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How small publishers can help librarians
Yuri Shestopaloff AKVY Press
I would like to thank Linda Carlson for her article about book selection by indie stores and libraries. Let me present the other side. This is my own opinion, but I know that some people share these thoughts. First of all, it is clear from the article and my own experience that small publishers, not to mention self-publishers, are essentially cut off from the regular library and store supply channels. The actual situation is as follows. Big publishers select books based on revenue considerations. They are often wrong (only one book out of ten is really profitable, this is a well-known industry statistic). So, by and large, they pursue a single goal, which is profit. This is filter number one in the major library and indie stores supply channels. What we actually witness is that from all numerous and exuberant colors of real life they only choose the ones with a green tint. Next filter is review magazines. It is no secret, and “Independent” revealed it in several publications, that review journals do not want to make mistakes, that they also want to make a sure bet at the very first selection phase. Like the big publishers, they also work to make a living, in other words, to make profit. Then, in the context of such a situation, the representatives of big publishers work really hard to push theirs books for review. Consequently, review journals rely much on wisdom and close relations with big publishers. This is our human nature, to take the easy route, nobody is to blame. Overall, the competition to get to the pages of review journals is so intense, and the stakes are so high, that small publishers can do nothing but give up at the start. Certainly, there are no rules without exceptions, and you can read about many examples of successful self-publishing. But the trend is clear: the pipe “big publishers – review magazines – libraries” will have less and less leakages. Now, let us take a look at the other side, that is, at libraries. What is the goal of librarians? The answer is multifaceted, but one of the main virtues (and essential one!) is this: to craft libraries’ collections in a way that promotes the most optimal and harmonious development of individuals, community, society and the whole nation. This is a very important role. Note that librarians are not strangers to the society; they are part of the society, so that the societal mentality (which they help to form!) will affect their life as well. Do you think that the choice of a one-time bestseller cramped with mysticism and violence versus a book in high literary style with a story about true love and genuine human feelings will make any impact on the societal mentality? I bet it would, and the results will be seen in the not so remote future. Let me give an example from personal experience. When I wanted to write a book on financial mathematics, “Science of Inexact Mathematics”, I contacted several publishers and eventually received four offers. I chose a big publisher and proceeded with contract specifications. Everything was all right, including required references from industry specialists, which I had to provide myself, except that the publisher did not want me to include the last chapter, in which I emphasized the importance of human and societal values in any economy in general and financial industry in particular. (Note that I have recently received high praise from a vice-president of Credit Suisse on the whole book and specifically for writing this chapter.) In order to save this one chapter, I became a small publisher. Given excellent reviews which my books received from small reviewers such as Wisconsin Bookwatch, MortgageOrb.com, etc, and readers, the books are fine. I try to write books that will preserve their value for decades, like “Science of Inexact Mathematics”, but they will never make their way to library bookshelves in the present system of library collection creation. So, in fact, both librarians and a large part of small publishers have the same goal – make available to readers books that present the whole spectrum of societally useful and constructive opinions and thoughts that can promote positive societal and personal development. We, small publishers, will never be able to plug into the aforementioned pipe “big publishers – review journals – libraries”. We have different resources, often different goals and sometimes a different mentality. I volunteered at the IBPA stand at BEA. I met authors, talked to them and discovered that many of them are human beings driven by high human virtues. I bought two books to verify my thoughts. Honestly, I have had some sort of prejudice toward self-published authors, so strong is the public opinion on this account that even I, now a self-publisher myself, was also influenced by it. In my opinion, both books deserve to be in public libraries, maybe more than many books listed in review journals. People need such opinions, need such unusual but very positive and synthetic visions of the world! We can improve our lives by a realistic but positive attitude to the world, we should see the whole colorful spectrum of life and understand it deeply and comprehensively in order to progress not only individually but also as a part of our society. We should be builders, not destroyers. If librarians do not go outside their present the only “supply pipe”, then, the chances to bring to library readers objective and optimistic vision of the world won’t be as high as if they build their collection using many other channels. If I would ever have an opportunity to give advice to librarians, I would begin by advising them to trust their own judgment more. Reviewers are as human as you are, so why do you think that they are so much better than you? I have read many incompetent reviews written by professional reviewers. Trust your common sense. It is really a powerful and universal tool. The next piece of advice I would give is to not to be too conservative. Life and everything else is changing, you may notice this once in a while, for instance, when you look in the mirror. This is a law of Nature. For example, most librarians do not buy POD books, but this is just another form of delivering a book, thanks to advances in technology. Some of my books, hard cover, are POD, and so what? Does this make them worse? I do not think so. The quality of printing is just as good as offset printing. You may not know, but many big publishers provide you with POD books. Go to LSI site and read company news about the deal with the next big publisher. I think that the only parties that benefit from librarians’ prejudice towards POD books are the big publishers. Actually, there are other recent developments in small publishing and printing technologies, such as the Espresso machine, that librarians should be aware of as well, because this knowledge will benefit them. Nobody argues, librarians, indie stores need reviews of books. Good, objective reviews. Why don’t we do this ourselves? I mean, authors, self-publishers, small publishers can cross-review their books, as well as others publishers. I have a whole spectrum of academic degrees, over ninety publications in reputable peer-review journals. I can review several books a year on a number of subjects. We can do this within IBPA, gradually building the reputation of our reviews and making all interested parties aware of them. “Independent Reviewer” – why not? It is not easy, I understand. It will require a good and adjustable plan, efforts, discipline, etc. However, we can do at least a feasibility study and start a discussion of how to realistically make it happen. Sure, we have to be driven by rigid criteria, and objectivity will have to become our pride and badge of honor. I know that it is more difficult to build a new thing, than repairing and fixing an old one, but I also know that it is a much higher reward, in all aspects, to successfully create something new and really useful for everybody. |
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