Corporate Dominance in Book selling... have you noticed decline in quality, originality at the bookstores?

Question

Big book agents have been telling me that they cannot always sell books they are passionate about, as they have in the past. I am wondering if this has something to do with the Corporate takover of independent presses. I think big corporate presidents who are not passionate about literature would favor authors with media connections. And would also favor so called "formula genre" books over originality and great literature. Has corporate takover helped publishing or has it damaged what was a good thing? What do you think? Have you noticed a declline in quality over the past few years?

Answer 1

Several years ago I worked as a buyer for an independent bookstore, and I think the corporitization of the industry has caused several problems. It actually takes place on both ends. It is not only the publishing conglomerates but also the corporate bookstores. While I was working at the store, I believe it was book magazine, that rated the most influential people in publishing. Oprah was # 2 and the buyer for Barnes and Noble was #1. If Barnes and Noble won't carry a book, it probably won't get published unless it is by an independent press, and currently there is really only one large market distributor in the US for independent presses. It is unquestionable that the big store demand for genre fiction and media related books has silenced many important voices in literature. I would suggest seeking out the small publishers that you like and purchase directly from their website or find an independent store which will special order those titles for you. If we don't support the small guys we may lose those books altogether.

Answer 2

It is about money. What an agent is passionate is not necessarily what the public will buy in large numbers. Agents tend to be more literate than the general public. The cost of printing books has grown considerably. Many books are now being printed out of the country - adding the cost of transportation to the printing costs. Publishers know what sells. They know that a volume of poetry isn't going to come close to the newest high body count James Patterson or Dean Koontz.

They go by the book proposal more than the manuscript. It may be a lovely manuscript, but if the book proposal doesn't show a strong reader base, they are going to pass.

And as an author, you should appreciate that. If they publish your book and 2/3 of the copies end up in the bargain shelves, you lose money. You make no royalties on anything sold in the bargain area. ZERO. You are giving your work away. The idea is to publish books that do NOT show up in bargain bins. That is a win-win solution. The publisher makes money and the author makes money.

The smart author today spends a lot of time reading best seller lists and browsing bookstores. They know the market. There is little sense in them putting out esoteric material their agent loves but the public isn't buying.

That doesn't mean that there isnt a lot of originality in bookstores. Sure, there is the usual pre-teen formula crap with bratty rich kids and more than a fair share of fantasy. But the stuff that makes the bestseller lists IS original and for the most part well written. Are you a sell-out because you write successful murder mysteries? Hardly. You are savvy author.

I read quality material every day. And I like to think I write quality material too. Don't knock success. It beats poverty every time.

Publishing is a business like anything else. Would Tommy Hilfiger put out ugly clothes nobody would wear? Pax - C

Answer 3

They have a product to sell. Plus increase in communication, lifespan, and general education has created a ridiculous amount of people wanting to write stories and publish them. The industry simply can't publish them all and are forced the tried and true "genres" in order to keep going.

The good news is, with the proliferation of the internet, anyone can be heard in any format. So the decline of the hardcopy, corporate published book is inevitable. It may be crude, but at least places like youtube and myspace allow any artist to communicate their message in ways unheard of 20 years ago.

Answer 4

I hadn't noticed, buy, yes, now that you mention it....The genres of books seem to be collapsing into more on economics, how-to's, literature, sci-fi, children's, and fewer on radical alternative ideas, emotional books of any type, even positive books! (See all the negativity in books lately!)
Also much less high-quality writing, like "The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table"..Essays are primarily found in textbooks, these days...

Answer 5

I've noticed it happening--yes. Corporate takeover has influenced the market for both good and bad reasons.

But lately, I have seen books' quality and content start to lag behind, and it leaves me to wonder just WHO these people are publishing?

Make no mistake about it: There are some GOOD, WELL-WRITTEN, WORTHY-OF-CROWING-ABOUT-books.

But they are a small minority.