At present it is a frustrating time for some authors to be a part of the publishing world—once the battle to get published has been won, they have to contend with low advances, a saturated market and, most of all, publishing houses dedicating most of their attention to yet another celebrity’s first novel. To the detriment of their non-famous authors, publishers seem to constantly be after a bigger fish. Some, though, are “too big to hang out” with them.
Following her record-breaking world tour from 2023 to 2024, Taylor Swift has recently announced the release of an Eras Tour book featuring behind-the-scenes content and never-before-seen photos from her tour performances. Considering the publishing industry’s infatuation with celebrity books and authors, 29 November—the Black Friday release date of the book—will surely then be a monumental day on the publishing calendar. (Publication information for those outside of the US is soon to be announced.)
The catch? Within the US, Swift’s book is being exclusively released in partnership with Target without the involvement of a publisher.
This may not come as a great surprise—Swift bypassed big studios for the release of her Eras Tour concert film in late 2023, quickly making it the highest-grossing concert film worldwide with over $260 million generated at the box office. It has by now been made clear that she does not need to partner with big companies for the release of her material—be that in the publishing or film industry—as her cultural notoriety means that her work more or less markets itself. If she feels that a partnership is unnecessary or may compromise her work and its accessibility to the public, she will not agree to one.
Whether or not this move was an anticipated one, it is likely one that publishers are wondering if they should be concerned about. The publishing industry at present is spending (and making) much of its money on ‘big name’ celebrity authors whose names will sell their books—entertainer David Walliams has sold upwards of 25 million of his children’s books just in the UK, while pre-orders are flooding in for the first volume of Cher’s upcoming memoir. Keira Knightley has just signed to write a children’s book, while Amazon’s paperback bestsellers are dominated by celebrity cookbooks, Jeremy Clarkson’s farm memoirs, and the latest Richard Osman offering. There is often plenty of backlash when a new celeb title is announced—it is felt by a fair few writers and readers that these stars should not be gathering huge advances and marketing campaigns from publishers who leave little budget left over for novelists who have not been on the silver screen.
However, if Taylor Swift has chosen to put her book out bypassing all of these publishers despite their efforts, is it because they have nothing to offer her? She has the money and notoriety already—her book does not need excessive marketing, and after an eighteen year long career her marketing team is more than up to the task anyway. If her main priority is to get the book into the hands of fans, partnering only with a retailer is as effective a way to do it as any when you’re a household name.
Should publishers worry about other celebrities following suit? Plenty of them are renowned enough to sell their books without help—the likes of Cher and Knightley have long-established careers and large enough fanbases to self-publish their work if they so wished. However, with so many of them still choosing traditional publishers, there doesn’t seem to be much cause for alarm. What publishers offer to celebrity authors is the same thing most aspiring authors dream of and don’t always get: the full publishing experience. Meetings with editors, seeing potential covers for their book, having a tour organised for them—all of these are things that may be a novelty to any author.
There are also smaller celebrities who are best-known in one country or from one piece of work who, while their books sell well, would have trouble marketing them without the guidance of a publisher because their fanbase is less universal and it will take more work to reach them.
While publishers may have missed out on an opportunity with this book from Taylor Swift, the publishing industry has already had a cut of the profits when it comes to her fans—there has been a boom of books about her in the last year, whether they are unauthorised biographies, children’s books, deep-dives and analysis of her songs or photobooks of her outfits onstage. All of these are unofficial and unconnected to the artist herself, of course, but collectively they have likely generated as much revenue for publishers as the new book would have.
There is no great danger of publishing losing all of its celebrity stock overnight. However, it might be time for publishers to begin reflecting on the fact that putting all of their funds and energy into acquiring already-famous authors doesn’t always pay off. There is a growing sense of celeb book fatigue among writer and reader communities, and what publishers gain in sales they are starting to lose in their relationship with the rest of their writers.
Words by Casey Langton
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