Q: How did you become
interested in the book publishing industry, and
what keeps you interested?
A: I grew up in a family of
readers preoccupied with good books and the
ideas in them. During many boring hours of
military service in the U.S. Army, I decided I
wanted to spend my career in the publishing
business. Book publishing is an industry in
which one can learn something new every day.
Publishing books is a stimulating mix of
commerce, people, ideas, organizations and
processes, with the goal of producing a socially
beneficial product.
Q: What do you enjoy
most and least about the industry?
A: As a publishing
management consultant, I find the variety of
interesting people with whom I work to be the
most enjoyable aspect. I learn something new on
every assignment and from each client.
Q: What has been your
greatest lesson?
A: The time it takes to
publish worthwhile books. "Book publishing is a
quick way to make a slow buck." It takes a
significant amount of time to earn a profit
publishing books. Time is needed to develop new
books, market books, and to establish an
identifiable market niche. If you are in a hurry
to make money, stay away from book publishing.
Q: What do you wish you
had learned sooner?
A: Two thoughts come to
mind. Customer satisfaction is vital to the
success of a book publisher. Always design
product and processes to serve your customers.
Second, publishing is a business. Publishing is
not some esoteric creative enterprise (although
creativity is part of it). Pay attention to the
"numbers" and particularly, the size and cost of
inventory, royalty rates and the amount of
author advances.
Q: What literary figure
would you most like to meet and why?
A: Can I mention three? H.L.
Mencken, because our democratic society needs
independent thinking curmudgeons like Mencken.
John Steinbeck, because he was a great
storyteller and because he was aware of social
and economic conditions affecting the majority
of Americans, particularly during the
depression. And finally, Dorothy Parker, because
she was so witty and clever and yet she never
fully used all her gifts.
Q: What do you see as
book publishing's biggest challenge?
A: Distribution channels
continue to be the primary challenge for most
book publishers with the dynamics and economics
working against them. Successful publishers
figure out a strategy to outflank traditional
book distribution channels so as not to spend
most of their profits on distribution costs.
Q: What project that
you've worked on evokes the greatest emotion -
what's the emotion and why?
A: Starting and running my
own book publishing company, publishing
professional and educational books. Every aspect
of entrepreneurship was a turn-on, namely,
making decisions independently, dealing with the
risks, building something new, etc. The whole
experience was a high.
Q: Is there anyone in
this business who made an indelible impression
on you? If so, who, and what effect did he or
she have on you?
A: Two individuals come to
mind. First, Jack Young, former president of
Richard D. Irwin, who taught me the importance
of encouraging talented people to share their
ideas. Second, Wayne Barcomb, formerly an
executive with Wadsworth, Inc, who taught me the
value of enthusiasm in the author-acquisition
process. Wayne also insisted that one have a
plan and always be prepared for any company
meeting. What I learned by observing these two
successful executives has helped me immensely in
my career.
Q: If you weren't in
your current profession, what would you be
doing?
A: A couple of professions
come to mind. I would like to be a
political-social satirist in the mode of Mort
Sahl. I would also find a career as an
accomplished novelist, in the mode of Richard
Russo or Tim O'Brien, to be satisfying.
Q: What is one thing you
still hope to do in your life?
A: I would like to start
another publishing venture of some form that
would include books, periodical and electronic
products.
Q: What excites you?
A: Bright, energetic and
creative people who challenge my assumptions
about the world and motivate me to stretch my
thinking.
Q: What do you think is
the most common mistake publishers make?
A: Some publishers do not
understand their role as the publisher and how
they should relate to authors. The publisher and
author do not necessarily share all the same
interests. Also, there is far too little
emphasis on copyright and rights management in
most book companies.
Q: What is the most
overlooked venue for selling books?
A: Intelligent, targeted
direct mail for nonfiction books augmented by a
publisher-sponsored eBook store is still the
most cost-effective way to sell books.
Q: How is the Internet
influencing publishing?
A: The Internet has changed
book publicity and promotion. It is a powerful
tool for disseminating information about a
company's books and authors. Amazon has
revolutionized book distribution channels, but I
am not so sure that in the aggregate Amazon has
affected the total number of units sold in a
given year.
Publisher-sponsored eBook stores, using the
best of e-commerce technology and practices,
have also been a boon to small and medium sized
publishers.
Q: What advancement
would you like to see in publishing?
A: Nonprofit publishers
(associations, societies, foundations) need a
trade association catering to their needs. This
segment, which is surprisingly large and
diverse, tends to be ignored by book trade
associations. Nonprofits have their own
associations but are weak on the book publishing
side and concentrate on periodicals, emphasizing
editing techniques and advertising sales rather
than solid analytical publishing management
techniques. Having been an executive in two
large nonprofits, I can also attest to the
unique publishing environment of nonprofits and
that much traditional publishing wisdom simply
does not fit their situation.
Q: What are you reading
right now? Why, and is it living up to your
expectations?
A: "The First American: The
Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin" by H.W.
Brands, (Anchor Books/Random House, 2000).
Franklin's many civic and scientific
contributions are well known yet I had never
read a biography of Franklin. I wanted to
understand the thought processes and learning
style of an intellectual giant like Franklin.
Franklin was brilliant yet a very practical and
accessible thinker. Yes, the Brands' book meets
and exceeds my expectations. I recommend it to
you.
Q: If you could spend a
month anywhere in the world, where would you go
and why?
A: Ireland, for a variety of
reasons, one being my Irish heritage and another
being the fact that so many great writers (and
politicians) come out of Ireland. The Irish have
always had an independent spirit, and that sense
of independence is something I value in my own
emotional makeup.
Q: What do you think is
the best thing publishers are doing today?
A: Most book publishers that
I am familiar with run their publishing company
in a business-like fashion. The romantic notion
of publishing books just won't cut it today.
Book publishers are paying attention to the
basics of running a successful business.
Q: What is your opinion
of self-publishing?
A: Self-publishing may be
fine for some and a waste of time and money for
others. There is an entire industry established
to promote self-publishing by teaching the
techniques of book production, marketing,
selling, publicity, etc., and myriad companies
providing services to self-publishers. All of
what is provided to aspiring self-publishers is
solid except for two fundamental concepts,
namely risk and opportunity costs.
Few experts talk about the risk of
self-publishing and lost opportunities because
of the cost of investing one's time and money in
self-publishing. This is the economist's notion
of "opportunity costs."
To my knowledge, there exists no database
measuring over time the performance of
self-published books. A self-publisher doesn't
have access to specific standards that measure
self-publishing success or failure. What
self-publishers hear about are the rare
successes but not an idea of how large the
universe of self-published books is.
These questions need to be answered: What is
success for a self-published book? How does one
measure the success of a self-published book?
How many self-published books in a given year
are successful out of how large a universe?
I suggest that aspiring self-publishers read
"Self Publishing for Individuals: How to
Evaluate the Economic Realities and Ten Things
to Do," available in the BookZonePro
Info & Insights article library.
**********
John
McHugh - or "Jack," as he likes to be called -
is a consultant with 30 years' experience on the
front lines of publishing. He is the author of
the McHugh Publishing Management Series,
54 practical publications on all aspects of
publications management. 