Peering Over the Parapet

For his forthcoming book, All Rights Reserved, Richard Charkin is taking a crack at predicting the future of publishing—and he’s inviting you to do the same.

Three years ago, I published My Back Pages, an undeniably personal history of publishing (improved and edited by the brilliant novelist, Tom Campbell). Much to my amazement, and thanks to some brilliant marketing, the book sold pretty well in English around the world and, even more amazingly, in Chinese, Arabic, Turkish and Spanish translations. The book has not exactly gone viral or stormed the bestseller list, but my publisher at Marble Hill has commissioned a new book, All Rights Reserved, which, fingers crossed, will be published in time for this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair.

Where My Back Pages was chronological, this new book is thematic, with chapters on all aspects of publishing—for instance HR, finance, legal, editorial, and so on. The idea is that it should become a vade mecum for new entrants to the industry and those in specialized areas who need an overview to see how the moving parts connect. It is intended to be updated annually to reflect whatever changes emerge in the industry—and there will be plenty, I am sure.

We are still working on the manuscript, but what follows is a very rough draft at a final chapter about the future, and I’d be delighted if readers could challenge, supplement, obliterate or whatever, the following. Please use the feedback button or write to me directly at rcharkin@gmail.com. I don’t take offense at criticism—I am quite used to it!

Click here to read the full article on Publishing Perspectives.