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How important is book titles?

19 Calls for Submissions in February 2018 - Paying Markets

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AgentPete

Capo Famiglia
Guardian
Full Member
May 19, 2014
London UK
You’ll have noticed a few changes around here recently: there’s a lot more to come.

But let me fill you in on the background to all this… the way I’ve been thinking.

First as an author, then as a literary agent, I’ve seen the publishing business go through tectonic changes. More change in a single decade than in the previous century.

The impact on authors has been and will continue to be seismic. For example, author income has plunged dramatically (while publishers’ earnings have remained remarkably strong – go figure).

It would be easy to see all this as unremittingly bad news. And indeed, there are many reasons to be concerned.

However: let’s always remember this. Humans are hard-wired to consume the stuff that authors produce. While the method of delivery may vary, it is certain that as long as our species exists, we will require the services of authors to entertain and inform us.

It’s just a question of figuring out how it’s all going to work (and how to get paid for it, too).

So… exciting times to live in.

Litopia has been witness to all this: longer than any other writers’ group on the net. And as circumstances have changed, we’ve evolved too.

I believe it’s now time for us to evolve again.

It’s my firm belief that my profession – literary agenting – needs to get with the plan. We are no longer the unquestioned gatekeepers to the publishing engine that we once were; and increasingly, I hear a quiet but insistent voice in my head… how are we actually adding value to the process?

Well, do we add value?

Or do we just interpose ourselves in the chain – and take a slice of someone else’s income?

Litopia, I believe, is what literary agencies should and could become.

A haven for writers.

A place to hone your craft.

A source of business information and marketing advice…. whether you choose to go the traditional publishing route or not.

And more.

I feel we are about to do something very big, and very significant.

Two things are necessary. First, I have to be able to allocate about half my time here. And secondly, Litopia must start to fund itself. The two things are connected.

But we are not about to become a subscription-only site. Actually, rather the reverse: the full range of Litopia’s expanding activities will be available to all members, whether or not they can support us. But I hope – and this really is a leap of faith – that enough members will see the value of what Litopia is doing to want to sustain us.

There will be several ways to do that, starting very modestly. And again, so that there should be absolutely no misunderstanding… We are not putting up a paywall. There will be no “freemium” sleight-of-hand. All Litopians will continue to get unfettered access to everything that Litopia offers, now and in the future.

The above is just a teeny peek into what’s around the corner.

Stay tuned.
 
Thank you :)

I think my instincts are correct on this. Not every writer needs a literary agent: today’s mid-list or genre writer is probably not well served by the traditional agenting model. My aim is to put together a package of tools here in Litopia that will give writers pretty much the same (or better!) range of support as they’d get more traditionally.

I hope I’ve got the financial model right. It’s value-for-value – if you get something good here, then please give something back.
 
That sounds really interesting. I’ve also been thinking about what True Value is, beyond what is usually judged as value.

I’ve been Blogging on a website where you get paid for every article you write. The way they run it is different because there are no Shareholders make a profit from you. The name of this website is Steemit.com, and the database is not actually on the web. The underlying mechanism is a cryptocurrency blockchain. (Similar to Bitcoin, but it also has a database where people can write blogposts)

This isn’t just a few people. The total capitalization of Steemit is over 1 Billion dollars, and there are many Bloggers who make a living from writing on this network. Some of them live in the Phillipines and others in the west. I’m still a small fish on there, but there are many possibilities.

If you think about the amount of money that banks take away from people, the cryptocurrencies are a great innovation. Now I am not necessarily saying we should all buy cryptocurrency, what I am saying though is that it really got me thinking about value and different ways in which it can be defined. Many people are redefining business and what it means to add value.

This is my Blog on Steem: Steemit
 
I've kept half an eye on Steemit. Be interesting to see how it prospers... more importantly, how the writers prosper! :)
 
Looking forward to it, @AgentPete . Be interesting to see how it develops.

As to steemit? Yeah: no. Any crypto with such a centralized core is clearly suspicious. The amount of power that the creator and his friends have over the site is just dodgy as hell (and we'll just ignore how utterly underhand he was at setup). Avoid!
 
That sounds really interesting. I’ve also been thinking about what True Value is, beyond what is usually judged as value.

I’ve been Blogging on a website where you get paid for every article you write. The way they run it is different because there are no Shareholders make a profit from you. The name of this website is Steemit.com, and the database is not actually on the web. The underlying mechanism is a cryptocurrency blockchain. (Similar to Bitcoin, but it also has a database where people can write blogposts)

This isn’t just a few people. The total capitalization of Steemit is over 1 Billion dollars, and there are many Bloggers who make a living from writing on this network. Some of them live in the Phillipines and others in the west. I’m still a small fish on there, but there are many possibilities.

If you think about the amount of money that banks take away from people, the cryptocurrencies are a great innovation. Now I am not necessarily saying we should all buy cryptocurrency, what I am saying though is that it really got me thinking about value and different ways in which it can be defined. Many people are redefining business and what it means to add value.

This is my Blog on Steem: Steemit

True Value - there's a novel in there somewhere, Michiel
 
I got washed up on the barren shore of self-publishing. I found I didn't have whatever it takes to earn that way. If Litopia is to become more like an agency then it will have to have some funding. Copy editing and selling, for example, demand specialist skills which are unlikely to be available on a voluntary or quid pro quo basis. I will be very interested to see what ideas you come up with Peter.
 
Thanks for this, @AgentPete, I'm also excited by the changes at Litopia. Those of us working for multinational clients and paid in international currency or Bitcoin in the developing world or southern hemisphere (South Africa is both post-industrial and developing South, a complex place to work from) have learned to be extremely flexible and creative in pitching for writing projects and acquiring local expertise that those in the West don't have at hand. Some of that innovative thinking on our feet should help when it comes to writing fiction for the emerging diaspora readers and less traditional publishing markets.
 
This is fascinating. IMO, the current trend toward authors earning less while publishers' income does not decline is not sustainable. Authors are not stupid, but neither are we skilled in all the things involved in actually getting a book out. I already chip in but could be convinced to chip in more
 
This is fascinating. IMO, the current trend toward authors earning less while publishers' income does not decline is not sustainable.

I know, and that's far from the full picture... let me just say that a lot of my time now is spent not doing deals, but arguing over (often ancient) contractual terms and what they mean today... in some respects, the business is getting rather mean-spirited. I don't believe this is in publishers' interests any more than authors' - but short-term thinking is now the name of the game...
 
There are many undercurrents, and much uncertainty. Lots of merging and cost-cutting. Experienced publishers being pushed out for cheaper (younger) versions. It's not all bad... but it is quite destabilizing...
 
This is were those buttons now gone would come in handy. No-one can "like" what you're saying, we'd need a thumbs down I believe. Although I'm sure we appreciate your honesty. The world is shrinking, and yet the competition for writing is growing, whilst the (English) language takes a beating, on social media at least!
 
Alistair, I'm not sure it's all bad though. It's another Gutenberg moment (well, century) and the challenge now is to glimpse opportunies and possibilities. I know that in South Africa and Kenya, where published novels make little or no profit even if they go international, the most extraordinary and altruistic writing communities have sprung up, with writers' festivals in black townships as well as urban centres, free or subsidised workshops and readings, supportive editors who work for next to nothing. And we all read one another, buy one another's books (for every international novel I buy, I purchase a local fiction). Because it keeps that community going. Nobody is going to make much money or get fame and nobody expects that. What is great is that people feel supported so they keep writing and the writing gets better. In the 1980s, Nobel-winning authors like JM Coetzee, Nadine Gordimer, or Bessie Head, Zakes Mda, Miriam Tlali didn't have any writing or reading community to support them. Nor did all the hopeful lonely writers who just gave up on their dreams.
 
This discussion reminds me of the probably apocryphal Chinese curse: May you live in interesting times. Change is hard, and if we all respond by acting for short-term benefit, it's not - as @AgentPete says - likely to end well for anyone.
 
I'm kind of with @Alistair Roberts here. The industry is eating itself and those inside simply do not care. As long as the fat cats at the top get their cut, they could give a damn about the thing that actually *is* the industry: the writers.
But, I am utterly without surprise. Writing is just following the same trend as everything else. Strip it down for mass consumption without regard for the harm you are causing the medium. The most popular books of the last 10 years demonstrate that perfectly.
 
Alistair, I'm not sure it's all bad though. It's another Gutenberg moment (well, century) and the challenge now is to glimpse opportunies and possibilities.

It's not all bad. The publishing industry is far less stuffy and hidebound than it used to be, for one thing.

Change is hard, and if we all respond by acting for short-term benefit, it's not - as @AgentPete says - likely to end well for anyone.

They're pretty much living quarter-by-quarter, with little thought for future planning or investment. Hard on writers, most of whom need a few years' steady nurturing before they're ready for the big time. I think that's an increasing role for Litopia.

I'm kind of with @Alistair Roberts here. The industry is eating itself and those inside simply do not care. As long as the fat cats at the top get their cut, they could give a damn about the thing that actually *is* the industry: the writers.

Sauve qui peut is admittedly on the rise, you only have to look at writers' plunging average income compared to publishers' healthy profits. However, there are still plenty of people in the business who really do care about writers and their work.
 
Sauve qui peut is admittedly on the rise, you only have to look at writers' plunging average income compared to publishers' healthy profits. However, there are still plenty of people in the business who really do care about writers and their work.
Pete, why is it I think that you personal little black book of peers could be infinitely more useful to me than any nonsense I could get from such things as the Writers and Artists Yearbook?
Jokes aside, I applaud your optimism. I just wish I could believe in it.
 
My optimism is based on the bedrock fact that humans are hard-wired to consume story… which is the stuff that writers produce.

The means of delivery may change, but the requirement will always be there.
:)
You cannot even conceive of how much I hope you are right, my friend.
Sadly, I had my optimism gland removed at birth, but I am happy, for now at least, to bask in the glow of yours.
 
These changes feel good. I look forward to seeing where else Litopia is leading the way. I'm not so optimistic about publishing in general because I think there are too many greedy, short-sighted, narrow-minded people at the top (like most industries, sadly). So it's great to see someone bucking the trend, Agent Pete! :)

I don't get time to come on here as much as I'd like, but every time I do I want to spend hours just reading stuff and would love to get more involved with reviewing etc. Won't manage that quite yet but am making drastic changes in my own life, including selling up and moving abroad by autumn, so I can spend my time writing and editing and creating... oh, and being very poor :D Even so, I will happily pay more than I do already. Creative oases as nurturing as Litopia are rare and should be preserved.
 
Thanks, Ancora. There’s an ebb and flow in creatives lives – to say nothing of more fundamental demands such as a daytime job or looking after the family – so I think we all understand that folk will naturally take a leave of absence from time to time. But do pop back even just to say hello when you can :)
 
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