We’ve reorganized the distribution of book and publishing assets at Syntagma Media, so that what was “Publishing Corner” has now been moved over here.

The reason for this is that the three book blogs will not be active until just prior to their publication — people tire of hearing about a book for months before it’s published. Because these sites are not updated regularly, they lower the average traffic metrics of the whole of the network.

So, I’ve decided to separate them off to this quiet corner, where they can be themselves without jeopardizing the advertising revenues of the main network.

As an author and a publisher, I often find myself in an ambivalent position. I know the problems publishers face in a crowded marketplace. I also recognize the gripes of authors against their publishers.

So I’m posting this little cri de coeur I found on the web. It’s written by a publisher, obviously, who shall remain anonymous, largely because I’ve lost the reference. But it does provide some insight into the always tortuous relationship between author and publisher :

“Authors really don’t like publishers. They don’t like us because we change their work ~ or force them to. We reject their titles. We dress their books in jackets they hate. We take custody of their manuscripts and refuse visitation rights. We don’t let them see or comment on marketing plans. We spend very little money or time promoting their books. Our royalty statements might as well be Aramaic. We don’t return their voicemail or e-mail. We don’t communicate and we don’t care. Sure, that’s an over-generalization, but it’s too close to the truth for comfort. It should concern us that so many authors feel this way about their publishers. And it’s our fault, really, for not communicating better about exactly what we do, and why.”

Shouldn’t all publishers have these insights?

Some internal projects at Syntagma Media are going out to trade publishers. Two have recently done so: Naked Tales and The Nirvaneans.

Naked Tales: Stories By Writers Who Blog, is to be published by Humdrumming in early 2007. It has its own website within the Syntagma network: NakedTales.org.

The Nirvaneans: The Natural history of Nirvana and Those Who Attained It, by John M Evans (otherwise known as “me”), is also being published by Humdrumming in 2007.

Dial Publishing will initially concentrate on spin-offs from the network, which might not otherwise attract a mainstream publisher.

Other publishing models are also being tried out. For example, we are republishing my earlier book on technical and business writing on a blog: Tech Biz Writing, supported only by advertising. This will eventually form a comprehensive free course on these crucial subjects.

Dial will also produce eBooks which will be sold off the websites, and will utilize new technology in the production of its print books. No specific projects have been decided on as I write, but some will be announced soon.

Dial Publishing is a relaunch of a publishing house I set up a few years ago to publish educational courses. It’s now being “reawakened” to serve a more general purpose as the publishing arm of Syntagma Media.

The aim is to develop our book publishing facilities for launch in the second half of the year. This will make use of new technologies in printing and distribution. Quality on-demand printing is beginning to emerge now and will become mainstream for anything but blockbuster novels by the end of this decade. We intend to make full use of the technology, where appropriate.

Electronic publishing is also struggling out of its shell at last, especially for tech and topical subjects. 37signals has just self-published its own PDF ebook and collected a whopping $33,000 of sales on the first day.

Dial Publishing is a separate business entity from Syntagma Media which operates the blog network and what’s often described as New Media.

This blog will fill in the details of our development and occasionally address the issues of book publishing in an electronic age. We will also comment on new technologies, personal publishing, and all the topics of the moment.

Information on forthcoming titles will be posted as they become available.