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Originally Posted by darqref
Again, numerous times the corresponding comeback is "Baen is a special case, and others can not do the same".
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Pretty much.
Baen is not
unique in that many genre publishers can benefit from similar approaches. IIRC Harlequin has an ebook subscription offering, as well as deals every Friday.
However, the reason why this works for Baen and Harlequin, but not a more diverse publisher, is that in the former cases it is the publisher that is the brand. If you subscribe to something at Baen, you pretty much know what you're going to get, why you want it, and why you want it from them.
99% of the time, though, the only entity the reader actually cares about is the
author. Unless there is a problem, readers couldn't care less who's publishing Stephen King's books.
As a result, the larger publishers will use other promo devices like offering one title by an author for free on a temporary basis or pushing the author to do a publicity tour.
As to "author access," that's a mixed bag. On one hand, IMO it's beneficial to authors to cultivate and engage their audience, and it's likely getting harder and harder to get published without already bringing an audience to the table. On the other hand, authors should not be treated like trained seals who need to perform for an insatiable audience. Thus, I'm not entirely convinced that a publisher demanding author access, and controlling that outlet, is 100% in the author's best interests -- as opposed to, say, offering professional advice in audience engagement as part of a PR / marketing package.