How book publishing has changed

Yet another reflection on the changing industry. The entire article is highly recommended.

clipped from www.washingtonpost.com Turning the Page on The Disposable Book By Jonathan Karp Sunday, June 29, 2008; B01 M any years ago, as a new editorial assistant at a venerable publishing house, I was warned by a senior colleague never to use a certain word when telling authors what would happen to their unsold books. The forbidden word was: mulched. My colleague, a compassionate sort, worried that the word might shatter the fragile psyches of authors who had toiled for years on their manuscripts. It was better to let them believe their work was being discounted, or perhaps donated to some inner-city literacy program. Today a tactful publisher might simply invoke environmental concerns and emphasize the global imperative of recycling to prevent the melting of polar ice caps, in effect telling authors: Destroying your book will save coastal cities! We are living in the age of the disposable book. As I said, publishing is a business based primarily on blind hope.