Lynne Patrick
Isn’t it time Hachette and A***** settled their differences?
I say this not because I really care about the fate of two large corporations who make far more money out of writers than writers do. Nor because I fully understand what’s going on between them, though not so very long ago I would have made a lot more effort to find out.
No. It’s because I’m getting bored with seeing the whole damn shooting match drag on, and I want to see something more meaningful make headlines in the book trade press.
I make no secret of my feelings about the dreaded A*****, and nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see them punched (metaphorically will suffice, if it must) in the gut, and since Hachette rule about half the world’s publishing, if they can’t do it it’s even money nobody can – though speaking as a staunch believer in the kind of indie publishing that’s more interested in good books by talented authors than in making a quick buck by screwing somebody to the wall, I’m far from sure they’re any better.
And yes, I realize I may have just scuppered any vestige of a chance I might have had of a) persuading several major publishers that my magnum opus novel is worth a punt, or b) getting it listed on the biggest sales network if that unlikely eventually were ever to come to pass.
But you know what? I’m not sure it matters what I say. And if I’m honest, I’m not sure it ever did.
When I was in publishing, I trod carefully, watched my mouth, kept my opinions to myself. Mostly. I still remember one potentially ill-advised blog post which I regretted pretty much as soon as anyone had had time to read it. I was feeling pretty t-d off with a certain bookshop chain which I won’t name again (for the record they’ve cleaned their act up recently, so I probably could, with impunity), and I let fly without a thought for any consequences. To this day I don’t know if there were any. On mature reflection, it’s far more likely that neither my big mouth nor the tiny company I ran even registered on the consciousness of any large corporation.
People sometimes ask me if I miss being in the thick of things. The answer is twofold. One, insofar as I ever was, no, I don’t miss it. And two, I’m not sure I ever was anyway; I tiptoed around the edges, not quite daring to bang on the door and gatecrash the party.
I certainly don’t miss gazing despondently at the figures each month, and wondering why such brilliant, talented authors weren’t up there at the top of the bestseller lists. I mean, a great book is a great book, right? It speaks for itself, and doesn’t need a six-figure marketing campaign to make people notice it.
If only.
But overnight success can take years, and the cream of the crop I helped to plant are still on the journey. And up there in the big empires, the Hachettes, Random Penguins (or whatever they’ve renamed themselves), HarperCollinses and the others who would be annoyed to be left out, they are still the ones that really matter – the ones who make it all happen. Because, let’s face it, without writers, everyone at those sprawling conglomerates would twiddle their thumbs all day, at least until the redundancy notices were served.
So hear this, Hachette, A***** and anyone else it may concern. Get your priorities right, and remember who you owe it all to.
If you’re listening, of course. Then again, why would I think you’d break the habit of a lifetime?
PS I’ve just realized I completely forgot to thank Chris Nickson for covering my two weeks away with his usual style and efficiency. Sorry, Chris; blame the jet lag.
And for the record, Chris is one of those authors mentioned above. His books, and there are quite a few, really, really shouldn’t need that six-figure marketing campaign. http://chrisnickson.co.uk/
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