This reminds me, I was going to create a topic about this, don't have time right now to go find the story...
A couple months ago Barns and Noble announced they were dropping hardcover books from debut authors, because they don't sell. This was immediately attacked as a direct attack on black/gay/female/zirs authors... indirectly confirming the "fictional conspiracy theory" that straight white men can't get book deals anymore.
There was another article that came out shortly after confirming that most trad published books sell barely a handful of copies. The whole market is essentially smoke and mirrors at this point.
That's where the growth is. Trad publishing is mining the refuse of ailing wrecks like Patterson and King. I've had friends who tried to publish certain subgenres like Urban Fantasy or Paranormal Romance and get told straight up by editors that "those are indie-dominated markets and we can't compete with them." Which is unreal if you think about it.
Basically its the final stage of disruption; the entrenched firms are retreating upmarket while the innovators consume them from below.
This reminds me, I was going to create a topic about this, don't have time right now to go find the story...
A couple months ago Barns and Noble announced they were dropping hardcover books from debut authors, because they don't sell. This was immediately attacked as a direct attack on black/gay/female/zirs authors... indirectly confirming the "fictional conspiracy theory" that straight white men can't get book deals anymore.
There was another article that came out shortly after confirming that most trad published books sell barely a handful of copies. The whole market is essentially smoke and mirrors at this point.
So it's all e-books now huh?
Honestly... I don't think it's even that.
Literature is a disappearing medium.
That's where the growth is. Trad publishing is mining the refuse of ailing wrecks like Patterson and King. I've had friends who tried to publish certain subgenres like Urban Fantasy or Paranormal Romance and get told straight up by editors that "those are indie-dominated markets and we can't compete with them." Which is unreal if you think about it.
Basically its the final stage of disruption; the entrenched firms are retreating upmarket while the innovators consume them from below.