Publishing Talks Interview with Ken Whyte of Sutherland House

I began Publishing Talks a number of years ago as a series of conversations with book industry professionals and others involved in media and technology. Most of these interviews originally involved the future of publishing, books, and culture, talking with people in the book industry about how publishing is evolving in the context of technology, culture, and economics.

Later this series broadened to include conversations to go beyond the future of publishing. In an effort to document the literary world, I’ve talked with a variety of editors, publishers and others who have been innovators and leaders in independent publishing in the past and into the present.

These conversations have been inspirational to me on many levels. I have gotten to speak with visionaries and entrepreneurs, as well as editors and publishers who have influenced and changed contemporary literature and culture. I’ve also had the opportunity to speak with a number of friends and colleagues I have met or worked with during the many years I have been in the book business.

More recently, I’ve been talking to book folks about what is going on in publishing today, quite often about the changes in marketing and promotion that have marked all media industries as social media has overwhelmed traditional media, creating an extremely complex and constantly changing environment.

One thing is certain about publishing – there are no final answers, but there are many really important questions that we should be asking all the time.

I recently had the opportunity to (virtually) meet and talk to Kenneth (Ken) Whyte, founder and president of the Toronto based Sutherland House publishing company. I discovered Ken through his excellent and thoughtful newsletter called SHuSh, where he writes about a wide range of book industry matters as well as people and books he is connected to or has published. Ken started in journalism and magazine writing and publishing, wrote nonfiction books himself, and then started Sutherland House. One might reasonably question why any sane person would start a commercial publishing house in the current troubled media environment, but Sutherland House appears to be successful and is clearly well run and intelligently managed. I thought it would be interesting and valuable to talk to Ken about his thinking about books and publishing. He is an innovator and clearly a smart publisher who has figured out how to sell books.

We talked about a wide range of subjects and concerns that will be of interest to anyone who follows current publishing and media trends. We talked about the current state of Canadian publishing, which is simultaneously similar and very different from the US publishing scene. And we talked as well about many of the challenges and opportunities that exist for publishers and authors in Canada and the USA alike. We talked about AI and its actual uses in publishing, consolidation in retail and how publishers must navigate markets, author income issues, ebooks, book pricing, changes in the overall media landscape, and much more.

From the Sutherland House website:

At Sutherland House, we believe in the power of a distinct aesthetic, and each of our publications reflects the unique essence of our brand. From inception to launch, every title undergoes meticulous market testing to ensure its resonance with our discerning readership. All of our books are simultaneously published in both Canada and the United States, supported by robust sales and distribution channels in both countries. 

Kenneth Whyte was editor-in-chief of Saturday Night Magazine, founding editor of The National Post, editor and publisher of Maclean’s, president of Rogers Publishing, and founding president of Next Issue Canada. He is the author of The Sack of Detroit: General Motors and the End of American Enterprise and The Uncrowned King: The Sensational Rise of Willian Randolph Hearst.

 

 

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Publishing Talks Interview with Leah Paulos Press Shop PR

Publishing Talks began years ago as a series of conversations with book industry professionals and others involved in media and technology. Most of these interviews originally involved the future of publishing, books, and culture, talking with people in the book industry about how publishing is evolving in the context of technology, culture, and economics.

Later this series broadened to include conversations to go beyond the future of publishing. In an effort to document the literary world, I’ve talked with a variety of editors, publishers and others who have been innovators and leaders in independent publishing in the past and into the present.

These conversations have been inspirational to me on many levels. I have gotten to speak with visionaries and entrepreneurs, as well as editors and publishers who have influenced and changed contemporary literature and culture. I’ve also had the opportunity to speak with a number of friends and colleagues I have met or worked with during the many years I have been in the book business.

More recently, I’ve been talking to book folks about what is going on in publishing today, quite often about the changes in marketing and promotion that have marked all media industries as social media has overwhelmed traditional media, creating an extremely complex and constantly changing environment.

One thing is certain about publishing – there are no final answers, but there are many really important questions that we should be asking all the time.

I recently had the opportunity to (virtually) meet and talk to Leah Paulos about some of these questions. Leah is the Founder and Director of Publicity at Press Shop PR and Book Publicity School, and has worked in books and media for over 25 years. Leah has spoken on book publicity at Columbia School of Journalism, CUNY Graduate Center, and as part of her regular workshop series, Book Publicity for Literary Agents. She’s been a magazine editor and a writer, before shifting careers and becoming a book publicist in 2006. She launched her own business, Press Shop PR in 2012 and has worked on campaigns for over 300 authors since its launch, including for ON TYRANNY by Timothy Snyder, MARCH by Rep. John Lewis, and WELCOME TO THE UNIVERSE by Neil deGrasse Tyson.

In 2023, Leah launched Book Publicity School to bring professional PR support directly to authors, as so often today, book publishers require their authors to lead their own publicity efforts. With workshops and coaching programs, Book Publicity School provides authors with tools, strategies, and know-how to effectively advocate for their own work.

With an ever increasing abundance of book product in the market, every author and every publisher is desperately trying to figure out how to reach readers. Our creativity and ability to innovate are constantly being challenged. We need more conversations like this one to help spur us advance our thinking. Authors and publishers alike want to know what works, what doesn’t. And what is on the horizon. Since everything is changing all the time, the only way to keep up is to talk to as many people as possible about what they are doing and what they are observing. I hope this conversation will therefore be useful to writers, publishers, and readers as well.

Please ping me if you have any questions or ideas spurred by this discussion.

Press Shop PR website

Book Publicity School website

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Publishing Talks Interview with Jane Friedman of Hot Sheet

Publishing Talks began first as a series of conversations with book industry professionals and others involved in media and technology, mostly talking about the future of publishing, books, and culture. It was great fun talking with people in the book industry about the evolution of publishing in the context of technology, culture, and economics. Over the years, I talked with a variety of editors, publishers and others, innovators and leaders in independent publishing and bookselling in the past, and into the present.

These conversations have been inspirational to me. I have had the pleasure of speaking with people who have influenced and changed contemporary literature and culture. I’ve also had the opportunity to speak with a number of friends and colleagues in the book business, always trying to explore and understand the complex web of books, authors and readers that is at the heart of our evolving culture.

Every year, ever more new books are published, and the “rules of the game” evolve faster than most of us can keep up. Given the pace of change in the book industry, I could not think of anyone better to learn about the latest trends and developments than Jane Friedman, whose insights and breadth of knowledge are unmatched among industry observers. I first spoke with her in 2015 and then again in 2022, and I always learn a great deal from her in every conversation we have.

Jane publishes a bi-weekly industry newsletter,  a must-read for anyone involved with publishing, called The Hot Sheet. Her most recent book is The Business of Being a Writer (University of Chicago Press). Collaborating with The Authors Guild, she wrote The Authors Guild Guide to Self-Publishing. In 2023, Jane was awarded Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.

You might also have heard of Jane because of her experience with AI book fraud, which she wrote about in August 2023. She has put together a roundup of the extensive coverage and interviews about what happened, which you can explore here.

And she publishers yet another newsletter for writers and creators called Electric Speed, which is also worthwhile subscribing to.

Her website offers a wide range of services and information for writers: “I report on the book publishing industry and help authors understand the business. I’ve been working in book publishing since the 1990s, but my views are not from the 1990s. Amidst rapid change in the industry, writers need honest and unbiased guidance to make the best decisions for their careers. I hope to offer you a signal amidst the noise.”

Jane Friedman is a very busy woman, I am truly grateful that she was able to take some time to talk to me about the latest goings on in publishing.

Writerscast began in 2008! Thanks to all who have participated and all of you who have listened to this series over the past 15 years. It’s been fun.

 

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Publishing Talks: An Interview with Shouvik Paul of CopyLeaks

Publishing Talks began as a series of conversations with book industry professionals and others involved in media and technology, mostly talking about the future of publishing, books, and culture. I’ve spent time talking with people in the book industry about how publishing is evolving in the context of technology, culture, and economics.

Later this series grew to include conversations that go beyond the future of publishing. In an effort to document the literary world, I’ve talked with a variety of editors, publishers and others who have been innovators and leaders in independent publishing in the past and into the present.

These conversations have been inspirational to me on many levels. I have gotten to speak with visionaries and entrepreneurs, as well as editors and publishers who have influenced and changed contemporary literature and culture. I’ve also had the opportunity to speak with a number of friends and colleagues I have met over the many years I have been in the book business.

I met Shouvik Paul a number of years ago when he was working for SharedBook, a company for whom I did some consulting work. He is a really smart guy and has been involved in a variety of technology related start ups during his career. Shouvik is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Copyleaks Inc., an award-winning AI-based text analysis company whose primary work is to identify potential plagiarism and paraphrasing across nearly every language, detect AI-generated content, and provide generative AI governance and compliance solutions. For obvious reasons, this kind of technology will be of interest to all kinds of publishers and content owners.

CopyLeaks has been working in AI for years, and now that AI in many different applications will become crucial for the book industry to understand and apply, I thought this would be a great opportunity for me and for Publishing Talks listeners  to learn more about where this is all headed from someone who knows alot more than most of the rest of us.

I think this conversation will spur your thinking in a variety of ways. It certainly has inspired me to learn more about AI and how it can be used, what the risks of using it are, and how we need to think about AI both within the book business and in our overall culture. Don’t be surprised if this changes your outlook on the way AI will affect our business and hopefully it will inspire you as to learn more about it as well. The book industry cannot afford not to recognize how this technology will change our lives in so many ways.

Shouvik lives in Manhattan with his two daughters; he wanted me to note here that they refer to him as “That guy who has to stop and pet every dog that passes by” — which is a pretty great recommendation, in my view.

CopyLeaks.com

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Publishing Talks: Interview with Josh Schwartz of Pubvendo

Publishing Talks began as a series of conversations with book industry professionals and others involved in media and technology, mostly talking about the future of publishing, books, and culture. I’ve spent time talking with people in the book industry about how publishing is evolving in the context of technology, culture, and economics.

Later this series broadened to include conversations that go beyond the future of publishing. In an effort to document the literary world, I’ve talked with a variety of editors, publishers and others who have been innovators and leaders in independent publishing in the past and into the present.

These conversations have been inspirational to me on many levels. I have gotten to speak with visionaries and entrepreneurs, as well as editors and publishers who have influenced and changed contemporary literature and culture. I’ve also had the opportunity to speak with a number of friends and colleagues I have met over the many years I have been in the book business.

Josh Schwartz is someone I met at a Book Expo several years ago (remember trade shows? Book Expo, previously known as the American Booksellers Association was an important social gathering for the book industry for more than 50 years, fostering a sense of community that is now lost). As often was the case at old-fashioned industry gatherings, it was purely a chance connection, as we sat together to eat lunch at the Javits Center one busy afternoon. That meeting is emblematic of how a good trade show can work – a chance meeting with someone that turns into a long term business connection and friendship.

Josh was then just launching his company, Pubvendo to specialize in digital marketing for books, working with authors and publishers of every size and kind. Now that it’s been some years he and his team have been at it, the work puts him in the middle of a very interesting part of the book business. Most of us agree that while publishing is not without challenges, marketing is the hardest thing we do. Every new book that is published is an entirely new product (unless it is part of a series or written by an author with an established brand). Every new book must be thought about and in some way “represented” or “presented” to potential readers, booksellers, librarians, media outlets, all of whom are busy, often overwhelmed with information, and hard pressed to notice any one book over any other. How do we find readers and help them discover our books when they have so many other books and media forms to choose from? That is the challenge of book publishing in the digital era. Data driven online marketing as practiced by Pubvendo and only a few other businesses is one way for publishers and authors to make those crucial connections. And while it might be “inside baseball” for some, this is a subject that most of us in the book business have to think about all the time.

Josh is both the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Pubvendo, which makes him responsible for digital campaign methodology, strategy, and execution. He started in the book business in 2010, working for digital production companies, Aptara and Jouve. He holds a bachelor’s degree in American Literature from George Mason University and a master’s degree from Georgetown University.

Aside from his literary interests, which inform his day-to-day work with publishers and authors, he’s willing and able to engage with a variety of subjects and try to find ways to connect books of all kinds with the right readers – especially the ones who want to buy those books. It is no easy thing to navigate the continuously changeable online universe, but Josh seems better equipped than most to figure it out and at the same time, have some fun and enjoy the ride.

In this conversation, we covered a wide range of topics relating to marketing and publishing – primarily focusing on digital matters but really this is about marketing books in an extremely complex and constantly changing environment. We even talked about AI, the latest and greatest in a series of “new developments” that have faced book publishing over the last twenty years or more.

One thing is certain – there are no final answers, but there are always alot of really important questions.

Pubvendo website.

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Publishing Talks: Interview with Michael Wolfe

Publishing Talks began as a series of conversations with book industry professionals and others involved in media and technology, mostly talking about the future of publishing, books, and culture. I’ve spent time talking with people in the book industry about how publishing is evolving in the context of technology, culture, and economics.

Later this series broadened to include conversations that go beyond the future of publishing. In an effort to document the literary world, I’ve talked with a variety of editors, publishers and others who have been innovators and leaders in independent publishing in the past and into the present.

These conversations have been inspirational to me on many levels. I have gotten to speak with visionaries and entrepreneurs, as well as editors and publishers who have influenced and changed contemporary literature and culture. I’ve also had the opportunity to speak with a number of friends and colleagues I have met over the many years I have been in the book business.

One such person is Michael Wolfe. We have known each peripherally for many years through independent literary publishing.

Michael is the author of ten books of poetry, fiction, and travel. In the 1970s and 1980s he owned and ran a bookstore and a book bindery in Bolinas, California, and was publisher of the renowned indie press, Tombouctou Books there. His authors included Lucia Berlin, Paul Bowles, Mohammed Mrabet, Jim Carroll, Joanne Kyger, Dale Herd, Steve Emerson, Bobbie Louise Hawkins, Bill Berkson, Duncan McNaughton, Clark Coolidge, Phoebe MacAdams and many other wonderful writers, poets and translators.

These days, Michael is the Executive Producer and President of Unity Productions Foundation, a nonprofit media company that produces documentary films. “Stories of Muslim Engagement, History and Culture – UPF Films and Educational Projects Promote Peace and Understanding.”

Speaking with Michael about writing, publishing and his life was a great experience for me, one which I am pleased to share here. As time goes on, I treasure these opportunities to talk with brilliant, accomplished literary activists like Michael Wolfe.

Author website here.

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Publishing Talks: Interview with Dan Harke of Mayo Clinic Press

Publishing Talks began as a series of conversations with book industry professionals and others involved in media and technology, mostly talking about the future of publishing, books, and culture. I’ve spent time talking with people in the book industry about how publishing is evolving in the context of technology, culture, and economics.

Some time back, this series broadened to include conversations that go beyond the future of publishing. In an effort to document the literary world, I’ve talked with a variety of editors, publishers and others who have been innovators and leaders in independent publishing in the past and into the present.

These conversations have been inspirational to me on many levels. I have gotten to speak with visionaries and entrepreneurs, as well as editors and publishers who have influenced and changed contemporary literature and culture. I’ve also had the opportunity to speak with a number of friends and colleagues I have met over the many years I have been in the book business.

This week, I talked to Dan Harke, who manages the Mayo Clinic Press in Rochester, Minnesota. Mayo Clinic is doubtless familiar to Writerscast listeners – it is probably the best-known health care organization in America. It has 73,000 employees (including thousands of MDs) and cares for more than 1.4 million people annually. Mayo is almost always ranked as the number one hospital in the US.

For many years, Mayo Clinic licensed content to established publishers, and sold books direct to consumer only through its mail order business associated with its long-running Mayo Health Letter. Several years ago, Mayo established the Mayo Clinic Press to publish its own books, and now is in the process of growing to become a full line trade publisher, while still maintaining its mission-driven commitment to healthcare for the greater good. Aside from consumer health books, Mayo is now publishing children’s books, ebooks, audio books and podcasts, as well as its still vibrant health letter.

Dan comes to publishing from a diverse background with skills and knowledge in health care, marketing, and innovation, which gives him a very different perspective about publishing than many of us with experience mostly in trade publishing, so I think this conversation will be of interest to many Publishing Talks listeners.

You can look at MCP’s terrific website here.

In the interest of full disclosure, I want to mention that I am a consultant to MCP on trade publishing and marketing matters.

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Publishing Talks: Interview with Mark Hurst of Creative Good

Publishing Talks began as a series of conversations with book industry professionals and others involved in media and technology, mostly about the future of publishing, books, and culture. I’ve spent time talking with people in the book industry about how publishing is evolving in the context of fast-changing technology, culture, and economics.

Along the way, this series broadened to include conversations that go beyond the future of publishing. In an effort to document the literary world, I’ve talked with a variety of editors, publishers and others who have been innovators and leaders in independent publishing in the past and into the present.

These conversations have been inspirational to me on many levels. I have gotten to speak with visionaries and entrepreneurs, as well as editors and publishers who have influenced and changed contemporary literature and culture. I’ve also had the opportunity to speak with a number of friends and colleagues I have met over the many years I have been in the book business.

The latest visionary is Mark Hurst, who founded and operates Creative Good, a New York-based consultancy and creative platform. Mark has spent his career writing, speaking, and advising teams about how to create better products and services. I’ve been reading his impressive writing for years, and have long admired his thinking and approach to technology, culture, and human behavior. Much of what he writes and talks about can be applied to the publishing industry, especially as it relates to powerfully centralized tech companies like Amazon, Apple, and Google.

Along the way, the very creative Hurst also created the useful and cool Good Todo mobile productivity platform, the world’s first cross-platform todo list, which he described in his first book, Bit Literacy, in which he introduced the “empty inbox” method of managing email (now better known as Inbox Zero – a practice I try to follow daily with mixed success).

Mark also hosts Techtonic – see techtonic.fm – a weekly FM radio show on WFMU. Here’s the Techtonic podcast.

His book Customers Included describes how teams and organizations can create successful products and strategies by including customers, a practice I have often thought publishers could benefit from applying to marketing matters.

Brooklyn 1776, the educational mobile videogame by Hurst and the Creative Good team, won the 2016 Brooklyn Innovation Award for best indie video game.

Mark earned both a bachelor’s and a master’s degrees in computer science from MIT. He lives in New York City with his wife and son.

It was great fun for me to have the opportunity to speak with Mark for this Publishing Talks series on Writerscast. We talked about a wide range of issues that should be of interest to anyone interested in current publishing and media technology matters.

Website: creativegood.com
Email: mark@creativegood.com

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Publishing Talks: Interview with Jane Friedman

Publishing Talks started as a series of conversations with book industry professionals and others involved in media and technology, mostly talking about the future of publishing, books, and culture. It was great fun talking with people in the book industry about the evolution of publishing in the context of technology, culture, and economics.

Later this series broadened considerably. In the past few years, I’ve talked with a variety of editors, publishers and others who have been innovators and leaders in independent publishing and bookselling in the past and into the present.

These conversations have been inspirational to me. I have had the pleasure of speaking with visionaries and entrepreneurs, editors, publishers and others who have influenced and changed contemporary literature and culture. I’ve also had the opportunity to speak with a number of friends and colleagues in the book business.

I’ve not had occasion to speak with the same person twice during all the years this series has gone on. But I really wanted to speak again with Jane Friedman, whose insights and knowledge I thoroughly respect, and get her sense of the current state of publishing and bookselling, especially as it affects writers and independent publishers. Our last Publishing Talks conversation was in 2015! Much has changed since then, and there was much for us to talk about.

Jane publishes a terrific newsletter I read religiously called The Hot Sheet. Her most recent book is The Business of Being a Writer (University of Chicago Press). Collaborating with The Authors Guild, she wrote The Authors Guild Guide to Self-Publishing. Her website offers a wide range of services and information for writers: “I report on the book publishing industry and help authors understand the business. I’ve been working in book publishing since the 1990s, but my views are not from the 1990s. Amidst rapid change in the industry, writers need honest and unbiased guidance to make the best decisions for their careers. I hope to offer you a signal amidst the noise.”

And I hope this conversation does the same.

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Publishing Talks: Interview with George Slowik, Jr. of Publishers Weekly

Publishing Talks began as a series of conversations with book industry professionals and others involved in media and technology, mostly talking about the future of publishing, books, and culture. I’ve spent time talking with people in the book industry about how publishing is evolving in the context of technology, culture, and economics.

Some years ago, this series broadened to include conversations that go beyond the future of publishing. In an effort to document the literary world, I’ve talked with a variety of editors, publishers and others who have been innovators and leaders in independent publishing in the past and into the present.

These conversations have been inspirational to me on many levels. I have gotten to speak with visionaries and entrepreneurs, as well as editors and publishers who have influenced and changed contemporary literature and culture. I’ve also had the opportunity to speak with a number of friends and colleagues I have met over the many years I have been in the book business.

2022 is the 150th anniversary of Publishers Weekly, the essential trade magazine of the book industry. The magazine was founded in 1872, and the fact that it has not just survived, but thrived for most of the many years it has been published says something about both the book industry and the people who have been part of its trade media.

Just as it has done for so many magazines, the digital era has meant change for Publishers Weekly, and credit is due to current ownership for guiding it successfully through very difficult times. Those of us who have been around the book business for a long time remember PW as it is ubiquitously called, when it had a lot more pages than it does today, and when it was literally the only way to get news about publishing and bookselling in one reliable place. Now the print magazine is relatively short, most of us consume it digitally, and the magazine’s products and revenues are radically different from what they were just a few years ago, including a variety of newsletters, podcasts and other digital products.

George Slowik, Jr. is the owner of the magazine’s parent company, PWxyz, LLC. Slowik had been the publisher of the magazine from 1990-1993 and later ran the excellent magazine, American Prospect, and then in 2010 he bought it from its then owner, Reed Business Information, which was in the process of selling off its entire portfolio of publications.

When Publishers Weekly was originally launched it was the bibliographical source commercial publishers used to list their forthcoming titles for booksellers. The book business was relatively small at that time, with most publishers clustered in a few cities, especially New York and Boston. Over the many years it was in business, the magazine expanded to provide news and stories about the publishing industry, and today, while the industry and the media that serves it have grown, it still is an essential source of title data, publishing over 9,000 book reviews annually at a time when book reviews are more needed than ever.

In this podcast we talked about the magazine’s history, the creation of the digital archive of its entire run, activities around the 150th anniversary year, the past, present and future state of publishing, and much more.

Even if you are not an active participant in the book industry, the history of publishing is valuable to know about as it is in many ways the history of modern culture. You can learn more about Publishers Weekly and sign up for their free email newsletters, at their website.

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