Does Book Publishing Need A Mascot?

Is there a mascot for books? Should there be one?

When you think of milk, you think cow.  Go to the ballpark and you order a what? A hot

dog.  Come to a casino and you envision a slot machine.  Companies and teams have their logos,

countries have their flag colors, and famous people have their catchphrases. There are lots of

strong brands out there. It seems every industry or product has a recognizable face, a

corresponding visual soul mate.  But what now represents the writer or book publisher?  Is it a

typewriter or a pen?  A keyboard? A book?

The typewriter is a relic.  The pen is second to a gadget for communicating information but the

image of a smartphone or iPad or laptop doesn’t immediately conjure up writer.  You may think

information, communication or technology, but not necessarily writer.  The book now takes

many forms: audio, digital, and print. So what or who represents the book industry?

Maybe more important than finding a picture to represent writers and publishers is the need to

find a spokesperson to pitch and best represent the industry.  Can you think of someone who is

the poster boy for publishing?

The New York Times Book Review, Publishers Weekly, Publishers Lunch, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, American Booksellers Association, American Library Association, best-selling authors, leading

book blogs, indie publishers, C-SPAN, and many other media, trade groups, and retail outlets

all contribute to creating some kind of image of the world of writing and books, but none of

them stand out as the clear leader, as the one that completely speaks for authors, publishers,

literary agents, editors, distributors, cover designers, illustrators, photographers and all those

involved in the reading, sharing, or crafting of books.  Perhaps the reason is that there is no one company or individual who can truly represent all of these interests, ideals, and needs.  Perhaps this is why we have so many different websites, associations, awards, and companies involved in publishing – because there are so many specialty areas, each deserving of a lobbying voice.

Still, we struggle to find the mascot of book publishing because we simply no longer

have a handle on defining the industry and all of its components.  Book publishing has changed

more in the past decade than in the prior century. And it’s still changing.

We don’t see the discussion of promoting literacy as much as we used to.  For some reason, society

assumed everyone has a computer and thus is reading and writing, but the truth is we have tens

of millions of illiterate and functionally illiterate adults in the United States.  Maybe part of

whatever image book publishing wants to create for itself should go back to its roots of

championing literacy, free speech, and the idea that a book can transport us to places we never

imagined. We love books and hope the next generation embraces them too.

Distinctions blur these days: Who is a publisher and who is a writer? Who is a book-seller and

who is a book publisher? What is a book and what is a white paper? We also have a dual image

arising:  that of the writer-reader.  With over one million new books published last year – and

millions of blog postings every day – we have the same people engaging in both writing and

reading.  So perhaps the commercial script to promote the publishing industry has to take all of

these factors into consideration. Publishing is changing, in part, because of the active role a

consumer now plays in the production of what is being bought.

Whatever or whoever comes to represent publishing, if such a thing or person exists, may it

highlight our mutual love for the written word and to not just praise the convergence of bits and

bytes into bucks and books. May we also pay homage to the valuable role books serve in creating

a society of thinkers and doers.

So, before you go write a book, please buy and read books, and support the industry of book publishing. It needs a mascot. Perhaps it is you?

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