Quote:
Originally Posted by Liviu_5
Actually genre fiction is what's keeping publishers in business on the fiction side. Literary fiction is losing money, but genre makes enough to keep everyone happy.
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Still, mainstream publishing people are often quick to dismiss any business-related comparison between mainstream publishing methods and genre publishing methods. They simply see it as a different market, with completely different consumer dynamics, different marketing methods, etc. "Yes, but that's genre" generally ends the conversation right there.
That's why I find two recent developments of particular interest: One is the popularity of a few recent titles that can't exclusively be dropped into the "mainstream", "literary", or "genre" bins that are, nonetheless, drawing readers from all of them. The other is Harlequin's broadening of its imprints into more diverse categories and taking their e-business model with them.
Genre publishers are leading the way toward whatever e-book movement is coming. The second wave will come from the small presses, because the major publishing conglomerates just aren't willing to take what they see as a big gamble. Safe roads generate small, but dependable, dividends for the stock holders.