How hard can it be to get a book published?

You know that SF publishing is getting tough when . . . This has got to be the most pathetic marketing attempt I have ever heard of. It’s a good thing that the author has such a level head. Apparently the book is the next Nostromo. Good luck, dude! You’re gonna need it!

Actually this post should probably be titled, “You know that the self publishing industry has gotten too big when . . . ” Self publishing is a neat way to get a few copies of a novel to friends and family, but unsavory characters out there are marketing their services to the desperate a bit too much. Most of them get you to sign a contract where they get a big portion of book sale receipts, but only after you throw down for the privilege of having the books printed. The more disreputable of these publishers usually forget that authors exist once the books are printed, and I suspect that is what happened with this guy. With the downturn in the economy I’ve seen a lot less of these books out there, but before things got bad I’ll be a week didn’t go by that I did not get two or three “offers” to read and review these books. I should also point out that in addition to shoddy publishing and marketing tactics, the books usually feature less than stellar authors. Just the price you have to pay when you buy a book that no real publisher wanted. Now that things have gone south I get a LOT fewer requests for a review from these guys. I wonder if its that they all went out to get real jobs, or are the publishing houses really suffering? Probably a combination of reasons. Most of these publishers seem to be on the up and up, but there are more than enough of them out there out to make a quick buck that it sometimes feels like the markets (especially Amazon) are flooded with these damn things. What I can’t understand is why after this many years there are still so many authors who fall for the line of crap that these guys are feeding them. Too bad.