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@gmw. I don't doubt that you are correct on this. However, If Hitch is correct about cross-subsidies, and I think she is, it seems to make little difference to the discussion. If such cross-subsidies cease, then Publishers are faced with the decision of whether the advantages you refer to are sufficient to justify their continuation of these practices. Are they prepared to lose more money on printing loss making books, or will they no longer do so? Is producing loss making books both necessary and worthwhile to keep the resources in place for profitable books? Is the increased scale achieved by printing unprofitable books sufficiently cost effective to justify printing non-profitable ones? These are questions that they need to deal with. They will be competing with Indies who not only do not engage in such cross-subsidisation, but pay authors more and charge readers less.
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