Prediction 2

I reckon 2010 will see some publishing houses topple. As we know, the routes to market are dwindling. Probably most at risk are the larger corporate houses with huge overheads and pensions to fund. They also appear to suffer from the creative vision of an earthworm.

Which could be doing a disservice to earthworms. As Darwin discovered, they are the cornerstone of life churning up old leaves, trees and the like and turning it into rich soil. In fact, the corpororate houses should turn themselves into wormeries, burrowing into their archives and seeing what they can transform into rich reading matter.

One of the books that had a great influence on me as a late 70s teenager was Richard Mabey's Food for Free. I even used it to gather rose hips and make rose hip syrup. But I found it rather difficult to use as the plants were listed more for the botanist than the amateur forager. When I was at Collins I suggested making it into a Collins Gem (ideal for backpacks) and Richard Mabey was most gracious in allowing us to reorder it alphabetically according to the common names of the plants. We then combined photos and the beautiful illustrations by the equally gracious Marjorie Blamey and included recipes and a few other useful items. The result has been a resounding success for all parties concerned - Collins have another bestseller that continues to sell and Richard receives another source of royalties for essentially a book he had written over 20 years previously.

So for the big publishers to flourish, they should keep one eye out for the next bestseller, and the other foraging through what they already have with fresh creative eyes. After all, what could be more profitable then a bit of creative recycling?