I mentioned a hilarious bit from the Bookseller in yesterday's post. But for the rest, reading the Bookseller was more depressing than reading a war bulletin or Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure.
Literary agencies are losing money – United Agents £2M, PFD close to £1M, Aitken Alexander £850K, Sheil Land £75K, Curtis Brown £14K – bookshops are going bust (Borders, Wesley Owen, not to mention dozens of small independents) or making major losses, authors' advances are being eroded, major ebooks wars are being waged, the cost of paper is going up 30%, Gordon Brown . . .
Who is making money in this industry? No one, apparently. Or rather, evidently. Does the publishing industry – or at least the publishing industry as we know it – have a future? I am becoming more and more pessimistic by the day. Maybe I am just getting old.
Bookseller, please give us some good, life-enhancing news!
AG
Blimey, that list includes two of the three agents I've just submitted material from my thriller to! I'd better start gathering some lucky heather.
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