tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36271824.post2288685392289772561..comments2024-03-25T10:22:04.995-07:00Comments on Ed Gorman's blog: Matheson; Trotsky Forever; Future PublishingEd Gormanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06126267358266480356noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36271824.post-19054466654864331762008-05-16T17:02:00.000-07:002008-05-16T17:02:00.000-07:00Mitra is seriously off-base. Royalties on a New Yo...Mitra is seriously off-base. Royalties on a New York-published $24.95 hardcover book are still ten, twelve and a half, and fifteen percent, based on volume-- not a buck or thereabouts. <BR/><BR/>Publishers and agents aren't simply "middle men." They perform valuable and absolutely essential services in the creation of a book. Editors select and vet manuscripts, copyeditors discipline them, proofreaders make essential corrections and publishers market them. Agents are vitally important gatekeepers. These functions are crucial, and can't be trumped by Amazon's technology.<BR/><BR/>The flood of garbage from vanity and self-publishing enterprises is simply driving readers toward brands and house names they know and trust. Technology may flood the marketplace with ersatz books, but it is also making traditional houses more important and more commanding than ever as savvy readers learn to avoid the junk.<BR/><BR/>Richard WheelerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com