Ayup -- like I mentioned to wishfulclicking, above, you'd think an organization ostensibly run for and by writers wouldn't mangle communications this badly. Hell, you'd sort of even expect that they could write their way out of a paperbag. Instead, they're stuck in the paperbag and trying to defend what is really -- overall -- a pretty indefensible position.
Yeah, sales, okay, I got that, it's a bad economy (don't I freaking know it), but that's just not the basis for these things. I mean, sure, there were best sellers twenty, thirty years ago that rocked the publishing house, and if you put the titles in front of me now I'd stare at you blankly. Short-term sales records do not automatically define long-term classics, and besides, if you're on the losing end of the sales charts, don't freaking use it as justification! You're going to lose.
It's like the publishing world's version of bringing up fascism, or something. There's always someone who's sold more books than you, and will use your reference as grounds to claim this means they're better than you. And I really think that needs to be an internet-publishing law, of some sort, but no idea what we'd call it. Hrm.
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Date: 30 Sep 2009 05:42 pm (UTC)Yeah, sales, okay, I got that, it's a bad economy (don't I freaking know it), but that's just not the basis for these things. I mean, sure, there were best sellers twenty, thirty years ago that rocked the publishing house, and if you put the titles in front of me now I'd stare at you blankly. Short-term sales records do not automatically define long-term classics, and besides, if you're on the losing end of the sales charts, don't freaking use it as justification! You're going to lose.
It's like the publishing world's version of bringing up fascism, or something. There's always someone who's sold more books than you, and will use your reference as grounds to claim this means they're better than you. And I really think that needs to be an internet-publishing law, of some sort, but no idea what we'd call it. Hrm.