Kevin Smith (kvnsmith@colba.net)
Sun, 3 Oct 1999 09:51:43 -0400
Reed, speaking about Richard Barre, wrote:
>Someone said he's been dropped because the chain
stores
>aren't selling enough of his books, and so his
publishing house is
>kow-towing to the buyers. Big problem being widely
discussed among
>writers these days.
Gee, this topic seems familiar. I think I'm having DorothyL
d骠 vu. In fact, it's the fact that supposedly Barre wasn't
selling enough at Barnes and Noble, even though it was
greatly discounted, that prompted his being dropped from his
publisher's list, and hence much rattling of teacups.
But regardless of whether you like Barre or not (alas, I'm
still not convinced, although I keep trying, just because
everyone thinks I should be a big fan), this is an ominous
sign. Publishers paying attention to buyers? Yikes! Next the
buggers'll be wanting to turn a profit.
It seems to me publishers have always watched the bottom
line, and seemingly popular authors have always been dropped.
But the truth is that publishers generally don't drop writers
who are making them money, and usually drop those who don't.
Perhaps things are a bit more cutthroat than they used to be
(although I don't really know), but it's certainly nothing
new.
Short of us all buying a coupla hundred copies each of every
favorite author's books, I'm not sure what we can do
(although I'm sure any authors on this list have no prob with
that stategy). Lists such as this one, though, do help a bit,
in spreading the word about books we love. Alas, it also
further divides the market into tinier and tinier sub-genres,
further and further from the mainstream.
And it's been suggested to me by a few writers that perhaps
it's best these days to be first published in paperback,
since the stakes are lower for the publisher, and it's easier
to build a core audience. Certainly, it's no mark of shame
when you think about how many writers we've gone gaga over on
this list who first appeared in PBO's.
And, in regard to books that we love, may I submit the
following for your consideration:
Neil Smith wrote:
>You've got tons of people sending you stuff, though,
so who's hot out of
>those folks?
Ah, if it were only true. I do get lucky every now and then,
but the freebie intake is probably best measured in grams,
rather than tons. And the best books by a "new" author I've
read lately were ones I actually paid money for: John
Shannon, who someone else mentioned. Anyone who likes Stephen
Greenleaf or Ross Macdonald will get a kick out of his very
caustic, very cynical THE CONCRETE RIVER or THE CRACKED
EARTH. If you think Chandler was a bit disgusted with LA,
you've just gotta to see what a few more decades of decay
have done to the City of Angels. Shannon's disillusioned PI
Jack Liffey adds the civic infrastructure and and the area's
geology itself to the long list of things falling apart, and
uses a series of almost surreal vignettes and a Greek chorus
of homies to bring it all back home. Probably not recommended
by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.
Oh, and Gary Phillip's Ivan Monk makes a neat cameo.
Kevin Burton Smith The Thrilling Detective Web Site http://www.colba.net/~kvnsmith/thrillingdetective/
Come soon: The October issue, with some cool stuff about
Dashiell Hammett.
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