A New Publishing Model

Richard Nash, who left Soft Skull press a little while ago because he decided that the current publishing model was doomed, just announced his new project. The tentative name of the project is Cursor:

My business plan is now out with investors—I will spare you the P&L numbers and just offer the broad strokes. Cursor will establish a portfolio of self-reinforcing online membership communities. To start, this includes Red Lemonade, a pop-lit-alt-cult operation, and charmQuark, a sci-fi/fantasy community.

The business will focus on developing the value of the reading and writing ecosystem, including the growth of markets for established authors, as well as engaging readers and supporting emerging writers. Each community will have a publishing imprint, which will make money from authors’ books, sold as digital downloads, conventional print and limited artisanal editions—and will offer authors all the benefits of a digital platform: faster time to market, faster accounting cycles, faster payments to authors. But the greatest opportunity is in the community itself. Each will have tiers of membership, including paid memberships that will offer exclusive access to tools and services, such as rich text editors for members to upload their own writing, peer-to-peer writing groups, recommendation engines, access to established authors online and in person, and editorial or marketing assistance. Members can get both peer-based feedback and professional feedback.

There are a few good ideas here. One is that it would increase the speed of the publishing industry, which is currently somewhere between “glacier” and “80-year-old-couple-driving-during-foliage-season.” Another is that it addresses that most readers want to be writers. And it makes the process much smaller-scale. Which means less money would be involved, which would be an impossible sell to current major publishers. I’m eager to see how this plays out.

(Photo of Nash’s Red Lemonade from The Irish Shop.)