Quote:
Originally Posted by gmw
I can't say that I've ever considered following a publisher, and it's very rare that I know who edited a book (I've only ever seen that listed on rare indie publications). I certainly do follow authors - which, I imagine, is why publishers/agents are happy to push already published authors but are so reluctant to look at new authors.
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This.
I have read 100's of books, and I do not think I could name all of the Big6 never mind tell you if I liked them. I do not even think about any editor until I started writing and learning about the process. In my experience, and that includes everyone I know offline... people follow authors, not publishers. For example Tom Clancy is an author whom I enjoy. So if I am in a book store looking for a book and see his name, I will stop and grab the book to check it out. I could not tell you without a Google search who his publisher is. I HIGHLY doubt the vast majority of his readers could, otherwise books in stores would be organized by publisher and not sorted by author.
I do not see publishers as gatekeepers of quality/etc, no more then do I see Walmart as such. Publishers have tremendous choice in what to put out and they put out what they think will SELL not what they think is GOOD. They are in business to make a profit, not to distribute stories to entertain people.