I admit to being bugged because I thought your very fine reader-side analysis then slid into precisely the same sort of ignorance about publishers you rightly criticize when it comes to authors' ignorance of readers' situations. At least, if you've actually studied the conditions modern genre fiction publishers (or other kinds of publishers) work in and what they're on record as supporting and agitating for, I missed it.
Oh, dude, it's okay. I probably should have mentioned in the entry that I did once have an internship at a big publishing company and I was there when our company got bought by such a fairly big media conglomerate (I won't say who, because I'd like to be able to find a job again at some point!), who proceeded to do stupid things that damaged our company's ability to do business successfully, but at the same time? Our company was already doing some really bad things that were decisions made by people at the top who ignored what was happening at ground level. And those got changed by people who kept making an issue of it, kept making complaints, kept at it.
You can get changes made within a big conglomeration, but you have to know how to get it done. And since this was a reader-side analysis, I figured that wasn't relevant.
I do think that some market studies might go a long way in convincing the right folks that they're missing out on money they could be making. And nothing gets those guys moving faster than untapped profit potential.
I think you're right about contract terms. I think there needs to be an organized movement of writers, agents, editors and such to not only educate readers as to what's going on, but to be able to scream loud enough to be heard at the top levels.
I do know that saying "hey, publishers should do this" sounds naive. I know that starting up such an operation would require a company to do so massive work, including learning how to work the technology and getting all the bugs out of such a system.
So I can't blame you for getting slightly annoyed with me. And no, you didn't seem mean.
ETA: I forgot to add that I understand. Because it seems like the people you'd complain to don't actually have the power to make the decisions that need making. I'm sure there are plenty of editors and other folks inside the industry who would do this in a heartbeat, but it's not up to them.
no subject
Oh, dude, it's okay. I probably should have mentioned in the entry that I did once have an internship at a big publishing company and I was there when our company got bought by such a fairly big media conglomerate (I won't say who, because I'd like to be able to find a job again at some point!), who proceeded to do stupid things that damaged our company's ability to do business successfully, but at the same time? Our company was already doing some really bad things that were decisions made by people at the top who ignored what was happening at ground level. And those got changed by people who kept making an issue of it, kept making complaints, kept at it.
You can get changes made within a big conglomeration, but you have to know how to get it done. And since this was a reader-side analysis, I figured that wasn't relevant.
I do think that some market studies might go a long way in convincing the right folks that they're missing out on money they could be making. And nothing gets those guys moving faster than untapped profit potential.
I think you're right about contract terms. I think there needs to be an organized movement of writers, agents, editors and such to not only educate readers as to what's going on, but to be able to scream loud enough to be heard at the top levels.
I do know that saying "hey, publishers should do this" sounds naive. I know that starting up such an operation would require a company to do so massive work, including learning how to work the technology and getting all the bugs out of such a system.
So I can't blame you for getting slightly annoyed with me. And no, you didn't seem mean.
ETA: I forgot to add that I understand. Because it seems like the people you'd complain to don't actually have the power to make the decisions that need making. I'm sure there are plenty of editors and other folks inside the industry who would do this in a heartbeat, but it's not up to them.