Feeling a Little Guilty

Today's column over at RTB is a good one. It's interesting to see things from an agents perspective.

“Publish to the market” is how I’ve heard this philosophy described at one company. “We must publish to the market, and we can’t ignore the dictates of the market.”

Don't you just want to smack the publisher that says this?

But where was “the market” when the first person wrote the book that created said trend? Simple, it didn’t exist. It took the forerunner—the Big Risk Taker—to pave the way. If I’ve heard it said once, I’ve heard editors say it a zillion times: “We want to find something fresh and different.”

I picked up Laura Leone's Fallen From Grace yesterday at the UBS, and I'm now feeling guilty about not ordering it new. It obviously falls under the "Big Risk Taker" category and is published by a small publisher. Her dedication says it all:

This book is dedicated to my editor, Russell Davis, who is smart enough to believe that romance readers want a good story more than they want a safe one.

I started reading this last night but got side tracked watching the AFI Best Movie Lines. And, of course, I feel asleep right before they did the last 10. I picked the book back up this morning and since it's raining and Junior now has a full blown cold, I'll try to get some reading in between the whines and complaints.

Have a great day, happy reading.