Quote:
Originally Posted by emellaich
As I see it, publishers offer four services. 1) They weed out bad books. Take Baen: I know what type/quality of book I will get if it is published by Baen. 2) They provide a second set of eyes to edit and guide the book as well as proofreading. 3) They produce the book. 4) They market it.
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5. They distribute the book to brick and mortar bookstores, and accept returns of unsold books. Those are still very important to book sales. Not around here, but out in the world, yes.
It's already been mentioned about the stockholders--but remember, the "big publishing companies" are actually small fish in much bigger conglomerates, many of which (if not all, but I don't want to state absolutes and I'm too lazy to look it up) are owned by companies outside the U.S. The publishing companies have to be profitable. They have to pull their weight in the larger conglomerate. (Please note I'm not making a moral judgment here--just stating how it is.)
Also, most large publishing companies have smaller imprints within them. The imprints can sometimes do more to nurture the midlisters, and feel more like a small company-within-a-company. These are slowly dying out, however, as the larger companies close them down or fold them back into the larger entity.
From my own experience, each paradigm (big publisher vs. indie) has advantages and disadvantages. At this point in time, I don't think a definitive statement can be made that one or the other is better. In a year or so, maybe we'll see. But don't count the big guys out yet. No matter what your personal tastes might be, most books are still sold through them, and it will remain that way for a while yet.