What are eBooks?

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Geralt

It was a typo. Chill.

Well if what they publish is rightwing military sf and fantasy, they are pushing an agenda more then doing some gate-keeping.

Please take your Liberal complaining to the P&R section.

[HarryT]

I'm a "liberal" (by American standards, at least ) and I very much enjoy Baen's output

[ApK]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'm a "liberal" (by American standards, at least ) and I very much enjoy Baen's output

...and even if it was not your cup of tea, I suspect you would not be posting complaints about them being some sort of political shills just because you happen to disagree with the slant of some of the fiction they publish.

God forbid anyone publish something Geralt doesn't agree with, they must not be real publishers!

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ApK

...and even if it was not your cup of tea, I suspect you would not be posting complaints about them being some sort of political shills just because you happen to disagree with the slant of some of the fiction they publish.

God forbid anyone publish something Geralt doesn't agree with, they must not be real publishers!

There are one or two authors I don't particularly like: some of John Ringo's stuff in particular, because it is rather "right wing", but that's very much the exception to the rule that I enjoy pretty much everything Baen publish.

[Geralt]

I never claimed exclusively. I said mostly. In any case I wouldn't know for sure, it's just an impression I got. I was simply inquiring. I don't buy from them, their covers put me off. They are so trashy, and always with some guns, tanks or something like that.

[Geralt]

APK thank you for jumping the gun.
Anyone can publish what they want. Far be it from me to censure anything. I honesty hate the PC police. I don't get my panties in a twist every time someone doesn't agree with me.

However you have no right to tell me where I can express my opinions on a publisher. And I certainly have the right to choose who I will buy from.

So one word for you. Chill.

[HarryT]

Their covers do tend to be a little "retro", I agree .

[cvkemp]

I believe you have to read and study both sides to understand where you belong.

[pdurrant]

Moderator Notice

A reminder that political discussions may only appear in the (opt-in) Politics and Religion forum.

Thank you.

[taosaur]

While I was taking a bit of a cheap shot at Baen for being less than selective about who and what they publish, my salient point was more that they've built much of their following on unorthodox distribution models, like the "webscriptions." Citing them as an example of traditional publishing seems a bit like citing Segway as a traditional transportation company.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by taosaur

While I was taking a bit of a cheap shot at Baen for being less than selective about who and what they publish, my salient point was more that they've built much of their following on unorthodox distribution models, like the "webscriptions." Citing them as an example of traditional publishing seems a bit like citing Segway as a traditional transportation company.

Baen publish paperbacks and hardbacks that are distributed via Simon and Schuster's network, and are available, as they say, in all good book shops.

They are most definitely a traditional publisher. So traditional, in fact, that they still have a slush pile.

They are also innovative in the electronic book sphere, having produced ebook versions of all(?) their releases since 1999. But that doesn't change the fact that they are a traditional publisher.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by taosaur

While I was taking a bit of a cheap shot at Baen for being less than selective about who and what they publish

Can you explain why you believe them to be "less than selective" about what they publish?

[Apache]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Can you explain why you believe them to be "less than selective" about what they publish?

Probably because he doesn't think that publishers should publish books by authors he disapproves of. I wonder if any publisher has ever published an author that everyone approves of?
Apache

[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?

[ApK]

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?

Yup, I've made that argument as well. It's an important function, but like printing, editing, and the rest of the publishing process, it does not intrinsically require the old BPH model to accomplish it.