The price of independence: the pros, cons of being the ‘little guy’

The survival of independent publishing in a corporate mass media climate is a classic David and Goliath story, except in this case, the underdog may not succeed against all odds, and must instead learn how to coexist with his giant opponent.

The question of how independent publishers can thrive will be the main topic of two panel discussions taking place at this weekend’s Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. To some, the inclusion of these two panels in the festival is somewhat ironic, considering it is sponsored by the likes of Target, Barnes & Nobles, Ticketmaster and Starbucks.

“The book expo is about the big guys flexing their muscles, saying, ‘What a big stand we have here,’” said Douglas Messerli, moderator of the panel “Can Independent Publishing Survive?”

As the founder of independent publishing house Green Integer, Messerli has little faith in the festival’s ability to highlight independently published books like his. “(The festival organizers) care about commercial publishing. They care about giving their readers what they want.”

Cynical views aside, Messerli, who is also a visiting professor in comparative literature at UCLA, commends The Los Angeles Times for providing a sizable, albeit flawed, forum for books.

“(The festival) is actually very successful with children’s books, and that’s really important because it’s nice to get children to read,” said Messerli. “The festival is about family and gatherings, which is fine and a way to attract people to books. But it’s not about serious literature.”

According to panelist and Akashic Books founder Johnny Temple, serious literature is not high on major book publishing companies’ list of priorities. A musician-turned-independent publisher, Temple puts out quality literature but hardly makes a large profit.

“A lot of the major book publishing companies are so bottom line-driven that they are only interested in books that have huge commercial potential,” Temple said. “As soon as I got into (the publishing world), I found that there were some really great books that were not getting published.”

Nancy Peters, co-owner of the famous San Francisco beatnik haven, City Lights publishing house and bookstore, where Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac were once regulars, notes new writers relying heavily on mainstream distribution often get the corporate cold shoulder.

“Sometimes we’ll hear from our distributors that the whole Borders chain has decided not to order any fiction from independent publishers this year,” said Peters. “They eventually changed their minds about that, but we have to prepare for that kind of attitude. ‘Well, we have a lot of books out there. Why do we have to bother with independent and new voices? We’ve had enough Chicano writers, so now let’s forget them this season.’

“So you have to keep on your toes. ... It’s a kind of corporate attitude that’s difficult to handle sometimes.”

With the chain bookstores largely dictating what literature is accessible to the public – books published by big companies like Random House – the diversity of voices tends to decrease; the publishers taking risks on new authors lose out. Temple also sees a lack of diversity in major publishing companies’ target audience.

“Book publishing in general is very much catered to a well-educated, Ivy League-type audience. Huge segments of the population often get ignored by big publishing companies, such as working class African Americans,” said Temple. “I want to sell these books to my neighbor. I’m interested in taking an area of literature and trying to popularize it among those that don’t necessarily have advanced degrees.”

An absolute enjoyment of the art of writing seems to be a requisite to be a successful independent publisher. According to these publishers, vigor, good taste for literature and an adaptable business sense are what keeps independent publishers chugging on.

“All my publishing is done because I love the books, and I couldn’t care less how many books I sell,” said Messerli.

“I absolutely think that there is a future for independent book publishing,” said Temple. “I almost think that’s a silly question. It’s obvious that it’s going to survive. It’s thriving, not on strictly economic terms, but on an aesthetic level and on a political level. Independent book publishing is kicking butt right now.”

Independent magazines are faced with similar hardships, which will be explored in the panel “From Granta to McSweeney’s: Can Independent Magazines Survive?”

Panelist Lawrence Weschler, a former writer for The New Yorker and director of the New York Institute for the Humanities at New York University, published a prototype issue of the art and literary journal “Omnivore.”

He writes to the reader, “Every time we broached the conventional way-stations (worked up a statement of intent and accompanying business plan, nailed down our legal footing, lobbied potential sponsors and advertisers, secured the requisite distribution channels) we were being advised not to even bother: The whole thing was hopeless. The economy. The general media environment. Yada yada yada.”

Weschler, imbued with a fearlessness required in this brutal business, then offers, “If you want something, don’t keep planning and theorizing and testing and strategizing – just start doing it.”

When independent publishers and editors put this emotional investment into their work, it shows in the quality of the magazine. One such example is “Zoetrope All-Story,” founded by Francis Ford Coppola and running for seven years, which has its dedicated, sprightly editors to thank for its National Magazine Award for Fiction.

A reputation such as Zoetrope’s is difficult to establish, but when it’s forged, an independent magazine will find survival less daunting.

Outnumbered by Condé Nast- and Time/Warner-published magazines, independently owned magazines compete for the attention of the consumer on the newsstands.

“It is difficult getting a quarterly literary publication on newsstands. But there are ways to overcome the problems: ... publishing startling covers that draw the eye (and) publishing, in each issue, at least one fairly known writer,” said panelist and “Zoetrope All-Story” editor Tamara Straus.

“Zoetrope All-Story” invites a guest artist to illustrate and design each issue partly in hopes the consumer will indeed judge a book by its cover. Respected artists Julian Schnabel, David Byrne and Laurie Anderson have contributed their expertise as guest artists.

“McSweeney’s,” a quarterly headed by novelist and panelist Dave Eggers, knows the value of good design, as it consistently produces compelling voices in a high-quality bound book that stimulates the eyes with its thinking-outside-the-box graphics and innovative touch with its form.

Aided in part by his success as an author and experience with founding the now defunct “Might” magazine, Eggers has gained a loyal following of young adults and uses his resources to fund a pirate store and tutoring workshop for youth called 826 Valencia.

Kit Rachlis, editor in chief of Los Angeles Magazine and moderator of the independent magazines panel, notes, “Dave Eggers, with his publications, has proven quite brilliant at (getting people’s attention).”

The independent publishers’ stamina in sifting through literature for the gems of quality writing surprises the corporate publishers, much to Messerli’s amusement.

“The big publishers in the book expo would say, ‘Where did you find these writers?’ There are a lot of writers out there, and it wasn’t some secret. The big commercial houses simply weren’t reading anymore,” said Messerli.

A common misconception is that all the small presses make small dollar amounts. “It’s not like the small independent presses are isolated. Our books are in all the (chain) stores. Independent presses (generally) don’t have the same kind of huge sales or huge money. Some of them, however, are in fact million-dollar business,” said Messerli.

Nevertheless, Messerli is disappointed by how the market has become homogenized. “Commercial publishing doesn’t even know I exist anymore. They did in the early days, because I was something different and odd, and now I’m just kind of under the radar.”

In some ways, the independently and corporately owned magazines are not so different. A former editor of L.A. Weekly and The Village Voice in New York, Rachlis has never contributed to an independent magazine. Although he enjoys financial cushioning from corporate owners, the editorial content published in Los Angeles Magazine is held at a high journalistic standard.

“The first thing is to be really good and follow your own intellectual, cultural and literary vision, and not to let that vision be chopped and channeled by marketing studies and research studies ... because then there’s no point in (publishing a magazine),” said Rachlis.