Promoting Relevant Ideas

A trend that I have noticed is that nearly every book I’d seen in the last year, never say what they’re about. Almost as a rule, hardcover books (and increasingly e-books) favor laudatory blurbs over descriptions--opting for short quotes from important authors, CEOs, or media outlets to make their case.

Wouldn’t it be better to use that space to describe the contents of the book? Isn’t that what customers would want? Why bury the content on the inside?

I was missing a fundamental change that has occurred in the publishing business, particularly for authors. Faced with declining sales and the disappearance of book retailers like Borders, authors have diversified their income streams, and many make substantially more money through new business generated by a book, rather than from it.

Today, authors are in the idea-making business, not the book business. In short, this means that publishing a book is less about sales and much more about creating a brand. The real customers of books are no longer just readers but now include speaking agents, CEOs and startups.

For an author looking to break into this market, it wouldn’t be about courting critics or seeking award nominations. Rather, their book needs to prove that they are an interesting or with relevant ideas.

Many authors I spoke with were discovering similar niches. For instance, in Silicon Valley, authors have parlayed books into gigs as advisors to startups that need their expertise in certain areas. The author takes a small equity stake in the company in exchange for this advice.

Books and articles for writers of the 21st century have become billboards for the messengers. This equation profoundly changes the publishing game, from the way books are designed to the way they are written--and who writes them.

It also explains why books have blurbs instead of descriptions. It’s far better to brand a book with names like Peter Thiel, Seth Godin, or Malcolm Gladwell via positive blurbs than with a rousing or intriguing summary.

 

Call it a business card, a resume, a billboard, or whatever you choose, but the short of it is that books are no longer just books. They are branding devices and credibility signals.