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I don't see any other institution being to fill this essential role of a publisher, and unless someone can come up with an alternative , I for one am rooting for the continued existence of the major publishing houses.
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Patronage and commissioning seemed to work fairly well for hundreds of years.
And publishers haven't "gambled" for quite some time. The hype machine makes sure they will
at least recoup their investment. I mean, when was the last time you heard of a publisher losing their ass on an author they were "betting" on? So it's not so much "picking a winner" as it is "manufacturing a winner." Unless you believe that best seller lists strictly represent what readers are asking for.
If they decide to publish someone's book, it
will succeed... but not necessarily due to their trained artistic eye for great literature.