[fjtorres]

The problem is gatekeepers know what sold not what *will* sell.

DUNE took years to find a publisher even though Herbert was a veteran writer by then. It took an auto parts catalog publisher venturing outside its niche to get it to market. Because none of the genre establishment houses wanted anything to do with what turned out to be one of the five best SF novels of the century. Which sold so much it spa w ned an "insta-sequel" to milk fan interest and has since spawned a horde of sequels, prequels, "side-quels" and derivatives. And that is just from its author and his family. Nevermind the imitators that found quick acceptance.

It is easy to list dozens of good to go money makers from established authors that had no appeal to their respective industry gatekeepers who were backwards-looking instead of forward looking.

History is littered with tales of writers, both genre and literary, that had to go beyond the establishment to get their visions to market. In fact, that is the same of arguably the most important SF anthology ever, Harlan Ellison's DANGEROUS VISIONS. By today's standards some of the stories are tame, some are still unacceptable to the establishment, but all are great stories by established authors stiffled by the gatekeepers.

For years and years, the mantra at the corporate publishers is "similar to xxx but different".
Similar to Star Wars.
Similar to Tolkien.
Similar to Harry Potter.
Similar to Twilight.
Similar to seven shades.
Similar to Song of Ice and Fire.
Similar to whatever sold last year, even if what sold last year was adult coloring books.