No, it's still up, Jim. But in all fairness it's a thread discussing another vanity publisher/distributor, or something like that. At first I couldn't believe what I was reading until I moved up-thread.
Just today I sent my final revisions of a proof for my second book to a publisher that will do my second book and I will market the two books together. I don't think it would have done any good for me to get years more of rejections vs getting my first book out. Th problem in traditional publishing is a capacity issue. They can/will only put out x number of titles a year and those have to have a high degree of probability to return a certain profit. Hence the new/unknown author gets shut out.
It's not a capacity issue primarily. It's a quality issue first and foremost. The slots are filled by the best books found, and there are less of them than you think. High profit return is the motivator, yes. Are you implying that unknown authors get shut out because books are supposed to make a profit? New authors are not getting kicked to the curb--they WANT the next big discovery. Read all the agent blogs--they're looking for you, you little unpolished gem, you.
There is a market for new and unique vs. the formula shop writers that tap the same audience book after book. Some guidelines practically direct the very style and tenor of what is acceptable to the degree of shutting out the innovation of the author.
What in the heck is a formula shop writer? You bet--genre books do tap into a certain buying public--a big buying public. Don't even say that artistic style is being stifled here. The unique innovation of the author is exactly what the publisher is scouting for. It's called talent, and it's never shut out. And...don't even think about romance writers with the breath of that same sentence, if that is what you were implying.
The truly big stars in publishing have their own voice and that became a self genre. Many of these people were way off the radar when they broke through.
The genre existed BEFORE those big writers ever got in there with their voice. A few of them have created tag words to new sub-genres, because they had such an impact on the market. Political thrillers? Was that Clancy or Grisham? I don't understand the radar comment.
Many of the new top fixtures like Zane did their own publishing and carved out their own audience and then they dictated to the majors when they came calling after being rejected. A PA author will break through with a PA tilte or another title.
I don't know what Zane you're refering to here, but I don't think he dictated much of anything to the majors, but might have been grateful that they picked him up. ALL writers get rejected. Get over it. I truly hope a PA title gets picked up by a major. But this great white hope you're looking for will not carry the rest of you along with it.
When this starts to happen, then tenor of the business will change slightly and maybe PA and others will be the farm system that is scouted for the next big thing.
I don't PA will be a farm system for major league publishing. They have their own slush piles.
Overall sales success will tell the tell. If it sells 10,000, 15,000 or 30,000 it can't be all bad.
Do you think PA will distribute those kinds of numbers to meet the demand, when they can't even supply a dozen books to a store for a signing, nor fill a non-author order of any kind, to any venue? PA couldn't even supply a library with several copies when they were repeatedly asked for them.
tri