Thank you for taking the time to answer the #dearpublisher questions. I know what you mean about the “internet bitching.” I hesitate to bring up ebooks at times for that very reason.

I know that I don’t expect the backlist titles to magically appear as ebooks, but I am pleased to hear that they are on your radar. There are a lot of older books that I would like to read (and re-read, for that matter)!

Thanks again for the insights!

And it’s reflected in this blogpost. It really irked me when so many people were saying: don’t just publish the popular stuff / market the popular stuff. Excuse me, but as readers, when have we become SO lazy that we don’t actually look and see beyond what is on the 3 for 2 tables? I have found favourite books by spending a lot of time looking through shelves and picking up books and trying books I thought I’d never like, only to find myself falling for them. Also, tied in with this: independent bookshops tend to be the places where you will find a variety of different books, books that aren’t widely promoted because they can cater to their unique clientelle.

It’s pure laziness, in my opinion, for readers to accuse publishers of only publishing popular / in vogue books. Look further than what you think you see and you’ll be surprised what you may find.

Erm. That is all.

Always good to resist getting drawn into internet bitchfests, they seldom change anyone’s opinions and just look bad.

But also nice to read your replies to some of the questions.

It’s also nice to see a publisher look past pure visitor numbers when assessing a blog, and consider content, style, connection with readers… I am often asked by PRs to provide visitor statistics before they decide whether or not to send me a product, invite me to an event or whatever. I usually ignore it but occasionally try and explain that, to my mind, it’s just not logical to try and judge a blog on the same criteria as mainstream media.

A national print publication - newspaper or magazine, for example - may reach many thousands of people. But of those readers, how many will actually read the product review in question? And of those, how many will have a genuine interest?

But I like to think that a blog like mine, whilst it may only have a few hundred visitors a day, has a more targetted readership. The people who visit are actively looking for opinions on the topic in question.

I know that some of my restaurant reviews have resulted in readers visiting those restaurants and that my cookery book reviews, where I’ve enthused about the book, have resulted in sales.

So I’ve appreciated reading your comments!