Quote:
Originally Posted by khalleron
The big publishing houses are no different from any other corporation - no one thinks 20 years or even 5 years down the line. They think no further than the quarterly and annual reports.
They have to score big NOW, because no one stays at a company longer than they have to - they're all looking for advancement and to polish up their resumes.
Which is the real reason the midlist is dying and the big pubs are only looking for the next big blockbuster. It has nothing to do with the quality of the writing or the fanbase of the author. It has everything to do with the short-term bottom line.
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Corporations have to look at quarterly and annual reports, and at longer term goals as well. Some do that better than others. Although I fail to see how pruning underperforming authors is ignoring the long term: if an author has consistently sold 15,000 per title in the series, I don't see any reason to assume that this is going to change.
As for only looking for the next big blockbuster - the big publishers are putting out 80,000 titles a year. Of course they want the next big blockbuster, too - ignoring money-making opportunities is not the key to success in any business.