How Can Traditional Print Take on a More Active Form

How can traditional print take on a more active form? This question, if not the answer has gained a lot of traction in the past five to 10 years. Why? Because there has been trend for books to be published and marketed in ways that really didn’t exist prior to 10 years ago. The same can be said of magazines and even newspapers.

Amazon has become a dirty word in many publishing circles. Authors can publish their work in nontraditional ways, including doing so on their own without the benefit of a publishing company. The Fifty Shades of Gray trilogy sold millions and millions of copies, and it was originally self-published without a paper version. Those success stories can turn traditional publishing on its head.

What can traditional publishing do to remain relevant? One of the first steps is to ensure that it doesn’t ignore the new forms of publishing. Harvard Business Publishing is an example of how electronic media isn’t forgotten, but it is even embraced. Authors and books are discussed on blogs. Electronic media spreads the word about new books and authors. The book is then published and it can succeed or fail on its own merits. It won’t succeed or fail based on whether it is published on the written page or only via a tablet.

Another solution is to run fewer initial copies of the paper books. Books that are released in conjunction with electronic media, as well as on the page can be successful. Once again, word must be spread, and that will be more likely to be successful when the word is spread online. People are online, like it or not, hyping the opening of a book online only makes sense.

Traditional media may not ever be what it was, but that doesn’t mean it is going away. Book publishers who want paper books to succeed will need to learn how to adjust, and if they do, their products will survive.