5 Digital Publishing Questions for Seth Godin

5 Digital Publishing Questions for Seth Godin 5 Digital Publishing Questions for Seth Godin Today we interview Seth Godin,  American author, entrepreneur, marketer and public speaker. The amazing thing about Seth is that he uses all these skills for his publishing efforts. And some of his ideas for (digital) publishing are so great that we were bound to interview him. Let’s talk about the connection economy.Hi Seth! I was listening to your Ted Talk â€Å"This is broken† from 2006. What’s really broken in the publishing industry today? Discoverability? DRMs? Royalty-share model? Big 5 publishers?The problem is buried in plain sight, but once you see it, it becomes obvious: the entire model of book publishing (advances, returns, publicity, curation, DRM, all of it) is based on the idea that the customer is the bookstore.The bookstore with limited shelf space, the one that demands returns, the one that needs long lead times.Simple proof: every big publisher spends 20 times as much money and manpower on bookstores than they do dealing with readers.When bo okstores go away, then what? Hint: Amazon is not the new customer.Apart from Reedsy, what other innovations in the publishing space do you find interesting?I think the only innovation that’s worth paying attention to is the redefinition of what it even means to be a book publisher. What’s a book? What’s publishing? Who is the customer? What’s the new asset?In a connection economy, do publishers sell or profit from or enable connection? If we don’t, we’re done.You said that â€Å"Publishing is the act of taking a financial risk to curate some content and bring it to a group of people who didn’t know it existed†. How do you think self-published content should be curated?Readers of my book and my blog trust me to curate what I recommend. I’m not sure readers trust Amazon to curate the Kindle, or even Knopf to curate the books they see–because they’re just so much junk and so much noise, they don’t even know the labels, so there is no trust.Trust, of course, is the essence of the connection economy, and it’s way more powerful and far-reaching than brand or shelf space.So, I think the successful self-published author builds connection and thus trust by consistently delivering just a little more than what’s expected.What do you read? Where do you find inspiration?I read tons and tons of books about ‘business’ in quotes, but find less and less to like over the years. I read a lot of cultural history–from Guns, Germs and Steel to the brand new ‘Debt’. I love hard science fiction and read it often. I read a lot of Pema Chodron and Susan Piver and Steve Pinker and Dan Dennett and others that think about thinking. I try to find funny books, Sedaris, etc, but they’re so rare†¦No literary fiction for me. Not smart enough.You’re employing a new marketing strategy for your book, Your Turn. You send additional copies of the book to everyone who orders even a single copy because you want people to share it; can you speak about the marketing theory and your intentions behind this rather cutting-edge approach? And speaking of cutting-edge marketing, can you give some advice to newcomers to the indie marketplace who might be lacking in creativity when it comes to selling their books?Your Turn has been a great success, both creatively and commercially†¦ we’re closing in on 60,000 copies sold direct, in paper only. That’s pretty amazing for a self-published one-man show in 140 days or so.People want to share books, but you need to make it easy!As for advice, I am ready for your question:  my best advice  can be found here  and here. Remember:â€Å"Writing a book is a tremendous experience. It pays off intellectually. It clarifies your thinking. It builds credibility. It is a living engine of marketing and idea spreading, working every day to deliver your message with authority. You shou ld write one.†And regarding Kickstarter: â€Å"Kickstarter campaigns fail when the tribe of people who believe in the idea is too small†.Follow Seth and Reedsy on Twitter.Liked this interview? PLEASE give us a â€Å"recommend† on Medium where it was among the top 10 most voted stories. Seeing it celebrated is our biggest reward for producing good content.

Foreword and Forward - Commonly Confused Words

Foreword and Forward - Commonly Confused Words The words foreword and forward sound similar, but their meanings are different. Definitions The noun foreword refers to a short introductory note in a published work. (Also see preface.) A foreword may be composed by someone other than the author. Forward is an adjective and an adverb with several meanings related to direction (ahead, onward, toward the front)as in the expressions forward thinking and march forward. Forwards is an alternate spelling of forward. Examples President Barack Obama wrote the foreword to Conversations With Myself, a book by Nelson Mandela.Uncle Willie . . . was standing erect behind the counter, not leaning forward or resting on the small shelf that had been built for him.(Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, 1969)On the Earth, forward motion is usually achieved by pushing on some medium, such as the ground for a car and the sea for a motorboat. We walk forwards by pushing back against the floor with our feet.(Lucy Rogers, Its ONLY Rocket Science, 2008)The ideal set up by the Party was something huge, terrible, and glitteringa world of steel and concrete, of monstrous machines and terrifying weaponsa nation of warriors and fanatics, marching forward in perfect unity, all thinking the same thoughts and shouting the same slogans, perpetually working, fighting, triumphing, persecutingthree hundred million people all with the same face.(George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, 1949) Usage Notes Although some style books prefer forward and toward to forwards and towards, none of these forms is really incorrect, though the forms without the final s are perhaps a smidgen more formal.(Paul Brians,  Common Errors in English Usage. William, James, 2003)A foreword should be written by the author, at the time of publication, explaining perhaps why the piece was written, anticipating difficulties, alerting the reader to its special qualities, removing current misconceptions, apologizing in advance for defects it may be perceivedvengefullyto possess.(William H. Gass, The Book of Prefaces. A Temple of Texts. Alfred A. Knopf, 2006)Practice (a) I look _____ to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft.(President John F. Kennedy, The Purpose of Poetry, 1963) (b) Wynton Marsalis wrote the ____ to the DVD Jazz Icons: Louis Armstrong Live in 59. (c) When Lanie Greenberger entered the courtroom, not exactly walking but undulating _____ on the balls of her feet, in a little half-time prance, no one bothered to look up.(Joan Didion, After Henry, 1992) Answers (a) I look  forward  to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft.(President John F. Kennedy, The Purpose of Poetry, 1963) (b) Wynton Marsalis wrote the  foreword  to the DVD  Jazz Icons: Louis Armstrong Live in 59. (c) When Lanie Greenberger entered the courtroom, not exactly walking but undulating  forward  on the balls of her feet, in a little half-time  prance, no one bothered to look up.(Joan Didion,  After Henry, 1992)