He also suggested that articles that have been rejected by one publisher should be sent out to the next publisher the same day that the rejections are received. On the other hand, several authors confessed that rewrites account for between 50-95 percent of their work. All in all, the panelists agreed that the publishing industry is rough, tough, and very commercial . . . With a long career in the literary business, Janell Agyeman started as an editor with Doubleday Books, and currently conducts her Miami-based literary agency in association with Marie Brown and Associates, located in New York. Sales are down for all categories of books.
Publishers are more conservative than they have been in the last twenty years.
The media synergy has to be right. Big publishers have become conservative because of the cost of doing business. Small publishers and independents may be free enough to be mavericks, but even they are constrained by shelf space. Editors no longer want to edit. They are marketers, known for their taste in literature.