If I was to order for Pegasus Books every book that looks good--and that's like every other one I see--I'd be buried in unsold books. For me to pull the trigger there has to be something else; a known name or series, a stellar review in the NY Times, a personal interest in a subject, a request from customers, a cover I can't resist and so on and so forth.
That doesn't mean the books I didn't order aren't probably just as good as the books I did order--they probably are--but means I have to find a way to sift through all the offerings.
Imagine an agent sifting through hundreds of authors, except instead of being able to order a couple hundred books a week like me, they can only take on a new client every few months, or every year, or every decade, depending on how deep their roster of authors already is.
It's not the book an agent is taking on, though that is the entry ticket, but the author. Meanwhile, the Big Five publishers will not accept any offerings without an agent, with a few exceptions. Agents are the Gatekeepers for the Gatekeepers, making it an arduous, time-consuming, and it must be said, somewhat arbitrary process.
I'm reading a book by James Blaylock, one of my favorite authors: "The Knights of the Cornerstone." He's a wonderful writer, whose writing is so smooth and effortless that it's pure pleasure to read. I suddenly had an urge to orders some of his books but there was only one title available through Ingrams.
That seems to happen a lot. Authors I love, who are without a doubt extremely good writers, don't have any books available to buy.
I'm asking you--what chance to the rest of us have?
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