Quote:
Originally Posted by dickloraine
Couldn't the "gate keeping" from publishers easily be replaced by other mechanisms (that already exist today)? I think not that many people use publishers in the way HarryT uses Baen. You could use recommendations of your favorite critic for example. Only read books recommended by people with similar tastes to yours, review blogs, goodreads, even amazons reviews and "people who bought this".
To say it in a more abstract way: Why not replace gate keepers with filters?
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That would require HarryT to acknowledge the difference between "Baen the trusted entity with similar tastes" and "Baen the publisher".
Now, I have no problem with him saying he trusts Baen and is happy to stick with their recommendations (what they feel is worth publishing).
But I think it is a little disingenuous to compare that to not-buying-indie-because-there's-no-guarantee-of-any-quality-whatsoever.
Because by the same measure, I assume he doesn't Just Buy books published by PRH, S&S, HC, Hachette, or Macmillan.
As I understand HarryT's position, it has
nothing to do with whether a book is indie or not, and everything to do with whether it is Baen or not.