Maybe There Are Too Many Books

I don't know what it's like to promote music nowadays. It just might be easier than it was ten to fifteen years ago, because far fewer people are creating it. Or it might be more difficult, because no one really cares about music anymore. There's a music forum I used to be a part of---I actually made some good friends there, and we'd interact every day. Now the site is trying to become a hub for music licensing, and it's all about beats (or "beatz"). Its discussion board doesn't even have a country music section anymore. Thankfully, I deleted our band account a few years ago. I wouldn't want to be associated with that place now.

By contrast, everyone is publishing books, and yes, that includes AI. Producing music used to come with some cost. A creator had to invest in instruments and recording gear; also decent microphones and some rudimentary soundproofing. The list goes on. One doesn't undertake music creation unless they're either fully committed or filthy rich.

Books don't have to cost a penny to publish. There needn't be any monetary investment to publish a book. One needs a computer, yes, or a phone, but everyone has those already. Those aren't a publishing expense; they're an everyday need. And luckily, they also work for book publishing.

Yes, to actually sell books, an author needs to (usually) spend some money. But I'm not talking about the serious writer. I'm talking about Average Annie who decides on a whim to write and publish a book. There are a ton of Average Annies out there. No offense to Annie, but she's clogging up the system. 

At least when I was promoting our music to music libraries and for TV and film, my competition was a bunch of great musicians, or great songwriters who hired someone competent to record their songs. With books, my competition is Average Annie and Subpar Steve. And more and more, AI. 

No, I don't advocate charging authors to publish their books. First of all, that wouldn't preclude bad writers from publishing, unless KDP began charging $1,000, which would preclude me. And I detest gatekeepers as a rule.

KDP and Draft2Digital, along with IngramSpark, are in the business to make money; I get it. They're not charities. D2D has begun charging authors an annual fee if their book(s) don't earn at least $100 in a year, but that $12.00 fee, while galling, won't deter anyone but bulk AI uploaders. So far, the other two big guys charge nothing. What KDP and IngramSpark gain by publishing books that don't sell, I can think of nothing but good will (?) 

And I don't want to get into the realm of a corporation determining "quality" and thus salability. My novel is a quality product, even though it hasn't sold. 

I don't know the answer or even if an answer is needed. I do know that I've read a lot of slop previews, especially from Goodreads authors, Terrible, awful previews. But I suppose the marketplace will sort that out. 

In the meantime, Annie and Steve are making the rest of us look bad.