SPD, Author's Equity, and Distribution

#Slatepitch!

First, let me start by saying I’m going to make some points partially because I find, in the discourse around publishing that comes into my feeds, a uniformity of opinions, and I think it would be salutary to add some “but actually” arguments. Trigger warning: not your expected takes below? (Also, this is a post that is going to assume you are up on the latest controversies in publishing. If you are not, I suggest—as always—you get a subscription to The Hot Sheet, where Jane will always start from the beginning and walk you through.)

First, let me tackle why I’m not torn up about abrupt closure of SPD.

• This was the least surprising news. The writing has been on the wall for a long, long time. If presses they distributed were shocked, they either had not done their research or felt they had any other choice (not a wrong feeling!) No one should have been shocked.
  

• SPD was not necessarily a friend to small presses in that they have long been known to have had terrible working conditio…