3w ago

Book publishing

46 comments

It’s a reasonable concern for a publisher. A book being good doesn’t necessarily sell books. But having a famous name on it does.
- You can be a master with 30 years experience in something like pottery, but you will make less money than an amateur who started doing pottery this year who has even a moderate Instagram following if you don't have any social media presence.
  You have to whore yourself to the masses if you want to make money in art or literature.
  
  Instructions unclear. I've literally whored myself to the masses and I don't know how to make pottery.
  
  But you probably made lots of money. :)
  
  Money?
  Maybe the real money was the diseases we caught along the way
  
  You should've watched "Ghost". Whoring yourself AND pottery.
  
  angry upvote
  
  You have to whore yourself to the masses if you want to make money in art or literature.
  I think that has been the case since forever maybe. Most people use the verb to market because it sounds less awful, but it's not like a medieval painter got a job without having made a name for themself. Same for dancers, actors, scriptwriters etc. It is much easier to sell people people food and beer and sweaters and baskets and whatnot. Marketing your work is as essential to running your business (= making a living) as managing finances. I can understand you don't like this, but it's not really been different.
- Isn't it literally the publisher's job to figure out how to turn a good book into a marketable book?
  
  No. It's their job to make money. If they don't think you'll make them money they won't waste resources on you.
  
  So they're bad at making money, noted

46 comments