By Susan Kemp
Jack Romanos, the former President and CEO of major publishing house Simon & Schuster, spoke Feb. 4 at Arnold Hall to a crowded room of students and faculty about the past, present and future of the book industry.
“For those of you who plan to write for a living, it’s more than likely that you will not be read on paper—at least not primarily,” Romanos told students.
Young writers hoping to make it in today’s technology-driven world face an industry in a constant state of flux. Trends on Amazon suggest that e-books may surpass print sales by 2014. In the meantime, the New York Times announced the addition of an e-book only bestseller list to debut this Sunday.
Writers are often the quickest adversaries to the e-book revolution, as noted by student questions concerning the high price tag associated with e-readers and tablets, the present lack of options for the visually impaired and the loss of a visceral connection with the written word.
Romanos suggested to writers that there might be a silver lining:
Royalties for the writer tend to be greater in the e-book format.
“The publisher pays a minimum of 25 percent of the net receipt up to about 50 percent, so it’s more a partnership than traditional publishing,” Romanos said.
Self-publishing may become a lot more realistic.
The online era has prompted new publishing paradigms, such as the ability to print as an e-book first and transition to print if and when a book does well digitally.
“I think the opportunity to self-publish is a lot more promising in the electronic space, than it was in the pre-electronic,” Romanos said.
E-books allow a greater level of interactivity.
The day of stagnant images of great speeches in history textbooks may soon be over, in place of video and other time-based media.
One area in which Romanos feels the tablets are ahead is within the realm of graphics. “There’s a huge sort of children’s book industry that suffers because Kindle doesn’t have the ability to color their animation.”
As for the immediate future?
Students should still go through traditional routes in seeking out a publisher. First, Romanos suggested seeking out a literary agent.
“If you write like somebody, try to find out who represents that somebody you write like,” he suggests. “If an agent has already seen success with an established author, they may be more willing to take a chance on new authors.”
If Romanos’s talk interested you, check out these upcoming writing events:
WHO: Dan Wakin, music and dance writer (and former religion writer) for the New York Times
WHEN: Monday, February 14 at 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: The River Club
WHO: Roy Blount Jr., novelist and humorist
WHEN: Friday, February 18 at 11:00 a.m.
WHERE: Arnold 128
WHO: Sandra Brown w/ Jack Romanos
WHEN: Saturday, February 19 at 5:00 p.m. (writing students) and 7:00 p.m. (everyone else)
WHERE: River Club, top floor
