Society of 'sure things'

 

Since the dawn of time humans have competed in races. whether its horse racing, sports teams, grades in school etc. People have always had David and Goliath battles with many taking a chance on the underdog. But for some reason in the publishing industry taking a chance on the under dog is no longer the 'in thing'. No they prefer to back Goliath in battles to ensure they get 'sure thing' sales, completely compromising the art that is writing into a neat little box of 'this storyline works', 'this troupe sells', 'oh this author has been around for decades (even when their books are no longer as good as what they used to be)' or 'This person has a strong fan base - it will be easier to get their audience to buy books'.

So when did we as a society stop backing the Davids of the world?

Tom Brady is unequivocally one of the greatest athletes to ever walk on the face of the earth. Was he draft pick number one? heck no. he wasn't even picked in the first round. He was a complete punt by the Patriots and pick 199. So had the patriots not given him the chance that they did, would they have won 9 superbowls in the last 20 years? 2 of them being back to back? probably not. He is just one of the many many examples i could produce of people who were the underdog given an opportunity and went onto greatness. From someone taking a simple chance on someone.

As more and more people turn their hand at writing, agents and publishers are becoming more and more critical. Before submitting a manuscript or book they ask : Have you won any literary awards? no. Have you been recommended by an author? no. *intake of breath* well i just dont know if your writing will cut it. Not to mention you try to explore different ideas and troupe compared with the 'sure thing' books that convert into millions of copies sold. They care more about what your image could be then judging work fairly, because they know that so many people are turning their hand at self-publishing. Agents and publishers alike look for sure things before they look for 'the next fabulous author'. At the end of the day, Publishing is a business - but when did it become more cut throat then modelling?