Penelope Trunk is smart, witty, interesting to read, and thought-provoking... but nothing I've read by her has ever made me think that listening to her advice is a good idea. Some of her advice is simply wrong (she relies a ridiculous amount on Myers-Briggs Types, which would be fine except for the fact that MBTI is roughly as scientific as phrenology, meaning that building a business around people's Myers-Briggs types is like building a business based on having the right mix of astrological signs).
In particular, I agree with her that publishers as we knew them are doomed, and that the traditional tasks of publishers are going to be split between authors doing more, authors hiring professionals for important tasks (e.g. copy-editing, maybe editing (it's important, but I'm not sure how many authors will spring for it), graphic design, etc.) And I agree that a mailing list can be very valuable. But I'm not at all convinced that giving up the big marketing shelf that is Amazon and building more of the infrastructure yourself is a winning move. It could be, and it probably is for some individuals. But I suspect that for most authors, self-publishing through Amazon (and other sites) is the correct strategy, not self-publishing and shunning Amazon.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2012-05-05 07:42 pm (UTC)In particular, I agree with her that publishers as we knew them are doomed, and that the traditional tasks of publishers are going to be split between authors doing more, authors hiring professionals for important tasks (e.g. copy-editing, maybe editing (it's important, but I'm not sure how many authors will spring for it), graphic design, etc.) And I agree that a mailing list can be very valuable. But I'm not at all convinced that giving up the big marketing shelf that is Amazon and building more of the infrastructure yourself is a winning move. It could be, and it probably is for some individuals. But I suspect that for most authors, self-publishing through Amazon (and other sites) is the correct strategy, not self-publishing and shunning Amazon.