites them.
Any advice for those just starting out in the publishing business?
This is a great time to start a new publishing venture. There have been more changes in the game of publishing in the last five years than the last hundred! With change comes opportunity. As Goethe said: "Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." Be bold, new publisher.
Writing and publishing books has never been so exciting. With new mediums, and the rise in popularity of children’s books, new authors and publishers stand to begin a new revolution in reading. For more information on Stick Raven Press, visit their website.
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