As we count down to the end of DEAD GUY on New Year's Day, we've asked some of our wonderful alumni to visit us one more time. Today we're thrilled to welcome back Abby Zidle, associate director of marketing and senior editor at Gallery Books. Our sincere thanks to Abby for coming back to DEAD GUY and making us smile one more time!
Abby Zidle
The Secret to Publishing Success
It’s great to be back for HDG Homecoming—this was my first foray into blogging, so I thought it only right to come back here to share what I’ve learned after nearly 20 years in publishing. That’s right, I’ve discovered The Secret To Publishing Success.
I know, I probably should have told you before now. But it takes a long time to build one of those cool evidence boards with the string and the pushpins and everything! I mean, you have to admit, that looks great. (J/K, that’s not the board I used to find the SPS—that was just me looking for my last apartment.)
Where was I? Oh, the secret. OK, you ready? Lean in a little closer—after all, we don’t want everyone to know.
Adaptability.
Huh?
Adaptability!
That doesn’t mean to write for the market or deny your true self or whatever the little voice of resistance in your head is objecting to right now—it just means that publishing goes where the money is, and sometimes that feels like following the Acela track straight down the Eastern seaboard, and sometimes it feels like you’re trapped in a Family Circus panel.
The REAL SPS, but you have to promise not to tell anyone else, is that we’re all just guessing, like, 78% of the time. And the faster publishing evolves, and the more technologies become available to writers, and the more entertainment channels arrive to compete for audience hearts and minds (and eyeballs), the higher that percentage goes.
There’s freedom to be found in this chaos, though—the freedom to launch a new series, or to split your efforts between traditional and self-publishing, or to start a podcast and plug all your writer friends. There are lots of opportunities for failure, sure, but also many more opportunities to pick yourself up and try again.
I’ve done it myself—after 17 years of being an editor, last year I was facing a few hard truths: the kind of books I loved working on were not the kind that enough people were clamoring for, and the parts of the editorial job I loved the best were no longer what people really needed me to do. I could either chug along until they kicked me out, figure out how to completely transform into someone who was great at negotiation and self-promotion and chasing the next hot thing (spoiler alert: not a winning proposition), or I could take a leap.
One small part of my job had been running a blog for our romance program…and because of the work I’d done there, and my enthusiasm in talking to people about it, my publisher offered me a chance at a new role. Now I’m the associate director of marketing and my conversations are all about ad rates, social media metrics, video scripts and whatever craziness Amazon is up to this week…and I love it! This old dog, it seems, enjoys learning new tricks, and I’d never have guessed it if I hadn’t been willing to adapt.
So start that new series, join that publishing collective, or make your next book a graphic novel—look around at what seems new and exciting, and don’t be afraid to jump on it. Your next chapter might be the best one yet.
A big thank you to Jeff Cohen and all the Dead Guys past and present for this opportunity, and for the years of wisdom and wit shared in the Living Room.
Thanks for coming back, Abby! It's posts like these that made us love you, and we're so glad to see you again!
Posted by: Jeff Cohen | September 29, 2017 at 08:26 AM