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stxopher · 02-07-2010, 01:12 PM

All this talk of Baen vs Status Quo Publishers seems to have missed another key difference between the houses: the authors themselves and how they and the company see's their works.

From interviews and articles from and about most of the big Baen names, they seem to see themselves as writers telling stories that they want to tell to people who want to read them. More than a few seem to actively seek feedback publicly on the company forums and will actually talk about future plans. They expect to have a voice in how the company does things with their books and take active participation in how things flow. They don't write "bestsellars" as much as "books". They don't seem to expect a large advance but DO expect a good percentage of the profits derived from their work.

Most of the names I see on the Big Houses seem to be promoted as "authors" who have written (or let their names be associated with) "books of the decade" or the "new bestsellar" (with the "bestsellar" built into the first edition jackets since it was already decided that it was going to be one before it was released). The books seem to be promoted as a vehicle for the "author" instead of a product from a "writer". (Cripes, does that make sense to anyone other than me? Maybe I need more coffee.)

Baens writers seem to have this odd idea that once a book is written, it will keep making money for them as long as it's around (either in direct sales in the case of one shots or as advertisement for series) and so act as if it's a long term investment.

The other large houses? They seem to present the books as a one time sale offered now. Anything not made now will never be made up. If it doesn't sell now it won't really sell later at the same rate so they lose interest in supporting older titles. So they sell at what they can get now and if it makes money later, well that's nice too but not really considered into things since people will only spend1 $15-30 on new books, not ones that have been out for months. They seem to see the business this way and so do many of their employees.

If you really want to see a major difference in the attitudes, go to the Baen fourms (Baen Bar) and note how often you are talking to the heads of the company about things (including errors in the books themselves). They even have a slush pile! How many publishers have the nerve to do that?

Then go to any of the others to check their forums (if they even have one). Note the general change in atmosphere.

You can say Baen is successful due to it's being a niche publisher but that minimizes the work that the authors and staff themselves put into it. Baen doesn't sell strictly to stores but to stores and readers. And if you look around in other "niche" markets I think you will find more of them starting to sprout.

That is something that could hurt the older houses more than anything in the long run since most of the more casual readers I know just read in one or two niches so if they find a comfortable home, why stray?

02-07-2010, 01:12 PM	#71
stxopher Nameless Being	All this talk of Baen vs Status Quo Publishers seems to have missed another key difference between the houses: the authors themselves and how they and the company see's their works. From interviews and articles from and about most of the big Baen names, they seem to see themselves as writers telling stories that they want to tell to people who want to read them. More than a few seem to actively seek feedback publicly on the company forums and will actually talk about future plans. They expect to have a voice in how the company does things with their books and take active participation in how things flow. They don't write "bestsellars" as much as "books". They don't seem to expect a large advance but DO expect a good percentage of the profits derived from their work. Most of the names I see on the Big Houses seem to be promoted as "authors" who have written (or let their names be associated with) "books of the decade" or the "new bestsellar" (with the "bestsellar" built into the first edition jackets since it was already decided that it was going to be one before it was released). The books seem to be promoted as a vehicle for the "author" instead of a product from a "writer". (Cripes, does that make sense to anyone other than me? Maybe I need more coffee.) Baens writers seem to have this odd idea that once a book is written, it will keep making money for them as long as it's around (either in direct sales in the case of one shots or as advertisement for series) and so act as if it's a long term investment. The other large houses? They seem to present the books as a one time sale offered now. Anything not made now will never be made up. If it doesn't sell now it won't really sell later at the same rate so they lose interest in supporting older titles. So they sell at what they can get now and if it makes money later, well that's nice too but not really considered into things since people will only spend1 $15-30 on new books, not ones that have been out for months. They seem to see the business this way and so do many of their employees. If you really want to see a major difference in the attitudes, go to the Baen fourms (Baen Bar) and note how often you are talking to the heads of the company about things (including errors in the books themselves). They even have a slush pile! How many publishers have the nerve to do that? Then go to any of the others to check their forums (if they even have one). Note the general change in atmosphere. You can say Baen is successful due to it's being a niche publisher but that minimizes the work that the authors and staff themselves put into it. Baen doesn't sell strictly to stores but to stores and readers. And if you look around in other "niche" markets I think you will find more of them starting to sprout. That is something that could hurt the older houses more than anything in the long run since most of the more casual readers I know just read in one or two niches so if they find a comfortable home, why stray?