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Originally Posted by taosaur
EDIT: Okay, admittedly a bit trollish  But to pursue the question further and avoid "arguing taste," is it even reasonable to present Baen as an example of traditional publishing? |
In what specific way would you consider them not to be a traditional publisher? They sign publishing contracts with authors, and publish hardbacks, paperbacks and ebooks.
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Isn't nontraditionality of selection, promotion and distribution a substantial part of their shtick?
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Not that I'm aware of. They are a traditional publisher specialising in SF and fantasy, just as, say, TOR and Ace do. In what way would you regard Baen as different to TOR?
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Maybe they're playing some kind of gatekeeper role, more in terms of subject matter than quality, perhaps...
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I'm afraid I disagree. Baen certainly act as a gatekeeper in quality terms. Amazon is full of appallingly bad SF. The reason I buy Baen's monthly bundle each month, sight unseen, is precisely because 20-odd years' experience has taught me that they publish books that I enjoy. I see nothing remotely funny about that even if you do.