Our Founder and Principal of Publisher Relations, Jay Gale, shares his current views on the rapidly evolving publishing industry.

After speaking with many publishers, Inkubate has learned that they are kept up at night worrying about the rapidly shrinking retail marketplace, and though this is good news for the makers of Lunesta, it portends an industry in turmoil.

Inkubate agrees that this marketplace is contracting rapidly and that securing access to markets is fundamentally necessary for traditional publishers to survive; but, securing access to a marketplace when you have little or no product to sell is a waste of time and effort.

The publishing world is in rapid transition and while Amazon is using innovation and proactive ways to directly connect with writers, and in so doing dis-intermediating publishers and agents, traditional publishers seem content to execute discovery like they always have—passively—e.g., waiting for writers or agents to query them. And, while this continues to work for the time being, it is unlikely that five years from now these same publishers will effectively be able to compete in a publishing industry whose evolution is being driven by technology.

Inkubate levels the playing field by providing publishers with the same kind of direct access to writers that Amazon has built for itself through its self-publishing models. But Inkubate does more—it ups the ante—by leveraging the one thing that publishers have in their favor that Amazon still has to achieve: imprint brand value. Publishers who do not seize the opportunity to leverage their brand values in the only place that it really matters—with the writer community—are missing the best opportunity that they have to secure primary access to new and undiscovered writers, and this, of course, is fundamental to the long-term survival of any publishing house.

By taking care of that part of their business, publishers can then begin to build new ways to access retail markets, either through leveraging the quality of their content in their negotiations with third party retailers or by delivering that content themselves; in either case, it starts with sourcing the most compelling works by the best authors.

-Jay D. Gale, Principal & Co-Founder

jdgale@inkubate.com

603-491-1168

Earlier this week, Publishers Weekly ran a feature story about Inkubate’s innovative plans to pair writers with publishers, editors and agents. In “Inkubate Plans to Digitize the Slushpile,” Senior News Editor, Calvin Reid reported that the search tools we’re developing will enable subscribers to quickly identify literary works of interest. Publishing professionals use Inkubate to “Discover” content any number of ways, including by author, genre, literary form and writer-generated tags. Inkubate then helps them make contact with the author in a secure and copyright respectful environment.

At Inkubate we see our technology transforming the proverbial mailroom slushpile into a valuable, minable raw resource and we’re clearly not alone. Bruce Shaw, President and Publisher at the Harvard Common Press commented on Reid’s piece, writing, “I'm willing to give it a chance...if it is really well organized, and simple to see what is there (before delving further, if so desired), it could be very helpful...And I’m looking forward to seeing more and talking with them more about it.”

Many other industry professionals, including acclaimed authors, Dianna Hutts Aston and Betsy James, and literary editor & producer, Jody Feagan have concluded that our model just makes sense. Brendan DeMelle, Executive Director and managing Editor of DeSmogblog.com writes “Inkubate is likely to be a win-win for everyone.”

Consider, too, the growing demand for high quality content to feed the eBook business models of major publishing companies and it becomes clear that Inkubate is undoubtedly timely. After all, there simply are not enough editors or agents working in the industry to engage in the process of traditional “Discovery” while simultaneously managing the volume of new work that will be required to fill this emerging market. To remain competitive and relevant, publishing companies need to be able to differentiate their eBook content from that of the online aggregators like Amazon and Google and self-publishers, otherwise they will not be able to command the premium price points that curated works deserve. The sheer volume of eBook publishing that has publishers salivating (750,000 eBook titles in 2010 on top of the nearly 300,000 traditional books) makes it obvious that the old way of initiating Discovery just won’t be sustainable. Inkubate is the engine that will drive this emerging market.

We are excited to be the only company committed to building solutions for writers, publishers, editors and agents as they transition to meet the challenges (and opportunities) of a rapidly evolving industry.

Portsmouth, NH

On Monday, July 11^th, Jay Gale, Co-Founder & Partner at INKUBATE, was the featured guest on Portsmouth Community Radio’s (WSCA 106.1 FM) Seacoast Business Connection, an hour-long talk show hosted by Mark Miller, a local business commentator dedicated to finding and reporting on the most interesting entrepreneurial businesses homegrown in NH.

Mark heard about INKUBATE through the New Hampshire Writers’ Project, an organization headed by John Herman that has been very supportive of INKUBATE’S mission. Prior to contacting Jay, Mark himself became a writer member of INKUBATE. In the process, our business model so intrigued Mark that he kindly invited Jay to discuss it in detail.

Mark and Jay’s conversation covered a broad range of issues, with an emphasis on how INKUBATE’S search tools will provide the efficiencies that publishers and agents have said will help them remain competitive, despite the rapidly evolving market challenges presented by self-publishing and direct publishing models. Amazon is one such challenger that has, in fact, become a full-fledged publisher in its own right.

“What we are doing is turning the ‘Discovery’ process into a proactive experience, so that publishers and agents are now able to find exactly what they are looking for,” Jay explained. “The term slush-pile has regularly been used pejoratively to describe a richly textured body of writers’ works simply because it’s difficult to manage. What we understood when we set out to streamline the Discovery process is that there’s nothing wrong, intrinsically, with that body of work, though, what has been lacking, up until now, are the tools powerful enough to efficiently manage this rich library of intellectual output. INKUBATE’S tools enable publishers and editors to mine exactly what they are looking for from this valuable raw resource. Yesterday’s so-called slush-pile is now revealing itself to be a deep reserve of new and valuable intellectual property. INKUBATE makes this possible.”

The hour long discussion can be heard by following this link:

http://www.inkubate.com/Content/audio/WSCA_07-11-2011_JayGale.mp3

Anyone concerned with these issues should take a listen and, of course, we’re always delighted for you to respond with questions or feedback that you may have on this or other blog posts.

Below: Jay Gale (foreground) and Seacoast Business Connection Host, Mark Miller at WSCA's Portsmouth, NH radio station

Jay Gale recently traveled to network with several different types of writers’ groups, the first being the Cape Cod Writers Center, where Jay met 40 writers, each anxious to become a published author.

Traveling back north, Jay took advantage of being in Boston to attend a Trident Booksellers & Café author event on Newbury Street and later that evening, participated in a creative writing workshop sponsored by the Boston Public Library, where Jay got to exercise his own personal love of writing.

Before returning to Portsmouth, Jay enjoyed the best Mexican meal that Boston can offer at Beacon Street's Sol Azteca. It was just as good as it was twenty-five years ago when Jay stumbled in on a cold, wintery afternoon, while working as a hydro-geologist to save the world from itself.

Stacy Clark enjoyed meeting Washington Post Environmental Writer, Juliet Eilperin, at Brooklyn, New York's independent bookstore, WORD, where Eilperin discussed her book, "Demon Fish: Travels Through the Hidden World of Sharks." Eilperin also spoke at a Wildlife Conservation Society event at the Bronx Zoo's Center for Global Conservation. Later, Clark spoke with actor and screenplay writer, Alessio Bordoni, who expressed excitement about posting his next play on INKUBATE. 

It's been an exciting week!

We are delighted to find so many new and published writers signing on to Inkubate to create their Writer Profiles and upload their works! One early adopter of Inkubate is Peggy Bedingfield, a published author (“In the Arms of the Father”), a journalist, a former Air Force weather analyst, and a dog-groomer!

Bedingfield lives in East Texas and several days ago she was browsing the Half-Priced Books store in Rockwall. She asked the seller if there were any new books on writing and the computer search returned Áine Greaney’s latest release, “Writer with a Day Job" (cover jacket seen below). As noted in our last post, Jay Gale, Inkubate’s Co-Founder & Principal of Publisher Relations met Greaney last Friday at her book launch in Ipswich, MA!

Bedingfield described how she devoured Greaney’s guide in two days and laughed out loud over the author’s recollections of “writer’s block regularly leading to an incessant desire for chocolate Sundays” and the fact that “writers continually talk to themselves when writing, causing others to conclude they are insane.” Bedingfield rates Greaney’s guide 5 stars and hopes other writers enjoy it too.

Our next post will include answers to the questions we received from writers this weekend. In the meantime, feel free to contact us with additional questions, as they arise.

Thanks for posting!

Stacy Clark: stacy@inkubate.com

Jay Gale: jdgale@inkubate.com

Jay Gale was fortunate to meet author, Áine Greaney, last night at Ipswich, Massachusetts’ Book Nook, where Greaney was launching her new guide, “Writer with a Day Job.”

When asked by Jay what she believes it takes to make it as a published author, Greaney remarked, “You have to have persistence, and, frankly, you have to be a bit nuts, too!”

Quiet laughter ensued as the writers in the audience nodded in approval…after all, it does take a certain kind of resilience and determination to persevere in an industry where traditional formulas for success are so often obscured by random forces, such as luck and timing.

Following Greaney's reading, Jay had a chance to speak with several attendees of the event and explained that rather than charging writers for the opportunity to be paired with the publishers and editors they aim to reach, Inkubate will pay writers each time their work is “Discovered.” One writer, already under agent representation explained that she signed on to Inkubate and created a profile that included the contact details for her agent who was representing one of the three works posted.  

“This approach works well for represented writers”, Jay commented. “If a publisher is interested in a work that they see, they’ll know how to connect with you via your agent’s details…so rather than being a disadvantage to you or your agent, it’s actually a boost for everyone to be seen and considered online. Inevitably, it will enhance both your value and theirs in the marketplace,” Jay added.

Another visitor stated that they see traditional Discovery as a kind of false science. Jay agreed and added, “And the alchemists are laughing at the Isaac Newtons of the world who want to apply real standards and experimental controls to the process of identifying promising new works.” The ensuing discussion involved what many writers in attendance believe is the need for an organized 3^rd party solution. “What many publishers view somewhat pejoratively as a slush pile, we actually see as an opportunity..." Jay said, and added, “...with smarter tools, drilling through to find what you’re looking for quickly and efficiently is a breakthrough for publishers and writers.”

With roughly 450,000 freelance writers in the U.S. who work a day job, just as Greaney does, Inkubate is designed to be the one-stop shop for both busy writers aiming to be seen and busy editors aiming to find more time to pursue the real joys of publishing – pairing manuscripts with illustrators, marketing writers’ national book launches and cultivating promising young writers.

Inkubate congratulates Ánie on her success!

Inkubate Principal & Co-Founder, Jay D. Gale (seen below) writes on his experience attending last night's N.H. Writers Project meeting at The Common Man in Portsmouth:

It was a treat to be part of the New Hampshire Writers Project Monday night and to have a chance to discuss the publishing industry with so many talented individuals. A special thanks to John Herman for welcoming me to the group!

We convened at The Common Man on State Street in downtown Portsmouth. Sharing drinks and a meal, we discussed a broad range of literary topics. The group was dynamic and curious and the conversation memorable. In the fun, relaxed atmosphere I enjoyed fielding a few key questions about Inkubate.

John asked what we believe will be the greatest advantage for publishers and agents. I pointed to Inkubate’s efficiencies and what we believe will be considerable savings for the industry. With less money spent on “Discovery,” we hope that publishers and agents will seize the opportunity to invest more time and energy cultivating aspiring writers, strategically marketing their work and delivering new books to market faster. We believe that this will be an important competitive edge for an industry in transition.

When asked why the group would want to be early adopters of Inkubate, my answer was easy: Writers are key to preserving the competitive forces that support a vibrant publishing environment. While BETA testing the publisher and agent Discovery tools, we expect our partners will be carefully exploring our content so that they can provide us with meaningful feedback. So, this will, undoubtedly, be a great opportunity to be seen and reviewed in detail by a publisher and/or agent before the community of Inkubate writers and artists grows significantly larger.

We’re excited to see that Foster’s Daily Democrat featured Inkubate today in their Business section: http://tinyurl.com/4yeez2p. Please share this link with your writing and publishing colleagues and feel free to contact me with your questions.

In the meantime, I’m looking forward to next month’s meeting. Thanks so much for your hospitality!

-Jay D. Gale, Principal & Co-Founder

jdgale@inkubate.com

603-491-1168