Like most of you, I’m sure, I had a very full week that pushed thoughts of publishing out of my head. Mostly.

Thinking about publishing is too deeply ingrained in my mind to shove it out entirely, so here are a few thoughts about Thanksgiving and publishing.

The Threat of Free.

I’ve never felt that I had the turkey carving thing quite right, so before Thanksgiving dinner I watched a couple YouTube videos on it and learned some good tips. I also had to deal with some plumbing issues on Black Friday, and, once again, I turned to YouTube.

You can find almost anything you want on there, which is a great boon to the public, but strikes fear in the heart of many publishers. Why, after all, would people buy a book on common household plumbing when they can find everything they want for free on YouTube?

I don’t know why, but they do.

I recently got a mandolin for my birthday. (Thanks, dear.) There’s plenty of free information on how to play the thing, but I also bought a training DVD.

Why? I don’t know. It might take a more orderly approach. It might be more reliable information. It may have been reviewed by several competent mandolin players, rather than just being some guy’s idea.

Or maybe I’m stupid.

The point is, don’t let the availability of free stuff keep you from selling similar stuff! People may buy it anyway.

Innovation is nice, but so is the familiar and the traditional.

Or … not everything needs to be an app.

Don’t listen to what people say. Observe what they do.

Every year you hear the complaints that Christmas decorations are hitting the stores too soon. This year I saw them before Halloween.

Everybody complains, but every year the holly and the ivy come out earlier and earlier. Why?

I have to assume they put out the Christmas stuff earlier each year because it works for the business. (I seriously doubt they’re doing it because they love Christmas so much.)

In a way, Christmas stuff in the stores before Thanksgiving is like sending out renewal notices six months ahead of expire. They’re annoying, but they work.

The lesson is, you can’t rely on what people say. Measure what they do.

People will grumble about Christmas decorations in October, but they’ll still buy that string of lights. And subscribers will complain about early renewal efforts, but they’ll write the check.

Is it wrong to do the annoying thing that people say they don’t like, just because it “works”? I don’t know. But another question to ask is, if it’s really all that annoying, why does it still work? It’s not as if you’re forcing anybody.

I hope you had a very happy Thanksgiving.