Dear Vonda
I toally agree that the problem is largely one not so much even of publishing
economics but publishers' perception of what the market for books should be
(i.e. more important that x no of people should buy the heavily marketed book
within a few weeks of its appearance even if they don't finish it or even read
it (Hawking's History of Time, anyone?), rather than that ?% of x should buy
it, love it, and recommend it so that it gets a slow building word of
mouth/e-mail list rep). (I heard somewhere that this was in some part due to
some change in warehousing expenses?)
Not unique to genre/fiction publishing of course: general plaint in academic
circles that publishers are not interested in the serious research monographs
which advance debate/state of knowledge but want text-books/collections of
synthesis-essays which can be marketed in 1000s to the expanding (though how
long for in the UK under current changes in higher education system)
undergraduate market. The upside to academic publishers is that they do tend
to realise that it may take some time for a scholarly work to take off to the
point where it's being set as course reading and therefore keep it in print
longer than a general press: sad saga of a friend of mine who has published a
brilliant work on English feminism and sexual morality 1880 to 1914 (Lucy
Bland, 'Banishing the Beast': highly recommended), with Penguin, and just as
it's being assigned for student reading, it's gone out of print. The downside
is that the books cost more!
I suppose it is a question of how people get into reading sff in the first
place: for me (looking back) I suppose that, apart from the usual Narnia books
and so forth as a child, it was picking up 'The Left Hand of Darkness' in the
local public library after Le Guin's Newbery (?) prize for 'Wizard of
Earthsea' had been reported (and the book reviewed) in the 'Guardian'--very
early '70s? Rather a haphazard process. How one promotes this--apart from the
word-of-mouth process--I've no idea. Especially as the particular books one
person loves may turn off another who might nonetheless be a potential
'convert'.
Lesley
Lesley_Hall@classic.msn.com
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