What now for book publishers?

[Cam Winstanley]

Stormbreaker author Anthony Horowitz writes an interesting article in today's Guardian newspaper about the changing role of traditional book publishers:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2012/feb/27/anthony-horow...

Now I've never had a publisher (my only book's on Kindle) but what he says about support and advice does ring a bell. For a few years I had a very supportive literary agent who helped me through several drafts and even paid people to read and critique my book in order to shape and refine it. If having a publisher is like that but more so, it sounds like a great thing to have.

I also chuckled my way through his dissection of the ebook. I reckon I read about 20 Kindle samples for every book I actually buy and many of them start as badly as the one he chooses to pick on.

[minervaK]

I've never understood why writers don't put freelance editors through the same rigorous weeding-out process they use on us. Submit some of your work. If it's perfect, I might hire you. I feel the same way about agents -- show me your stuff, prove to me you're going to be the best match possible for my work. Why on earth would I pay today's rates to somebody who can't even write a grammatical sentence?

[Cammy May Hunnicutt]

:-)  I love it.

And sit on their samples for six months, then decide whether or not to respond at all?

[minervaK]

Egg-zackly.