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Bestsellers 'tyranny' attacked

The obsessive hunt for sure-fire mass market bestsellers is "tainting" the UK publishing industry, according to Clare Alexander, president of the Association of Authors' Agents.

She launched her attack at a Royal Society of Literature debate this week on the "tyranny of the bestseller". Hosted by broadcaster and author Libby Purves, the panel also included Faber c.e.o. and publisher Stephen Page, author Tracy Chevalier and Bookseller deputy editor Joel Rickett.

Alexander criticised the culture of ghostwritten celebrity books and the rise of the misery memoir, arguing that these genres have "tainted publishers' minds". She pointed to Coleen McLoughlin's mooted move into fiction as an illustration of this "inert, cynical market".

She contrasted the current television-focused UK non-fiction bestseller charts with the more serious titles on the New York Times list: "We have the stupidest bestseller list in the world at the moment." Publishers are not trying hard enough to creatively market less well-known authors, instead relying on 'Richard & Judy' or literary prizes, she said.

Page responded that the industry has evolved to compete and reflect popular culture. But he agreed that the search for bestsellers is becoming an "fixation"—rather than extra bonuses, they have become "crucial to publishers' survival". He is "worried" by the ever-widening gap between small sellers and bestsellers.

Although Page conceded that even Faber "cannot publish without a supermarket in mind", he maintained that having books in such retail environments has been a breakthrough in delivering literature to a wider audience.

There was agreement among the panel that word-of-mouth is still the most powerful force. Marketing and publisher's hype can push a book so far, but only personal recom­mendation can generate major successes.

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By Siamese

Have to agree, speaking as one of the untapped resources. I am a member of both Writer's Net and Lets Get Published. Both of these organizations are filled to the rim with undiscovered authors, yet slim to few are chosen. We research, query, write, re write and eventually blog ( mine by the way is: siamese-mylitstyle.blogspot.com) to get our works published by any means. And yes, shameless plugs to our blogs. These days that I have found to be much more effective than trying to get an agent which is the only way to be published. So what we have here to borrow a quote, "Is a failure to communicate."

22 Nov 07 16:14

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