Books that sell vs. books with literary merit

Even before the economy tumbled, the publishing industry has always been between a rock and a hard place (please pardon the cliche`). It’s the old problem of publishing popular books that sell really well, but have little (if any) literary merit. Or, publishing great literary works that won’t appeal to a mass audience, thus not selling well at all.

I was reading through my blog roll earlier today and I read this post from Nathan Bransford, a blogging literary agent. I think he makes some good points:

But it seems to me that if you think the publishing industry should publish more books with artistic merit… that isn’t exactly a sure route to a better bottom line. Either the publishing industry should focus on the bottom line and it should publish what sells, or it should cast profit to the wind and publish what it feels are the best books period.

Mr. Bransford continues:

Or, better yet, a mixture of the two. Which is basically the industry you have now. Is it perfect? Nuh uh. Could the publishing industry be smarter? Yuh huh. But better commerce through lack of commerce is not a very appealing path to restoring the health of the industry.

I think he has it exactly right: The publishing industry needs to publish both types of books – ones that have mass appeal and make money, and then ones that are more literary. And he’s also right in saying that the industry isn’t perfect and can do a lot of things better.

Don’t get me wrong, I usually groan and a little part of me dies when I see the types of fluff that make it onto bestseller lists. But publishing is first and foremost a business, and in business, profits are usually the name of the game. When a publisher decides to buy a book, it’s making an investment with the hopes that it will get a healthy return on its investment.

In the end it becomes a fine balancing act. Publishers need those books with mass market appeal that might not have any literary/artistic merit. But they should also take risks by publishing books by new authors and trying to keep some literary integrity in their editorial standards.

What do you think? Are publishers striking a good balance between books that sell really well and books that are a little more sophisticated? Or does the entire industry need a makeover? Let us know your thoughts below by leaving a comment. And don’t worry, I usually don’t bite!

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