Аннотация: Сказка о Марке Твене-издателе The Fairy Tale about Mark Twain, the publisher
The Fairy Tale about Mark Twain, the publisher
Mark Twain came into the cafe-library with a good mood.
- "Dear friends!" - cheerfully he announced. - "All of you read already my sketch "Journalism in Tennessee".
I hope, all of you understand a difference between newspapers and books. In newspapers - the fresh news. A book in a more degree contains a generalizations. Newspapers are read quickly. Books - more slowly. However, a border - relative. You may bind certain quantity of newspapers. It will turn out - in some sense - the big and thick book.
Today I will tell you how I was publishing a books. However, you understand that border between a reality and a mystification is a quite conditional.
Let's say you called yourself the publisher. What does it threaten you with? It depends on where you live. If you live in the democratic constitutional state, then you don't see a nothing bad results. Will you tell: "and what about the risks"? I will answer you: "what risks"?
You will tell me about an advance payments of a honorarium and about the books written after these advance payments. And a books, written, aren't in demand and aren't on sale.
I will answer you simply: don't pay the advance payments at all. Don't pay any honorariums.
"Well", - you will tell. - "The risks coonected with advance payments and with honorariums are eliminated. But copyright infringement are possible! Even an involuntary, an unintentional infringements. And after these violations, it is possible oh-oh-oh how to answer for them."
"Ha!" - I will tell you in reply. - "If you don't pay the honorariums, then you are almost excluding a risks connected with copyright infringement.
If you don't pay the honorariums, then you form a "new authors environment". You deal not with the professional authors capable to live on the literary fees, but with an incidental authors . These "incidental" authors have no firm self-assessment. It is easy "to bring down them from legs" by any negative statement about their creativity.
They, having written some literary works, not receiving either the royalties, or any other positive reaction, they lose a literary capabilities. Then they drop out into a literary sediment (into a literary silt at a creative bottom).
For you if you are publishers, it is very important point. The fact that "incidental" authors "are eliminated", "are deleted", for you as publishers, is indifferently (it doesn't matter). But for you it is crucial that works by these authors have got stuck in your publishing networks. And the income from these works, albeit and an insignificant income, was dripping in your pockets.".
You will tell me "Authors are eliminated. They are deleted. They are dropped out into a sediment. An income from every concrete books may be insignificant. In what a secret is?"
"And a secret", - I will answer you, - "in crowdsourcing. Authors has to be much. As much as in only possible!".
"But from where they will appear, these authors? If they receive no fees? If the deletion (of them) is producing? If they are dropping out into a sediment?" - it is permissible to ask, also.
"And here we approach one of the most important points of our reasonings", - I will answer you. - "Here, you have to switch on your brains! A person after a birth feels a considerable creative charge. But there are on Earth enormous territories where creative abilities of the person are necessary to nobody. As a rule, it is territories economically depressive, with a worsening political and legal environment. But there are a very much people in these territories. You - as publishers - have to learn to build up the relationship with people from such territories. As a result you will have the crowdsourcing - the author's one!".
Readers have sincerely awarded the speaker with an applause.
Mark Twain has smiled.
- "Why do I feed you with philosophical reasonings, reflections? Let me tell you some joke about the publishing activity!"
- "We listen! We listen!!" - an exclamations were heard.
- "Let's say, some vigorous author from a certain depressive territory of the planet Earth sends to you, the publisher, who is doing the business in the territory of the democratic constitutional state, the imperishable works. On the one hand, it seems, such an initiative - is a not a bad thing. You are the manager of a some content. But, on the other hand, a very energetic personality is beginning to bring anxiety. You need to react to this vigorous activity somehow.
Of course, your main reaction is "lack" of the fee. But this is a long playing "medicine". A long-acting "tablets". Eventually, and during antiquity era, and during era of the Middle Ages the royalties weren't paid, and, nevertheless, many prolific authors were acting. A decent libraries were formed in those days!
But I have slightly distracted. So: there are also other amusing methods."
The audience with interest was silent.
- "You will organize preparation of a cover of the book ... It is possible a few and to joke ... To pour out on the author's head a small bucket ... of water ... What images on the cover you - for a joke - would place, organize?"
The audience has thought.
- "I would place the image of sinking "Titanic" on a cover!" - the voice of one of readers was heard.
- "Ha-ha-ha!" - Mark Twain has burst out laughing.
- "And I would place on a book's cover the images of the broken cup and of the table, which surface is soiled with coffee, " - some readeress has added.
- "Well ... I have preferred the image of the spoiled clock", - Mark Twain has spoken. - "And about coffee ... The idea, - on the orientation, - correct ... To the spoiled clock it is possible to add the image of a fly agarics, mushrooms poisonous ...".
Applause were sounding.
- "Generally, friends, in a world view of the publisher of books are many both a calculation, and a humour. It is difficult to tell about everything at once. But I can't overcome in myself the writer of a humor sketches. Therefore I tell all this to you. I will visit you - as required, sometime - and I will tell you a some new stories".
Again an applause was distributed. "We wait!" - there was the general opinion of audience.
Mark Twain has made a friendly gesture and accompanied by Maxim Gorky headed to the exit from cafe-library.
On April 17, 2018 09:25
Translation from Russian into English: April 17, 2018 11:05.
The clarifying of the translation: May 7, 2020 09:11.
Владимир Владимирович Залесский 'Сказка о Марке Твене-издателе'.