Quote:
Originally Posted by fjtorres
Moving forward, smaller publishers will be able to serve their authors and readers at least as well, if not better than big publishers. And there will be less pressure to join the big conglomerates.
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Smaller publishers may serve their authors and readers well but they still need to earn a profit. Several small and independent publishers have shut down operations in 2011 and 2012. The latest casualty is our own Neil at Bewrite Books who is closing in March. And he wasn't even taking a salary.
Small publishers have limited financial resources. If you want to publish 100 titles a year, you'll need a bunch of editors and support staff. You have to pay them before sales revenue appears, if it ever does. They can't afford to have a few clunkers or wait a few years for sales to pick up. They need lots of cash now up front and the small guys may not have access to it.
Whether big, medium or small it's not easy publishing a book and earn a dime at the end of the day.