Life after an MA in Publishing
When I applied for my postgraduate degree in publishing, I had to choose between two schools—Simon Fraser University and the London College of Printing. I was at the business and marketing helm of a sinking, indie/niche literary/arts magazine in Montreal and both appeared to offer equal helpings of industry expertise, industry connections and practical-hands-on experience. London of course proved to be the winner, and while I landed a job at the top, heck before I even started writing my thesis, I always envied the Canadian alternative, specifically the community it has created for grads and those lingering on the periphery. And this is embodied in its online "hub", Thinkubator, the Young Publishers Network. A quick visit will show you a raw, yet well-designed site that rivals any high falutin Web 2.0 social networking application out there. And sadly it makes the SYP website look rather stale. Where is the voice, the edge, the innovation? I would go on to argue that the simplicity and accesibility of Thinkubator makes its UK quasi-equivalents look considerably behind the times. Sure they seem to do the same things technically, but as a "young publisher" myself, one speaks to me on a level and in a visual language that others simply haven't caught up to. Or maybe that's just the "marketer" in me.
The latest News post on Thinkubator looks at the recent trend of book trailers, or rather film-style trailers for books, released online as a way to tap into video and film consumption patterns of online communities—book lovers included. They reference a CBC article. In the article, the Canadian edition of Londonstani (Harper Collins) is referenced in its release of a film-like trailer for the book. A visit to YouTube shows that the book has had 2,837 (make that 2,838) views. You can read the piece yourself. Fact is, this is a venture I am pursuing for a number of our upcoming teen releases, Bloodsong, by Melvin Burgess and Being, by Kevin Brooks, to name a few. I raise this not to delve into the amazing (but not all that) new media marketing techniques Puffin is pursuing in order to reach its audience (we are) but instead make note that this just goes to show how tapped in this website of young Canadian publishers really is. And I also wonder why the UK programs with their long heritage and futuristic claims, have not done the same. If there is anything I've learnt so far about the publishing industry, it's that publishing is all we like to talk about. And sure the SYP site boasts a "new forum" and makes available essential resources for publishing job seekers, but the style in which it is presented may very well be losing eyeballs.
Like all industries, Publishing has finally started to realise it can't go the way of the old school boys club of years past, but must instead rethink how it does business, how it markets books, how it speaks to customers. This is mostly due to the changing consumption patterns and cultural context of markets. If anything, the young publishers of today (future publishers of tomorrow) surely live in those different markets and interact in those new ways. Shouldn't then the content they consume reflect that?
Justin Renard
Puffin Marketing Officer
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Hi Justin - interesting post.
I produced my first book promo, for Canongate Books (where I then worked) in 2000 (I think), for Gil Scott Heron's collected book of lyrics and poems, which I was editing. It was directed by Julian House of Intro. I also wrote a business plan for a series of 'pop promos for books' of which this was the first, and which included a promo for Life of Pi a couple of years later.
I've made probably 10 promos in the last few years, of which the most recent was for The Long Tail, but the work has included promos for teen series Alex Rider, as well as Doug Coupland and Bret easton Ellis.
When the long tail came out we put it on YouTube, and I put some of the others there as well. Most encouraging, LT has had 7,500 views, and Gil Scott Heron over 12,000 and still growing quite fast.
Life of Pi, weirdly, has had about 6, although the promo, when it was online, had over 2.5 million (yup) views over 2/3 years.
My point, rather than being as self-serving as it sounds, is to say that a number of my client publishers (Canongate, Atlantic, Walker, Flamingo, 4th Estate, Picador, Random House) have been grasping this nettle for a while, and having some success with it.
But going back to educational issues, and I think the LCC is fantastic, I'm going to Dundee school of art next week to give a lecture on the book promos, in the hope that we can encourage people like you - and others who wouldn't have a thought for going 'into publishing' - that it is an exciting, innovative industry that values creativity.
I'll get off my high horse now and go check out thinkubator - hadn't heard of it and sounds interesting. Cheers
Posted by:peter | November 17, 2006 at 02:42 PM
Small publishers can do it too - indeed it's one of the key ways we hope to attract readers without spending a fortune. We got a great response to our 'Paper Cut' promo for Jonathan Santlofer's 'The Death Artist' - www.snowbooks.com/papercut/
I agree with you about the SYP, and Thinkubator looks interesting. So shall we set up a UK version then?
Posted by:James | November 17, 2006 at 05:39 PM
Hilarious. James, that brought a smile to my face. I aspire to do the same with my own projects. Cheers for the link.
A UK version of Thinkubator? Just say when!
Peter, that is great. When I started the MA, I was pretty astonished at how few of the students came from anything other than "English" backgrounds. A love for books is certainly prerequisite, but who says you can't be good with finance, action script or heaven forbid HR. This raises for me a whole other pet peeve and that is business programs. My first degree at McGill in Montreal was a B.Com and there was nothing in place for savvy, creative and entrepreneurial students that dozed off to the words, financial accounting, porfolio strategy and managerial economics, ugh.
Posted by:Justin | November 17, 2006 at 11:45 PM
Interesting discussion all.
I'm an Editor at MIRA Books (the small mainstream fiction imprint at Harlequin Mills & Boon) & we've come to book trailers a little late - but we're getting there! It was actually one of our authors, MJ Rose, who alerted us to their potential (see one for her last book here at: http://www.vidlit.com/delilahuk/ ). I'm glad to be involved in new ventures like this & would love to find out more...
And hey, no dissing on those who studied English, achieved an MA Pub from LCP & now work in Publishing! I'm admitting nothing...
Posted by:Catherine | November 21, 2006 at 02:21 PM
No dis intended. Just like to see new blood in this sector.
Posted by:Justin Renard | November 21, 2006 at 02:51 PM