#PublishingPaidMe

topple statues instead of issuing statements

I trust most of you are aware of the #PublishingPaidMe movement this week, and would understand and likely agree that the hashtag levels too many complicating factors. (One advantage of us being a smaller group of paid subscribers is I can make more assumptions about you readers.)

I’ve been angered to see clear disparities in Big 5 advances offered to Black and white authors. I’ve been angered seeing misperceptions about advances, which are only one kind of royalty, and the absence of discussion of other sorts of royalties. I’ve been angered that advances per se seem to be the only operative determinant of a book’s value to the world, or to a press. And I’ve been disappointed at the weak, superficial responses by “publishing insiders” to the events of the past week as well as the month.

What do I want to add to this conversation? I’ve been going back and forth on that. A few things first:

—If your goal is to write the most commercial book you can, and have the biggest marketing power b…