[crossi]

It isn't that publishers don't provide a service it's their arrogance that sets my teeth on edge. If I hired a contracter to improve my house by adding a porch the contractor wouldn't be entitled to dictate how the porch should be and certainly it wouldn't own my house and be able to dictate if I could sell it, when and for how much.

In the current set up because the publishers have so much power to prevent one's book from reaching the market they can force on authors terms that essentially gives the publisher ownership of your book and from which they toss the authors a few crumbs.

If I had a book I would want to say forget an advance instead I'll pay upfront for the services I want to buy. And I might not buy all the services I want from the same publisher. I might buy editing from one and promotion from another promoting competion for my business. In any case the proper relationship is that of any other paid for service provider. Like the guy who fixes your plumbing or adds a porch to your house.