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Okay, maybe that’s harsh. But here’s the takeaway from this article. Publishers don’t know how to DIRECT market to their consumers. And in this age, when more and more of your success as an author is going to be determined by how well you’re able to reach the people DIRECTLY who want to read what you’re writing about, this is going to make publishers increasingly irrelevant.

From PaidContent’s summary of what we learned at BEA…

“Book publishers’ greatest challenge now is discoverability in the digital age. How do they ensure that their ebooks and apps get found? How do they market directly to consumers? Brick-and-mortar bookstores that were once publishers’ main customers are disappearing and sales are moving online.“Our content has always been discovered by people either looking for it or recommending it,” said Charlie Redmayne, EVP and Chief Digital Officer of HarperCollins. “But now looking for it is through search and recommending it is through social media.” “Publishers do not know how to market e-books yet,” said Evan Schnittman, Managing Director of Group Sales and Marketing at Bloomsbury, said.”

There’s a reason why The Author’s Edge is about direct marketing — because in a few months or a few years, this is how you’re going to make a living with your content.

Period.