Pre-comment-disclaimer: I recognize that there is a lot of America between California and New York. I recognize your existence, non-coasties. You are the delicious inner brownie to the crispy brownie edges (do you prefer "innies"? The coast types can be "outies"). I think you are super great.
Anywho, Nick Reding said his publishers discouraged him from doing book promotion in flyover states, because they don't believe that innies buy books. Boo to that. Also, if you read the longer interview, I don't think that calling your publishers "dumb fuckers" helps your future with said publishers.
Innies, I know you're out there reading (I have Google Analytics on this sucker, and it comes with a sweet map overlay). What say you? Do you feel the disdain of outie publishers?
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I'm nearly coastal but the Southeast definitely qualifies as "fly over" for the NY/LA set. Here's the thing. A gillion people who moved to NY or LA moved there from Kansas, Wyoming, Ohio, etc. They probably moved because they weren't all that thrilled with their digs. So, yeah, there is some attitude. So what? We make fun of damn yankees all the time. Doesn't mean I wouldn't jump on a plane to NYC tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI also think this corporate decision is not because the unwashed masses here in Middle America don't read. It's because we are not as densely populated. If it costs just as much to fly to Des Moines as it does to fly to LA but LA has five times as many book stores where are you going to get more bang for your buck? Plus, LA and NY are where the trends get set. No one is reading the Omaha, NE newspaper book reviews.
Nope, we aren't stupid in fly over country. We know how to stretch a dollar. And we can tell that you coastal weirdos do, too.
Seriously? I'm an innie who used to be outie and I much prefer Denver to the East Coast. A publisher saying that a geographical group doesn't buy books implies that said group isn't very bright. I have a Ph.D. so I'm not a total dumb-ass and I'm part of a book club where almost every member has an advanced degree. We all read and buy books constantly - I just dropped several hundred bucks at Borders this week alone. So there are plenty of us non-coastal dwellers who buy books - and I have to say that of course the best part of a brownie is the warm center! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat does he mean by 'promote his book?' Pay his airfare? I'm halfway certain that the dumb fuckery is his inability to understand 'people there don't read' really means, 'you're not worth the expenditure.'
ReplyDeleteI am an Innie. OHIO. But we're referred to as "the best location in the nation" (that would be Cleveland, where I grew up) and "America's heartland", and it seems every presidential candidate is overly eager to gain our approval as one of the "deciding" states, so I've never felt the hate, I guess.
ReplyDeleteUntil now, of course. Thanks.
"There is such a vast gulf between publishing and what people actually want to read about"? So calling bullshit on that one.
ReplyDeleteRejectionist, there _is_ a vast gulf between publishing and what people actually want to read about. It's called literotica.com.
ReplyDeleteProudly an Innie, I have to politely disagree. We read, write, and buy books. I'm guessing Harper Lee, Ernest Hemingway, Margaret Mitchell, Stephen King, Anne Rice, and a few others might as well.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't seem a logical conclusion to draw that we Innies don't read if in fact it is that we write so much. Just saying.
I live in Portland, Oregon. So I'm not a coast, but I'm more than 1000 miles from LA. I don't think many publishers view Oregon and Washington as fly over states. It rains all the time here, so people do a lot of reading. There are far more author readings in town than I can attend.
ReplyDeleteI am currious though how cities are chosen for book tours. Why would Seattle make the list but not Denver. It may rain in Seattle, but is snows in Denver. So wouldn't those people want to hunker down with a good book too?
Wow, that is harsh. I'm just going to pop some popcorn and wait for the innie pitchfork mobs to assemble :). Love to you guys from the Pacific Northwest!
ReplyDeleteIf you read the article carefully, it does not say that the publisher doesn't think Middle America reads. It says they did not want to pay for book tour stops there. The author assumed this to be due to the elitist mentality of the publisher. I assume this to be due to the cost associated with flying to five different cities to potentially have the same number of face to face interactions as one trip to NY.
ReplyDeleteWhat the hell?! I mean, what do they think we do in the winter in MN? It's not go to the beach that's for sure. And reading while ice fishing is awesome.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, tho, i have not read the article