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That's precisely why while everyone is predicting the death of traditional publishing houses, I predict that they'll continue to flourish (though in a slightly
by acabal 15y ago
That's precisely why while everyone is predicting the death of traditional publishing houses, I predict that they'll continue to flourish (though in a slightly transformed state) even with ebooks supposedly leveling the playing field. In an era where everyone and their grandma can sell their ebook on Amazon, you need a respected publisher (or "editor" as you put it) to sort through the coal and present you only with the gems.
This is a role that traditional publishers actively do today!
- Turing_Machine 15y agoI disagree. That's what "people who bought this book also bought that book" is for.
- zasz 15y agoYeah, also bloggers. Reading books and then writing reviews is the kind of thing people will do for fun.
- Silhouette 15y agoIn contrast, I have predicted the relative demise of traditional publishing houses precisely because most of them are now so poor at performing the non-writing tasks that used to be their natural contribution that one has to question their continuing relevance. We're living in an era when self-publishing is cheap and easy, and when word-of-mouth advertising and sites like Amazon sell far more books than knowing the manager of the local bricks 'n' mortar bookstore. Publishers have a future as a one-stop support network for authors who only know how to write but also need design work, editorial guidance, etc. Publishers have no future as a pure middleman in the distribution chain, whose services reduce the author's percentage cut to single digits but who don't generate an order of magnitude more sales than a dedicated author self-promoting on-line.