Quote:
Originally Posted by calvin-c
That's when I see problems if we decide that publishers aren't entitled to a profit.
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Yea, thing is the market's changing.
For one, the darknet means that misbehaving slits your own throat when it comes to profit in a way which just didn't happen a few decades ago.
For two, there are new ways to find authors which don't rely on boom or bust major author funding. Baen's Universe didn't publish new authors for fun, after all. (Well it was fun
as well, but you take my meaning!)
Heck, John Ringo was found because he was part of the community around David Weber. The 1932verse's Grantville Gazette, and associated novels, grew out of a community.
More, bluntly, I am yet to be convinced that the majority of "publisher" functions couldn't be done work-for-hire, as they effective are in, say, much of the pen and paper RPG industry.
samstod - But why are sales like that? Oh yea, one factor: SHELF SPACE! This does not apply to ebooks... (screen space, yes, but there are ways to show things in ways which are considerably superior to a shelf...)