Big publishing houses are broken

I was at a Barnes & Noble signing books. A man came up. “You wouldn’t believe my life. I’m going to write a best seller someday,” he said.

“Go home, sit down, and start writing,” I told him. I knew he wouldn’t, but some do, and some craft excellent works that die at the hands of dream killers. Big publishing turns away fresh voices, the talented, and veteran writers. Kudos to Elle Griffin for her exposé, “No One Buys Books.” It reveals the brokenness of the big publishing industry.

In 2022, Penguin Random House wanted to buy Simon & Schuster. The two would have made up 48 percent of the market share. Sensing a monopoly, the Justice Department’s Anti Trust Division brought a case against Penguin. A 13-day trial resulted, during which the head of every major publishing house and literary agency testified. Their disclosures painted a landscape of hopelessness. U.S. District Court Judge Florence Y. Pan blocked the $2.2 billion purchase, elating Stephen King who objected to the merger.

NPR reported, “For Penguin Random House and the New York-based publishing world, the trial in August proved an often uncomfortable airing of business practices, internal disagreements and missed opportunities. Executives on the stand spoke of bestselling works they failed to acquire and acknowledged that most books don’t make money.”

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