A key member of a small press asked why a publisher should accept financial risk for bringing a writer’s work to the market. His company expected writers to share in the cost of producing books and marketing, usually thousands of dollars. They are not unique.
I can’t totally agree. As a freelance writer producing work for Fortune 500 companies, I’m not asked to assume financial risk for the success of a website or video. The corporation’s investment in the content I create is a relatively small portion of the total project cost. The creative agency and production company charge major dollars for their work. They aren’t placed at financial risk either. The corporation knows what it wants to achieve and invests appropriately. If the message doesn’t resonate with consumers, the corporation assumes responsibility for making a bad decision.
Applying that business model to publishing, the responsibility remains with a publisher to make well-researched decisions about content they want to bring to market and make appropriate investments. In an ideal world, if a publisher asks for a writer to share financial risk, they should first make the business case—what is the market, how will this book compete, what are the costs, … Continue reading