Don’t Miss Out On All The Fiction You Can Get

There’s a web radio program called Writers’ Roundtable, where (gasp!) they talk about writing a lot.

In their July 3 show, they interviewed John Lescroart, who happens to be a favourite of mine, and also a fellow International Thriller Writers member.

But before the interview, the host mentioned a statistic that dropped my jaw.  She casually commented that more than 80% of fiction, these days, is published by small presses.

Wow!

Think about that.  New York publishers, and all the titles they churn out every year, is only a miserly 20% of the entire output of the fiction industry.

I’ve contacted the producers of the show, to get more information on this astonishing fact — like, where they got their numbers — and will report back when I get an answer.

But I thought I’d mention it now, to give you something to think about.  If you’ve always bought your novels at the local big-box bookstore, you’re restricting yourself to a teeny portion of all the fiction available to you.

Maybe it’s time to branch out and experiment?

If you’re already a devoted consumer of fiction in all its many shapes and sizes, tell me what your favourite source for novels is, and why — perhaps your endorsement will help the more timid readers try an alternative source, and perhaps discover a brand new keeper author.  Feel free to mention your favourite authors!  I’m not the jealous type, and I can trade favourite authors with the best of ‘em!

First appeared on Stories Rule, 2008

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© Tracy Cooper-Posey 2008. Cannot be copied or distributed without permission, or without this copyright notice attached.