Bestselling author Seth Godin dropped a bombshell on publishing when he told Galleycat that he was no longer going to publish books in a traditional way. After publishing a dozen print books, Godin slammed traditional publishing “12 for 12 and I’m done. I like the people, but I can’t abide the long wait, the filters, the big push at launch, the nudging to get people to go to a store they don’t usually visit to buy something they don’t usually buy, to get them to pay for an idea in a form that’s hard to spread…”
Unsurprisingly not everyone cheered Godin’s declaration of independence for physical books. Novelist Colson Whitehead tweeted back “Is he going to publish his books….WITH HIS MIND????”
Godin gave only a little more detail on his blog where he said “As the methods for spreading ideas and engaging with people keep changing, I can’t think of a good reason to be on the defensive.” Godin’s move is one of several authors who are reviewing their relationship with publishing houses.