IRL Academics

So... the publishing business is a business. A large part of the work is business-related work. Like FILING and ORGANIZING and making sure everyone has been PAID or has paid us. Then there are the two people of our seven-people team that do creative-type stuff. Like designing books and then actually CREATING them, which is really simple-ish.

Academics-wise, I'm learning from books and some few other things. Like, for-profit publishing houses (The ones everyone knows: Panguin, Random House, Del ray) do actually choose books to publish based on if they think it is "marketable" or sellable. Will it make money? It it what the PUBLIC WANTS to read? Meaning they may be sacrificing quality (which is a rather subjective term, anyway, though one could pretty much say that there is terrible writing. But perhaps not. Bad writing could be a new, grungy form of novel that appeals to more people and speaks truth! Whatever. So, basically, there is always at least one person that can call a book 'quality.' ARG!!) for popularity. And then the non-profits (which are obessed with money, also) are definitly mission-driven. AT least Kore.

So, what you should get from this short and full and convaluted blogpost is that it is pretty much recognized by scholarly people that for-profit publishers reject some quality books because they will most likely (though who can really see the future?) not sell very much. And that there are people who say the opposite, and defend the non-quality choices of Houses. Also, that business are concerned with business, which can be dull.

~Samone