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Some justifiable whining for a change

Publishing professionals have to walk a fine line with their authors where disclosure is concerned. How do they explain where the author’s book really stands in the in-house sales, promotion, and editorial hierarchies without damaging their professional relationship with that author? According to a piece on novelist M.J. Rose’s Buzz, Balls & Hype blog, too many publishing types appear to be erring on the side of caution, to the point of cultivating ignorance in their authors about what to expect when their books finally hit the stores. Rose writes: “Very few editors, publishers, or publicists ever tell authors what is really going on…. Most of us go into the dark the minute our agents negotiate our first sale and stay there the rest of our careers. So we don’t find out when our book has been all but abandoned pre-publication. Or that there was poor sell in. Or that the coop’s been scrapped.” Though Rose understands why this happens, she doesn’t think that keeping authors in the dark is much of a long-term strategy.

Related links:
Read the Buzz, Balls & Hype piece

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