Subject: Re: (urth) GW sightings
From: matthew.malthouse@guardian.co.uk
Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 08:47:32 +0100

On 14/08/2003 03:57:09 Lisa Schaffer-Doggett wrote:

>On Wednesday, August 13, 2003, at 08:43 AM, MBS 808 wrote:
>
>> at the end of the day, even senior editors at one of
>> the largest SF/Fantasy/horror publishing houses find
>> themselves at the mercies of big media accountants and
>> marketing types that insist a book is only as good as
>> its initial six months of sales.
>
>Technology will change this, I think.  Just like with the music
>industry, it is becoming less and less expensive to do things yourself
>with a good degree of quality.  And as the world becomes smaller and
>smaller (barring apocalyptic calamity) marketing becomes cheaper as
>well.  It's only a matter of time before the myth of literature
>existing  only through the graces of a publishing house loses it's
>meaning.  Almost everything prior to the twentieth century was self
>published and I think it will go that way again, with the added benefit
>(or curse depending on your view of the masses) that those of small
>means can find the funds to bring their cherished works to print
>without interference from anyone on high.  Still, I would dearly love
>to see a leather bound, single volume edition of BotNS

  It's too big!  Two volumes, yes.  But one would be too prone to 
damage in reading.  (Unread books are not books, even "prestige" 
editions.)

>                                                       as well as UotNS
>and the rest.  Of course, that's not likely to happen unless GW prints
>them himself.  (I for one would pay the exorbitant price to add those
>to my library.)

Well there was (is?) that Vance complete works.  I was tempted but at the 
time couldn't guarantee having usd 1,000 or whatever it was available when 
it would have been needed.

However the idea might be sound: a subscription edition with intended 
print over-run.  The runs sold on and any consequent profit on the 
production returned to the author as royalty and initial subscribers as 
refund.  Copyrights might be a headache though.

Matthew

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