Quote:
Originally Posted by Hitch
Y'know: I spent 40 minutes writing a reply to this, and realized, it's fruitless. I'd be fascinated, however, to hear why, exactly, publishing is somehow "different' than the car analogy. What is the difference, precisely? Why isn't Author A in competition with Author B for that buyer's $3.99?[...]
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Because the equation is not as simple as it is for cars (not that it is necessarily simple for cars either).
VydorScope touched on the obvious point: most people only buy one car and then they don't even go car shopping again for years. By that time there's a good chance the first car is now out of style and I'm trying to sell the next edition. Lose to the competition and you've lost that sale forever. With books, especially the often less expensive Indie publications selling for a few dollars, a person may well decide to buy both, or if they don't, Author A may lose to Author B today, only to win against Author C next week. AND in another year to two time, Author A may win against Author D with book 2, and as a result also gain a sale of book 1 (something that is very unlikely with cars).
Another point is that Car Manufacturer A is only in competition with a handful of others. Whereas Author A is not only in competition with Author B, but also with every other author that has ever published a book in a similar genre. Collectors of vintage cars are relatively rare, readers of classic books are very common. In some respects this makes the competition worse, but it also makes it much less direct, and much less of a personal "I must not tell Author B my secrets".
And a third point is that there really are secrets in manufacturing - things that Manufacturer A may know or be wanting to try that Manufacturer B doesn't even guess at. About the only "secret" an author may have is their idea for a plot or character - and many can be very protective of that - BUT even in that regard it is unlikely to be truly original (stories have been told for ... who knows how long.), AND every author would create a different result from the same beginnings anyway. There is very little that is completely new. What some see as secrets to success in marketing etc. are rarely secrets. Sometimes it is simply timing and luck. The main things that will make a difference between Author A and Author B are not secrets, and I think most published authors recognise that.