http://libbiehawker.com/blog/2014/10/27/publishers-as-curators-not-a-fundamentally-broken-idea
A long article, but full of tasty goodness, Libbie talks about the old days when you could walk into a bookstore and see the Penguin Books all lined up on a shelf and how people would also shop by brand, and not just by author/title/blurb/cover. (side note, Libbie Hawker hates the word “blurb,” which she talks about in yesterday’s podcast — hah).
Quick taste of the article:
Torrey House Press has the branding-and-curation gig down to an art and a science. Their focus is narrow – that’s smart. They publish fiction and narrative nonfiction that focuses on the land and culture of the Rocky Mountain West, as well as some general, ecology-themed books that aren’t necessarily set in the Rockies.
Torrey House Press has figured out how to identify and zero in on a niche. They have studied their readers – not the book stores they distribute to – and have figured out what those readers want. They provide more of the same, and they’re defensive of their curated brand – they don’t dilute it by throwing in some Kim Kardashian books or OJ pseudo-confessionals, even though those books might sell a lot of copies. They have figured out the ONE thing they’re doing, and they’re committed to doing that ONE thing, and doing it well.
John L. Monk 