The novel industry has always been a bit odd in that respect. How do you publicize a book? You go on book tours, TV spots, and radio shows. The author advertises themselves, not the books. The idea seems to be that people buy the books for the authors, not for what the contents might be.
Even this sort of self-advertisement doesn't seem to have much of a footprint on the internet, with most publicity therein being arranged by the authors themselves without any assistance from the publishers.
Perhaps its an offshoot of the mentality of the publishers that they're not so much in a partnership with the authors, but are doing the authors a favour by printing and distributing their works.
Perhaps. It just seems to me that this is the wrong way to go about it. Stereotypically writers aren't PR people, they're not comedians, and I find most recorded 'writer interviews' boring unless they're talking to someone who I already admire. These skills don't overlap with what makes a successful writer.
So yes, the system is broken, but given that writers are supposedly very creative people? You'd think that we could start finding new ways to do things. Why haven't I seen it? Or am I just that odd with my techno-art cross-classing?
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Even this sort of self-advertisement doesn't seem to have much of a footprint on the internet, with most publicity therein being arranged by the authors themselves without any assistance from the publishers.
Perhaps its an offshoot of the mentality of the publishers that they're not so much in a partnership with the authors, but are doing the authors a favour by printing and distributing their works.
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So yes, the system is broken, but given that writers are supposedly very creative people? You'd think that we could start finding new ways to do things. Why haven't I seen it? Or am I just that odd with my techno-art cross-classing?
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