Name A Current Publishing Trend Or Practice You Really Like Or Dislike (9/12/21)

[Marc]

Which current publishing practice(s) do you either really like or dislike?

[Robert]

I love how supportive small publishers are to bloggers.

I hate how the big publishers refuse to send books to their oversea bloggers.

[Lark]

I dislike how inequities and biases in the acquisition process, along with the ever-diminishing returns of the publishing business, have made it virtually guaranteed that I'll never find out about the next great, deeply innovative, ground-breaking novel, because it will be rejected over and over again, and after that will remain in a drawer, unpublished, forever, where no one else will ever know about it either.

[Sam]

lark wrote: "I dislike how inequities and biases in the acquisition process, along with the ever-diminishing returns of the publishing business, have made it virtually guaranteed that I'll never find out about ..."

Usually, on a scale of optimism, I can only get as high as cynic, but I like to think that despite the difficulties the best of the unpublished will eventually be shared and recognized.

[Lily]

Opacity to the reading public of publishers about who they are and why they are -- from organization to acquisition and pricing policies, to target markets, to ... How many readers are aware of who is the publisher of what they read and the possible whys and wherefores thereof?

[Lark]

Sam wrote: "I like to think that despite the difficulties the best of the unpublished will eventually be shared and recognized. ..."

I think my view is a lot bleaker than what I wrote, actually, when I think about all the storytellers who will never have the opportunity to write their stories down and put them in a drawer because they have other work to do.

BUT I could have just as easily become cantankerous about the way publishers print way too many books, making it impossible for any one of those books, outside of a chosen handful each year, to have a great chance at breaking through the noise and finding the readers they deserve.

I'm fine with that problem, I guess, but it makes me a little dizzy and a little sad to go to my bookstore and see another five dozen literary novels on display that I won't have time to read and that will probably be sent back to the publisher as unsold in six weeks.

Some books I loved--I mean, really loved--of late that aren't getting the readers they deserve are

Agatha of Little Neon
The Scapegoat
On Fragile Waves
Gordo
The Glassy, Burning Floor of Hell

and I'd guess we in this group could all come up with our own unique 5 neglected books published in the last few months.

[Nadine in California]

lark wrote: "Sam wrote: "I like to think that despite the difficulties the best of the unpublished will eventually be shared and recognized. ..."

I think my view is a lot bleaker than what I wrote, actually, w..."

I'm happy to say my library system has 3 copies of Fragile Waves (one is on hold - guess for who?) and a queue of 13 for its two ebook copies of Agatha of Little Neon. (Guess who's #11.) The audio for Agatha is available, but I tried it and the narrator's voice didn't feel right to me.

[Lark]

Nadine wrote: "I'm happy to say my library system has 3 copies of Fragile Waves (one is on hold - guess for who?) and a queue of 13 for its two ebook copies of Agatha of Little Neon. (Guess who's #11.) ..."

Thanks Nadine! My library has a copy of Gordo that I saw on the 'new fiction' shelf when I was last there. And honestly it feels wonderful that so many books are being published and made available to me as a reader.

[Bretnie]

I hear that the UK publishes both paperback and hardback books at the same time. I wish the US would do that since I'd probably buy more new books if hardback wasn't my only option. (for print. I know there's audio and ebooks but I tend to use my library for those)

I don't know if publishing has changed or I have changed, but I like that more translations seem to be available than in the past.