I’m constantly surprised how much outdated thinking persists in publishing.
Not just newbies. People who have been in the game for years and are still using a 20th century playbook when it comes to gatekeeping, marketing, and editorial/creative. I also see a lot of denialism about the state of the industry, which is really holding publishers back, along with readers, authors, bookshops, and others in the ecosystem, as evidenced by this piece on the recent Big 5 trial that was highlighted by Publishers Weekly. The trial had an alarming stat about how few trade titles are sold (“50% of books published sell fewer than 12 books”). The conclusion by this observer?
it means these statistics are completely meaningless unless we know what’s being included. Are you counting lifetime sales or one year’s sales? One year’s sales for frontlist titles or backlist titles? Only Big 5 books or anything with an ISBN?
Completely meaningless? These data may not be finely segmented, but they point to serious problems in the industry which I have been highlighting for years. Green-lighting books based on “gut.” Underspending on marketing, or spending in the wrong areas. Poor creative decisions.
We can do better, people.