It used to be that if you wanted to get your ideas, or literary gems, distributed to a large audience (and make some money along the way) you would need to find and convince a publisher (not often easy for an ‘unknown’ writer) to publish your book. (Or movie company, etc.)
And the publisher, in order to convince people to buy and read your book would use it’s various channels in tv, radio, magazines and newspapers to promote your book. However, none of these media exposures would comprise the complete work, or full idea. One must buy the book to get that satisfaction.
The publisher promised and controled the relationship between the audience and the writer.
So, enter Mr. Christian Lander, the ‘unknown’ writer of a blog called Stuff White People Like, which reports hits of 21,269,514. Not so sure, but it let’s suppose it’s a fact. And the blog does appear to be a complete work or idea.
Well now, Random House buys the rights to a book from Mr. Lander. It’s not clear if the book will be based on the site, but it would appear so. A $300,000 advance is rumored.
Does Random House expect to reach these same people, or similar people, with a book about something they’ve been getting for free essentially? Will Mr. Lander have the time to write the blog, which he must do, to maintain his ‘audience’ and at the same time write the book? Ghost writer? Perhaps there is another spin — a book about writing the blog, the scene behind the blog.
So if we look at this, Mr. Lander has already acquired the audience, all by himself, without a publisher, with a little blog.
The publisher is no longer the holder of the audience, the writer is. And the general media had little, until now, to do with generating the audience.
Hmm. Isn’t that interesting?
A new business model is in the works. Writers need to figure how to capitalize on the audience they acqure. That is, if they would like to make some real money.
Power has shifted. Did you feel the quake?
