Business Models

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Business models are an important part of any plan to produce and continue producing anything of value. Indie publishing is no different.

A business model is the lifeline that connects consumers of an author’s work to the author, and those connections are lifelines that allow them to spend more and more time on their craft as more and more people consume it.

That said, any single business model is ripe for disruption, and in most cases the disruption will be caused not by some competitor, but by the environment in which you publish. Ebooks were a huge shock for the well-entrenched Big Six publishers, and they’re only now starting to catch on and make use of the new technology. In the interim, however, while they were scrambling to first stymie the new technology, and then adapt their old business models to the new market reality, independent publishing matured into what it is today from nearly nothing. And all in a few years.

To us, it makes far more sense to experiment with and make use of a variety of business models. Doing so not only affords a publisher more financial security — more streams of income, each with different strengths and weaknesses — it also allows for more experimentation and, at the end of the day, better end products.

Why better end products? Because the more options readers have, the more likely we publishers will discover unfulfilled potential, underserved needs, and untapped markets. By trying out, say, subscription-based payment methods instead of lump, sums, we may bring published work to people who could never afford them before. By recording audio and video content and delivering it with ebooks, we may bring out more of the author’s vision, while also increasing the amount of income an author can make per book. And by re-imagining book tours, we may be able to bring an enthusiasm for reading and writing to a whole new generation of young people.

There’s so much unrealized potential in the world of publishing. It’s time we all step back, take a look at the big picture, and reshuffle the deck.

Or roll dice, instead of dealing cards.

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• Authors as Businesspeople
• Remove Hurdles, Build Trampolines
• Indie Publishing
• Learning & Teaching
• Vehicles & Stories
• Business Models

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