PBI 3: Publishing Interactions (The Verb Not The Noun)

It's interesting how crucial interaction on social media is in establishing an audience in the current social climate. Before the advent of media like Instagram, Twitter, and more, authors and small-time publishers creating their own audiences through their own work was unheard of - because the tools did not exist to make it happen very easily. You could run independent radio stations, organise your own in-person events, or even buy advertising yourself on television - but direct interaction with your audience was difficult, if not impossible.

The advent of the internet widens the marketing side but also the personality side - books and creative works are less about the publisher and more about the individual. Successful authors on sites like Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter become personalities, sometimes the person being known better than their product - whether for positive or negative reasons. J.K. Rowling has been in the news regularly in recent years for very little to do with her Harry Potter series; Neil Gaiman is celebrated by his fans for regular interactions, even using his audience to help him generated ideas; and some creative authors, like David Mitchell, write out whole stories on Twitter, creating a narrative that the audience can comment on, piece by piece.

In the creation of these audiences and developed interactions, we can see a trend - that the authors that communicate most on social media platforms also become the most well-known, and their work benefits considerably from it. Self-made authors with large pre-established fanbases are more likely to get noticed and given offers by publishers, seeing a sure-fire way to generate income. It's not only the shorter-hand social media that can provide an opening into the industry for writers - but longer form, like blogs, can supplement an individual's marketability, too.

Getting published, getting noticed, and having economic success relies on a strong foundation of connections. It's just as crucial as a publisher to feed into your social media. Creating links with potential best-selling authors, seeing the direction other publishers are going, and taking note of what niches aren't being filled can make the difference between a creative work going unnoticed, and becoming a cultural phenomenon. Opening up the behind-the-scenes to potential writers and the readers does a significant chunk of the work for you, demystifying the process and making the industry more appealing. The latter is especially important, in an age where authors can happily - and successfully - go the indie publishing route rather than try to work with a major (or minor) publishing body.