Quote:
Originally Posted by tompe
I really do not get how it can be known that there is not political influence. From my point of view a lot of crappy books seems to be published which seems to support my suspicion.
A lot of good books also are published but all of the books I have read from Baen that have been well written and very good have not been right wing books.
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We can of course never know for certain what role a publisher's politics plays in selections by any publishers. It just seems to me that a publisher with extreme views, right or left, who allowed those views to influence choices of what to publish would not be publishing anything contrary to those views, except perhaps for the odd token. The sheer variety of what Baen publishes tends, in my view, to show that political views have not unduly intruded in selecting what to publish. That you personally don't like a book does not mean that it is of such poor quality that it should never have been published. Particularly in the case of very popular authors such as Kratman and Ringo, who sell large numbers of EBooks and are also quite prolific.
The basic problem I have with the original article, as pointed out by other posters, is that it attempts to tar all of Baen's books with the same brush, which can ultimately, if taken seriously, damage Baen and some of its authors unjustly. Perhaps it is just coincidence that the Guardian sits on the opposite side of the political fence. Please just keep buying from Baen and, if you believe their right wing books are not "well written and very good", steer clear of them. Baen has plenty of other books to choose from which are not right wing and are therefore free of any suspicion, founded or unfounded, of publication for political purposes only.