Blog

Record scratch; freeze frame…

Spoiler Alert / tldr: I didn’t, technically — although it depends on how you define the industry — but I sometimes think the book side never really considered me part of the industry to begin with.

Read on for the full story, or scroll to the end for the brief interview. You do you.

What Even IS the “Publishing Industry”?

I started my “publishing” career on the print magazine directory side of the industry in the mid-90s, immediately after getting out of active duty in the Army. Back then, there were dozens of temp agencies in NYC, and one was able to quickly translate my already eclectic resume of bank teller, currency verification clerk, book shelver, waiter, bartender, and airborne mechanic (I’d already dropped my teenage gigs in the library and fast food) into someone who could do entry-level administrative tasks for an hourly wage.

My first temp assignment was one week in the accounting department of K-III Directory Corp (which went through various evolutions, some high-profile, before ultimately morphing into… Rent?!?!), presumably aligning with my banking experience, and then they brought me back for what was supposed to be a two-week assignment in their circulation department. On my third day, one of the full-timers in the department abruptly quit, and among her responsibilities was managing subscriptions for an annual directory, Musical America (which still exists!), in a software program called QuickFill (which still exists… at least for another six weeks).

I taught myself Quickfill in a week, my two-week assignment became open-ended, and they eventually hired me full-time as a Circulation Assistant. Suddenly, I was in the publishing industry!

Or was I?

Books vs. Magazines vs. Media

For the first 15 years of my career, I was firmly on the magazine side of publishing — B2B, niche consumer, and non-profit — although I recall applying for marketing roles at book publishers, which rarely resulted in an interview. The few that did (including one at DC Comics during the AOL Time Warner error), my experience engaging readers directly in different channels didn’t matter because they were all laser-focused on marketing to intermediaries, particularly bookstores.

Fast-forward to 2008, when F+W Media (going through its own identity crisis, having rebranded from F+W Publications) re-organized its entire business to combine the book and magazine divisions into single communities under the parent brands. My role as Advertising Sales Director* for Family Tree, Horticulture, and Writer’s Digest morphed into the Publisher & Editorial Director of Horticulture, which had ironically just killed its book division the year before.

[*Three years earlier, I’d decided I was tired of salespeople making more money than me for effectively finishing the last mile of a marathon I’d run the majority of from the marketing side and made the switch to ad sales. I hated every day of it, but I was good enough at it and back then, it was the typical path to becoming a publisher in the magazine world, which was my goal. Mission accomplished.]

A year later, Digital Book World happened, and I finally had my foot in the door of the book side of the business!

Unfortunately, niche publishing wasn’t taken very seriously —”verticals” hadn’t become sexy yet, and when they finally did, F+W was one of the best examples — but the collapse of Borders and the impact of digital marketing (much more so than ebooks) was finally starting to make my magazine experience a lot more interesting to people on the book side.

When I decided to leave DBW in 2011, I had some good conversations with several executives who were intrigued by my work, and almost all of them said they were at least a year away from being able to create a role that would suit my skills. Unfortunately, I’d already given notice to DBW and didn’t have a year to spare!

At the time, there were exactly two director-level roles at Big 6 companies that somewhat aligned with my background, and they were already taken by two friends I’d met during my time running DBW. Smaller publishers were still a few years away from making the shift.

It was ultimately a sliding doors moment, with a choice between joining an upstart digital publisher that was making waves with ebooks or going to back to magazines to focus on what had become an obsession the year before: libraries.

I chose libraries.

Libraries AND Publishers, or Libraries VS Publishers?

I spent 4.5 years with LJ/SLJ (and The Horn Book!) — at the time, the longest I’d ever stayed at a single company. When I left, I wondered if my time in (alongside?) the book publishing industry had come to an end; partly from declining interest, but partly because I seemed to be back in the outsider position again, despite libraries’ deep connections to books and their importance in engaging and nurturing readers.

I stayed in magazines for a few more years, including an ill-fated (No Ragrets!) return to F+W Media to finally run Writer’s Digest for a couple of years before F+W’s bankruptcy ruined everything — and I could still feel the invisible wall that seemingly kept me on the fringes of the industry.

At The Panorama Project*, I spent a little over a year trying to help publishers and libraries find common ground on the question of ebook lending before the pandemic disrupted that work, but I had several conversations with different people that made it clear: I wasn’t in publishing anymore, I was advocating for fairer treatment of libraries and therefore, in some circles at least, wasn’t just an outsider — I was a threat.

[NOTE: I just realized today, while writing the previous paragraph, that The Panorama Project’s website is suddenly unavailable, unceremoniously redirecting to OverDrive’s homepage, which certainly doesn’t help the impression in some circles that it was a partisan initiative. As I explained to anyone who would listen back then, OverDrive was the primary funder simply because no other organization, publisher, or vendor deemed libraries important enough to prioritize tackling the ebook issue. There are a few resources I developed and was especially proud of that were hosted there, including the Immersive Media & Reading 2020 study (which did result in some cross-industry collaboration and a splash of additional funding) and the Library Marketing Valuation Toolkit. Ironically, it’s only accessible via the Internet Archive for now.]

Moving the Goal Posts

Fast-forward again to today, I’ve been at LibraryPass for more than 5 years (officially the longest I’ve ever worked anywhere), and despite working regularly with dozens of different publishers to help them find readers in thousands of schools and libraries, I was stunned a few months ago when my own marketing colleague asked, “What made you leave your career in publishing?”

It was part of a series of questions for a social video series we’re doing called Origin Stories, with our executive team discussing their professional backgrounds and how we ended up at LibraryPass.

My video is embedded below, edited for length, along with my full answers to each question, including that one, which I’ve been mulling over ever since it was poised back in August.

“Even if you define publishing solely through the lens of books, which many people do, I’d argue I haven’t left, I’m just in a different part of the supply chain now.”

As far as I’m concerned, I’ve had two extended runs IN the “book publishing” industry: my time at F+W and LJ/SLJ, and then after a short break, my return to WD, The Panorama Project, and LibraryPass. In fact, the majority of the past 20 years have found me embedded somewhere in the industry supply chain — even while I was with magazines — and spent several years working with one of the most important segments of (underrated and often disrespected) industry influencers: librarians.

I wonder if part of my feeling a little separated from the industry at times is the fact that so many publishers still treat libraries like pirates rather than partners? Combined with the fact that, despite their significant growth over the past 20 years, comics are still treated like a lesser segment of the industry — and it’s enough to give someone an inferiority complex!

Fortunately, I know what I bring to the table.

As often happens, this post is way longer than I intended, and I’m kind of pissed about The Panorama Project surprise. If you read everything above instead of skipping ahead, I appreciate it! Now, let’s get to the interview that inspired this post…

My (Villain?) Origin Story

Q: Why did you decide to pursue a career in media publishing and marketing?

I grew up an avid reader, discovered a love for writing early on, and my first two jobs as a teenager were delivering newspapers and working at my local library — but I didn’t actually have any particular aspirations to work in publishing.

When I got out of the Army in 1993, I signed up with a temp agency and my first two assignments were at a directory publisher. The second one was in the circulation department, managing subscriptions, and on my third day the person in charge of one of the annual directories unexpectedly quit, so I taught myself the database she used (Quickfill) and nine months later they hired me full-time and suddenly I was working in the publishing industry.

Thirty years later, I’m still here.

Q. What made you leave your career in publishing? 

Ouch.

Even if you define publishing solely through the lens of books, which many people do, I’d argue I haven’t left, I’m just in a different part of the supply chain now. The majority of my career was on the magazine side of the business, including my time at Library Journal, which lived at one of the most important intersections of the supply chain: book publishers and libraries.

At LibraryPass, we also work with publishers and libraries, helping both to reach and engage more readers with immersive digital content through Comics Plus — and I’ve always believed that’s the most important role for the so-called “publishing industry” to play.

If your books aren’t actually reaching readers, you’re not in publishing; you’re in manufacturing or distribution.

[NOTE: That may have been a little harsh, but I was in a mood.]

Q. How did you land in comics with LibraryPass & Comics Plus?

Our CEO, Ian Singer, and I previously worked together at Library Journal, and he knew about my longtime interest in comics. He was also very familiar with my advocacy for improving libraries’ access to ebooks, which is what I was doing with the Panorama Project when he first told me about Comics Plus in late 2019.

In early 2020, I initially consulted on marketing efforts to help launch LibraryPass as a new company, and reposition Comics Plus as a platform for libraries and schools.

Within a few months, it was clear that we were fulfilling a critical need for affordable access to ebooks, especially in the early days of the pandemic when digital access became important for everyone.

I joined fulltime in October 2020, and it’s been a great experience over the past five years as Comics Plus has grown to work with dozens of library-friendly publishers to serve readers in more than 3,500 schools and libraries.

Q. What was your role in establishing the brand as we know it today?

LibraryPass didn’t exist in 2020; it was just a logo and a URL.

Comics Plus had a previous life, first as a consumer service that lived in Comixology’s huge shadow, and they eventually offered a public library version that was modestly successful for a few years. Unfortunately, by 2019, it was effectively on life support, and if not for the transition to LibraryPass, Comics Plus probably wouldn’t exist today.

I had the dual challenge of establishing LibraryPass as a credible industry partner, to libraries AND publishers, and reintroducing Comics Plus to them as a unique service that was now exclusively available through libraries and schools.

Our affordable unlimited simultaneous access model and depth of content are what really differentiate us from other digital services, and my goal was to build our brand around those two pillars.

I believe “Read All The Comics!” and “library-friendly publishers” get to the heart of Comics Plus’ value proposition, while we’ve built our credibility as a company through a variety of professional development resources and readers’ advisory that put the focus on engaging readers through the power of visual storytelling — whether or not you’re a Comics Plus customer.

Q. Why are libraries and schools important to LibraryPass/Comics Plus?

We literally exist to serve libraries and schools’ need for affordable, equitable access to immersive digital content. That’s our mission and it informs everything we do.

We specifically believe that comics, manga, and picture books can engage readers of all abilities and ages, and libraries and schools are the best way to reach as many readers as possible.

Ultimately, libraries and schools are important institutions for supporting critical thinking and empathy for others, so they’re not just important to us, they’re important to everyone.

Q. What is your most favorite thing about leading the content and marketing teams?

I work with a great group of really smart people who bring a wide range of interests and skills to the table. I don’t really consider myself their leader as much as a colleague with the additional responsibility of ensuring they have the room and support to do their best work.

We’re a small group, but we have librarians, comics nerds, and savvy marketers in the mix, and my most favorite thing is when we tackle a specific initiative and everything falls into place. That could be a behind the scenes metadata project, a new curated list, a fun social campaign, or a brand-new resource.

The best thing is that I end up with a new most favorite thing on a regular basis.

Q. What do you think the future holds for unlimited access models like Comics Plus?

It’s no secret that libraries simply cannot afford to support the increasing demand for digital content, partly thanks to the expensive licensing fees some publishers charge libraries for that content.

Fighting consumer preference is always a losing battle, and many readers simply prefer reading ebooks through the library rather than consumer platforms where they don’t actually own the ebooks they’re “buying” anyway.

Library-friendly publishers know that libraries have limited budgets, and that supporting alternative ebook licensing models like ours allows them to offer more diverse collections that appeal to more readers, which I believe should be one of every publisher’s primary goals.

We work with dozens of library-friendly publishers who have proven this access model can work, and as more and more libraries shift their digital budgets towards models like ours, enabling them to serve more readers more affordably, more publishers will have to consider supporting it.

Q. If you could give a 15-second elevator pitch about Comics Plus to libraries and schools, what would you say?

Affordable, equitable access to digital content is an increasingly important part of your mission to serve your communities, and there are comics, manga, and picture books for readers of all ages and interests.

Comics Plus has no holds, no wait lists, and no borrowing limits to worry about. Your readers can truly “read all the comics.”