From Blog to Print Publisher
Stories about blogs being turned into books is becoming fairly common nowadays as blogs become more and more accepted in the mainstream media. However, in what must be a first of its kind, a literary blog has turned into a publishing house!
Against market trends, Dzanc Books is a small publisher poised to succeed, hiring staff and expanding quickly. And that may be because it sprouted from a blog rather than a traditional printing press, and it is certainly web-savvy.
That’s right, a recent article from Wired written about the blog-turned-publisher says that Dzanc Books only publishes print books and has no ebooks in the pipeline (nor does it sound like they plan to get into the ebook business).
While it seems like an incredible leap, if one steps back and really thinks about it, going from blog to publisher isn’t that far of a jump. After all, isn’t blogging just a simplified form of self-publishing? This once again shows that the internet is opening up doors in the literary world that we would only dream about a decade ago.
While I applaud Dzanc Books, I’m not without criticism. I think they are making a big mistake by shunning ebooks:
Dzanc has no aims to overturn print media, though. It publishes old-fashioned paper-and-ink volumes, because "the book is going to be around forever," says Gillis. Dzanc hopes its titles receive kudos in the best old-media venues, such as reviews in The New York Times and display space in Borders.
Just because the print book might be around forever, doesn’t mean it’ll be popular. Don’t get me wrong, I love print books, but I can envision a day when everything is digital. Furthermore, Dzanc is taking a huge gamble by hoping to "receive kudos in the best old-media venues" like newspapers. Last I heard, newspapers, even large ones like the New York Times, were struggling to compete and stay profitable amid the rise and popularity of the newer business model that the internet has ushered in.
It’s also strange that a small press would care so much about getting display space at Borders. Most small presses shun large box chain stores and either peddle their wares online or find independent venues to stock and promote. Unless any of their books become bestsellers, it’s doubtful that Borders would even give them the time of the day.
Yes, I’m probably overly harsh on this new start-up, and I really want to give them the benefit of the doubt. But if any business wants to succeed, they must think into the future and try to predict where the market will be at down the road. Personally, I just don’t think print newspapers and places like Borders are going to have a mass influence in a decade or two like they do today.
Nevertheless, I hope they succeed. They do have one thing right, however, that small presses are publishing better quality books then ever before and they might be the ones who save us from the pointless drivel the large publishing houses seem to be cranking out these days.
From old to new media: Blog begets publishing house
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Thanks for the notice and comments.
While the article does state we print “traditional books – not e-books”, it doesn’t necessarily state we’re not considering it. We just don’t envision ever not having books that are made of paper and ink, etc. But we are not against e-books by any means.
And while the article added we’d love to see kudos from the NYTBR and big displays in Borders – who wouldn’t? We aren’t relying on those at all, but would absolutely take them – it’s our desire to find as many readers and homes for what we believe are truly fantastic authors as possible.
We do beleive that our best bets storewise include the independent booksellers and have made really nice inroads with a a great many of these stores nationwide, but have also received orders from both Borders and B&N. Plus, both of us being over 40, and from the SE Michigan area, we remember when Borders was just a single store on State Street, one of the best independent stores in the country.
While we’re also very involved with the online literary community, especially considering my roots into literary involvement, I think some of the other information – such as NYTBR and Borders, etc., worked out better for the theme of the article of going backwards – blogging to publisher.
Many thanks for the well wishes.
Hey thanks for the comment!
I hope I wasn’t too harsh in my post. I really admire the small presses and I think they are the future of publishing. I also admire how you went from blogging to publishing, it’s a big leap and not something we hear about very often. As for Borders, I guess I’m just biased against them and B&N for driving the smaller independents out of business. But you’re right, I think just about anyone would be thrilled to have a large display in the middle of a Borders store. Same goes for getting a favorable review in the NYT book review.
Thanks again for commenting! I always love hearing feedback, especially from people directly connected to a post I’ve written!
I, too, wish to say thanks for the mention on your blog. Means a great deal to Dan and myself. As for the misperception that Dzanc isn’t interested in e-books our audio books, nothing could be further from the truth and, in fact, just yesterday I raised this possiblity again with Dan and our editors. Dzanc is all about getting good works into the hands and heads of readers and we are running stride for stride with what is cutting edge. Clearly e-books and audio books are a part of the future and we fully intend to make use of this way of bringing Dzanc books to the public along with the more “tradition” printed page. Thanks again – Steve
Hi Steve! Thank you for your comment and taking the time to read my blog. I really appreciate it!
One of my big interests right now is new, innovative and inexpensive ways to get literature into the hands of the public. While I love print books (and always will), the time is ripe for ebooks to start becoming more mainstream.
The article that I based this post off of gave the impression that Dzanc shunned ebooks. This is my fault for relying on a single source for information and not doing more research.
I plan on writing a follow-up to this post, using an interview that you gave with Joe Wikert for his blog. So stay tuned…
Thanks again for commenting! It’s great to hear from people inside the publishing industry!
-Brad