Would you Publish This? At Yale Publishing Course

At Yale Publishing Course we're playing a game called "Would You Publish This Book?" A book from a hacker into government secrets, a book covering the making of a porn movie, an incendiary rant from a hate-monger: what are the decisions that drive publishing? Martin Levin's presentation elicits strong opinions and lively discussion that spills over into the corridors and dining room; he's really touched on some deep level the passions that have drawn people into this business and to the course.

Of course some of what goes on in New Haven stays in New Haven, and there are some meetings where we're told to put away our computers and iPhones and stop our blogging and tweeting. Our instructors want to be honest, outspoken, and not always on the record.

In the midst of our digital celebration, John Donatich of Yale University Press takes the time to discuss why books still matter. The rhetoric against books from bloggers and techies has grown increasingly hostile: why is that? Donatich believes that the hostility comes from "the expression of desire meeting the undertow of fear." What does the new technology have to prove? Our books don't vilify the internet. But Donatich reminds us that we have all been transformed by the alchemy of the book,we have all felt the breath of the writer's intellect on the page. Or not only the page--the screen, the CD: the defense of the book doesn't require the trashing of digital culture. E-readers desire to duplicate the experience of the book with the convenience of portability. In fact, a device to enable us to plug into an entire library of books can be the best argument as to why books still matter.

Still, Keith Clinkscales tells us: technology rules. If you can't get it onto the web you can't get it onto your mobile device; if you can't get it on your mobile device, you're dead.

And yet the revenue is overwhelmingly in the core product, says Jack Griffin of Meredith. The best approach to the challenges of today is to find an equilibrium through a focus on the audience. We have what everyone is looking for--an engaged consumer that cares deeply about what we have to say. Magazines provide the value of presented information; they were the first mobile device.

In brief: care for the core while taking risks to diversify the revenue.