Because so many independent houses who could
take chances on unknown authors have either been acquired by royalty houses or gone under, the number of good writers getting deals continues to decline.
LYNN NEARY: During the Great Depression, publishers were looking for a way to encourage booksellers to buy more books and to
take a chance on unknown authors.
By offering books on KU, you lower the barrier for potential readers to
take a chance on an unknown author.
We're able to do this because requests from book publishing companies like ours are looked upon more favorably than
taking a chance on an unknown author.
It would lift all boats on the same tide if readers knew they could
take a chance on an unknown author and be assured of some semblance of quality.
All indie authors face the same struggle of convincing people to
take a chance on an unknown author: why should readers care about this story you've written?
Publishers wanted to encourage booksellers to buy more books and
take a chance on unknown authors, so they stupidly started allowing stores to return unsold inventory for a refund.