Whipping the Rising Tide

How Jealous Demands for Equity Don’t Help Your Publishing Efforts

There is an old Chinese tale of an emperor who wanted to go on a sea voyage. Unfortunately, the tide went out when he wanted to leave and had to leave the next day. Incensed at the ocean’s insolence, he ordered a large number of his army to go to the shore, with whips and scourge the sea till the tide obeyed his desires. So the army obeyed and sent men to whip the sea.

The sea ignored the emperor, and shamed him before his p...