A. D. Jameson & I have been conversing via comments on this post, talking about Indie v. Major House publishing. It is an old old old argument, sure, but here is something new to address(in my opinion):
“… [in the indie presses] there’s a very, very, very, very, very strong emphasis on consuming products. And there are many, many, many, many, many products to consume. It’s a real onslaught. I respect that many people want to write/publish, but surely there are other ways of sharing work other than just sell/buy…”
That’s true. I push Mud Luscious Press titles hard because I want people to read them. I want people to buy them & then talk about them. I want more people to buy them. I want more people to buy them so that I have more revenue to put out another title. Then I want people to buy that one (etc.).
This buy / sell mentality is not counter to the dominant book culture – but what can we do? Seriously, I’d love to hear your ideas – if Mud Luscious Press or any other Indie press were to attempt to subvert the dominant book culture while remaining economically viable, how would we do it?