Kris just wrote a new post she called “The End of the World as We Know It.”
Oh my, oh my, oh my…. She said wonderfully what I’ve been wanting to say for so long, and was disgusted about with some of the news out of BEA this week. Seems she was disgusted as well. (grin)
This is a must read post for anyone in publishing. I have a hunch a few people in New York traditional publishing will read this and get angry. Wow did she give them a sharp slap, and some of them deserve it, sadly.
Fantastic post, one of the best she has done in this new series, in my opinion.
http://kriswrites.com/2012/06/06/the-business-rusch-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it/
I am really wondering how an organization that claims to represent authors can make derogatory comments about another best selling author. 50 Shades has been traditionally published, even though it began as indie, so any complaints about its subject matter or writing quality can’t be laid at the feet of the authors or the indie approach. The traditional publisher had its chance to clean it up, after all.
It sounds like the ‘cool kids clique’ making fun of the rich girl who moved to town because her daddy made his money in parking garages instead of inherited farmland like their daddies. Why would the rest of us, struggling on the outside, ever want to be part of the Author’s Guild after watching this?
Awesome entry. Really shines a spotlight on the rampant egomania of some of the players in traditional publishing.
All of Kris’s sarcasm, and much, much more, is absolutely called for.
Sad to say, but the attitude among the traditional publishing types is kind of typical of anyone in a business that is facing serious challenges.
Denial and egomania usually substitute for action among the people who fail. The people you are not hearing from, the folks not blogging or giving speeches at conventions are working their asses off to survive, And THOSE folks will. The crybabies will be looking for work.
While no expert like Dean or Kris et al, my own observation of this is that the big star best sellers usually know less about publishing than the long term mid-listers. These folks (the big guns) do not have the kind of b.s. that other authors do. Patterson’s publisher is not going to go overboard being an asshole to him or the meal ticket will walk out the door. If Bob Midlister walks, the publisher feels like he is replaceable. I remember an interview where Terry Brooks claimed he knew so little about publishing when he was selling mountains of books early in his career that he thought big money, tours and bestsellers list were just the way it worked for everyone. He was treated like a superstar and never knew any different.
That of course is part of the problem publishers are facing. The bestseller model is not working as Kris points out – pushing nothing but bestsellers in all phases of traditional publishing is part of the reason indie book stores are growing, B&N is shrinking and readers are looking indie.
A very informal and unscientific study by yours truly yesterday found me in the book isle at Walmart. What did I see? A four foot wide four shelf high section of the hunger games and it’s 2 sequels. Ok, it;s big, I get it, but the Walmart near my house isn;t even very busy. There are enough books on those shelves for every kid in town. Wasted space. Walmart only sells best sellers. B&N only sells bestsellers (and sometimes not – I went looking for Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon Tales in paper the other day and my local B&N had 1 of them – 1. the guy sells a gazzillion books….)
Anyway, I won;t miss the idiots in publishing just like I don;t miss the idiot agents who already washed out of the business… There will be plenty of idiots left when it’s allover – but thinning the herd never hurts..
I’ve been a member of Authors Guild for years, and have found them to be an indispensable advocate for its members, and for writers in general. But in recent months I’ve found their position incomprehensible, for all the reasons Kris cites.
It’s not enough for me to leave what has been and should continue to be an important organization. But I often attend their annual dinner, and support it financially even when I’m unable to attend.
Not this year.
I also have been a supporter even though I never joined. (Not much of a joiner.) I was always sending writers to them, but after this year, I’m having the same problem as Kris outlines. Just head-shaking in its strangeness. I keep wondering when the “Author’s Guild” became the “Publisher’s Guild.” Thanks, Lawrence for the comment.