Comments on: R.L. Stine reveals that publishers are censoring books behind authors’ backs https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/r-l-stine-publishers-censoring-books-behind-authors-backs/ ARC Book Reviews and Author Services Sat, 01 Apr 2023 11:38:12 +0000 hourly 1 By: Ellen cassidy https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/r-l-stine-publishers-censoring-books-behind-authors-backs/#comment-672502 Sat, 01 Apr 2023 11:38:12 +0000 https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/?p=8488998#comment-672502 In reply to Venus.

thank you for your comments. Just as I thought I gave up querying too early (after two months last year), I read this, and I feel better. Writing can be so disheartening, whether indie or not, but at least if I get thrown under the bus, it’s ME doing it.

]]> By: Venus https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/r-l-stine-publishers-censoring-books-behind-authors-backs/#comment-672310 Fri, 31 Mar 2023 15:19:14 +0000 https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/?p=8488998#comment-672310 Publishers have always done this type of stuff but it happened mainly BEFORE publication. I was a trade author for years and minority authors went through this all the time. They always wanted to whitewash our books, change our characters, and make our stories more “white” so they could appeal to a “mainstream audience” because trade publishing’s misguided and racist view is that “white” people are the only ones who read or white people won’t read books with people other than themselves, which is an offensive thing toward white people and minorities. It’s also only ONE example of publishers not knowing what readers want but always acting as they do. Unlike self-publishing, trade pubs don’t talk to readers. They don’t engage with the reader or their market. They talk to booksellers and librarians, not the main chunk of the audience buying books. Had they ever done that they would be more knowledgeable and not assume they know more about what readers want than readers. That is the prime example of publishers’ arrogance. They’ve always thought they knew more than anyone else about readers when they really don’t know anything. They need to study the indie side because indie publishing has left them miles ahead in terms of trends, pricing, engaging readers, being artistic, being authentic, etc.

But, yeah, I hope this doesn’t surprise anyone. Pubs have always been sneaky and they care only about themselves, not the author. They will do anything to your book to either make more money or to cover their butts. They don’t care if it infringes on an author’s creativity or their words. You hear all this crap about “Pubs care about books.” Not anymore. They USED to. Publishers and editors in trade USED to care about books but now it’s money. The old publishing days are gone. You don’t have those dedicated editors who fought for authors like back in the day. Many pubs now have so much turnover that an author’s book is doomed before publication. It used to be you were stuck with the editor who signed your book and loved it. Now? They offer you a contract if they feel it can make money, they don’t even have to like the books now. The writer could be a machine and they wouldn’t care if you end up spitting out the next Twilight.

So, for the newbies thinking this is like the 90s when pubs nurtured an author’s career, HA. Those days are gone. More than before you are nothing but a number and there is no more nurturing. If your book doesn’t make a certain amount of money quickly, you are either dropped or thrown at the bottom of the heap where you get no publicity, no bookstore/library placement and no push.

I do hope newbies who want to go into publishing read this but I find so many of them who wanna go trade still have those delusions of grandeur. They still look down on being indie and think if they just buckle down, be patient, and search for an agent for 10+ years, they will finally get a deal. It is a million times harder to get published by a big house today than even 5 years ago. And most likely you will be midlist or lower midlist and making no money.

It is infuriating how money has taken over publishing and ruined it. So of course, they care less about creativity than before and it’s sad. But again, this is business now. I advise any author to go indie. Even if you don’t have money there are ways. The trade-publishing machine is NOT your friend and censoring, whitewashing, etc. is only a tiny tip of the underhanded stuff they do.

As for censoring, I’ve never seen a reader who wants that. A story is a story. It’s FICTION and the author should be free to express themselves for the sake of the story.

Newbies better pay attention. Who knows how the trade-publishing world will look 5 years from now because it looks pathetic now, but if you want to be ahead of the curve and actually be able to control your own destiny (at least to a point) then trade publishing is not for you.

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