In Which I Reflect on Bottom Lines …

On Monday, in my interview with Mary Victoria, commenter Blue Rose said:

"Is the series going to stop at 3 books or is there room in it for more? I really liked the concept of the world as giant trees, that was a very original and yet believable idea, and I struggle to find originality these days…"

In reply, Mary made the observation that: "…the publisher, at their end, has indicated willingness in principle but can't justify more actual contracts until the books sell. So the way to have more Chronicles of the Tree books is, well, to buy Chronicles of the Trees books."

I have been reflecting on this, and have come to the conclusion that there is no way in which Mary is overstating the case. Much as we all love the magic of stories, book publishing is a business and like all businesses looks to its bottom lines—and in the end, the continuance of a series, whether based around a world or a character, is totally dependent on whether the books about that world/character sell. End of story.

Only this week I have been told of a writer in another genre who has developed a great character and had her books nominated for serious awards etc — but the publisher has just pulled the plug. The books aren't selling enough copies — so no more character, and in the short term at least, no more author.

Believe me, dear readers, at the end of the day, the bottom line is the only measure of writing success—and if the bottom line isn't good, then the reviews and the awards pretty much count for nothing.

Of course, in order to have a bottom line at all, whether good or bad, you first need outlets where people can buy your books, something that's suddenly looking a lot more … interesting … in Australia and New Zealand with REDgroup's combination of Borders, Angus & Robertson (Aus) and Whitcoulls (NZ) going into receivership.

Very "interesting times" indeed—and wishing that someone might live in them is, I believe, traditionally a curse.