Podcast Studio Launches Book Publishing House With Simon & Schuster

Authors and podcasters have a long-running symbiotic relationship. Podcasters need authors when specific expertise on a subject is needed. The author is the ideal person to fit the bill. After all, authors are credentialed by virtue of their published works, and they can provide heft to the discussion brewing in any podcast.

For podcasts, authors provide legitimacy to any topic, and their insights – based on the wisdom mined from their book research – can make for an enlightening and lively discussion.

"Of course, many authors want a podcast interview to lead to increased book sales," says marketing consultant Maggie Hammerstein. "But they also want to develop a brand and a media presence. Podcasts are an ideal way to accomplish both goals."

Surveys of podcast listeners have found that they tend to read more than the general population and listen to audiobooks at a much higher rate.

Hammerstein explains that podcasts enable authors to cherry-pick the exciting parts of their book and entice the podcast audience to buy the book or follow the author on social media, leading to a future sale.

Perhaps due to their close relationship with authors, podcasters in increasing numbers are now becoming authors. As podcasts have increased in popularity, cultural visibility, and listener loyalty, podcasters have begun writing, and publishing books based on their podcasts.

Take, for example, the Switched On Pop podcast. Developed by musicologist Nate Sloan and songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Charlie Sloan, the Vox podcast has amassed a large and loyal listener base.

Switched On Pop acts as a kind of hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy of music. It's a peripatetic podcast that dismisses boundaries on what a music podcast should cover and whisks the listener off on a magical mystery tour to everything from the music chosen by restaurants to the trend toward shorter songs due to streaming services. Episodes hold constant surprises with a dissection of the new National Public Radio (NPR) morning news musical theme to a re-invention of music genres with the Lil Nas X number one country hit "Old Town Road" from a black hip-hop artist.

With this synergy in mind, it's encouraging that PAVE Studios has announced the launch of PAVE Publishing House, an independent print and audiobook publishing venture. PAVE Publishing House will work with emerging and established creators as well as existing authors to launch compelling new titles under PAVE Studios and its brands, including Crime House and OpenMind.

Simon & Schuster, a global leader in general interest publishing, is dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for readers of all ages, and in all printed, digital and audio formats. Its distinguished roster of authors includes many of the world’s most popular and widely recognized writers, and winners of the most prestigious literary honors and awards. and international companies in Australia, Canada, India, and the United Kingdom, and proudly brings the works of its authors to readers in more than 200 countries and territories. For more information, visit our website at www.simonandschuster.com

“PAVE Publishing House is putting storytellers at the forefront with our innovative business model because we understand that when creators succeed, everyone succeeds,” said Max Cutler, Founder of PAVE Studios. “By meeting creators’ audiences where they are, we’re reimagining distribution and capitalizing on the massive podcast audience where monetization is limited to drive more revenue back to creators.”

Simon & Schuster is home to numerous well-known imprints and divisions such as Simon & Schuster, Scribner, Atria Books, Gallery Books, Adams Media, Avid Reader Press, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing and Simon & Schuster Audio.

PAVE Studios and Simon & Schuster also announced a co-publishing partnership where the two companies will collaborate closely to discover, develop, and publish new book and audiobook titles. Under the agreement, PAVE branded titles will be jointly published under the Simon & Schuster trade imprint. In addition to the co-publishing agreement, Simon & Schuster will be the worldwide distributor for all PAVE Publishing House print titles.

“Our co-publishing deal with Simon & Schuster combines our strong creator relationships and robust marketing engine with their deep expertise in all facets of publishing, providing authors with a best-in-class team and the tools they need to succeed throughout the publishing lifecycle from development to writing and editing support. Partnering with a major publisher provides us with extensive production and distribution capabilities and valuable relationships with booksellers and retailers, while also enhancing our audiobook offerings,” added Cutler.

“We’re happy to partner with PAVE Studios, a truly innovative content creation studio, as they look to attract new authors with their business model,” said Jonathan Karp, President and Chief Executive Officer of Simon & Schuster. “Max Cutler and his team have consistently been on the cutting edge of new media, and in PAVE we see a dedication to creators that mirrors our focus on centering authors in all we do. Audiobooks continue to be the fastest-growing format in publishing, and PAVE’s roots in audio storytelling set us both up for continued growth and success as we work together to bring creators and their stories to the largest possible audience.”

This latest venture underscores PAVE Studios’ commitment to produce, distribute and consume content, including long form storytelling, across all formats, while cultivating and engaging vibrant fan communities. Additional announcements, including the creators and authors that PAVE will be collaborating with to publish new titles, will be made in the coming months.

Ultimately, the value of books published by podcasters truly lies with the listening – and reading – audience. Based on the enthusiastic response – via sales data and reader reviews – these books offer more than a podcast can provide, either because the audio-only format has predictable restrictions or time constraints that restrain a more robust and fleshed-out explanation of the podcast's main topic of expertise.

Podcasts we think could generate books that expand the format's reach include Gastropod, Science Vs, and Twenty Thousand Hertz.