Highlights of this article include: Jack Kerouac’s agent inventing the idea of parasocial relationships with authors in order to sell his novel, publishers refusing to give out review copies and the optimistic prospect of writing communities that exist beyond the market.
Sorry, our illiterate society pivoted to video
Shoulda started a YouTube channel instead
Kinda sounds like the system is broken Idk
A publicist at a major publishing house (who requested anonymity) says that before the pandemic, they would have mailed “thousands” of advance reader copies (ARCs) to tastemakers in publishing, media, and bookselling, ensuring a buildup of industry buzz over several months. Many publishers realized they saved money by switching to digital galleys during 2020, when reviewers’ mailing addresses were changing and warehouses were short-staffed. “Now I’m lucky if I get seventy-five galleys,” that publicist says. “How am I supposed to ‘make’ a book if I don’t have galleys?”
Yeah absolutely lmao.
“Our fractured media environment” == ‘weh the kids all cut cable because it’s shit and now stuff is atomised!’
Love the acknowledgement that the NYT bestseller list is mostly celebrity ghostwritten books, lol
