What Is The Value of Traditional Publishing?

I admit I don't have an answer for that question.  A year ago I would have said that's where the money is.  But if you can't get to the money, then it has no value.

I understand very well that unpublished authors would like to be verified in some way.  If you are published traditionally that says you're good enough.  If you're not published you're obviously not good enough.  Then how do you explain me and so many published, professional writers who can't get editors and agents to reply to query letters?  Are we to believe our work is substandard?  It will be difficult to convince me of that.  We're not current enough?  May I remind you that my bestselling book is 30 years old.  You could argue that our work is not "marketable". 

I don't want to play these games anymore with them when there's a legit game in town called digital.  I'm tired of jumping through the hoops, I'm tired of being abused and mistreated.  Maybe I recognize these situations when they're happening better than someone who hasn't been published and is so eager to be accepted.  I can't understand waiting for a year for an editor to reply on a pitch for a 2nd book for them.  Two words.  Professional Courtesy.  It doesn't exist anymore.  Okay.  Fine with me.

I don't even want to think about my knitting book with Alpha/Penguin, it was such a disaster.  But let me say this--my advance was for $18,000.  The company couldn't even bestir itself to get it into the chain stores.  I still "owe" them $16,000.  You cannot do enough marketing on your own to counteract what the publisher won't do.  Because of the first editor on the project, the book was 18 months late and missed the peak selling interest in beginner knitting books.  There's no amount of websitery or blogging you can do to counteract that reality.  My interest in making them money by additional blood, sweat and tears waned rapidly as this project progressed.

$16,000 is a lot of money to earn to pay them back (at pennies on the dollar) for their mistakes.  I had to pay for all the supplies, a good camera and 2 different illustrators.  I had to pay the agent.  I wound up with nothing.  Am I suppose to invest my own money to make them money now?  Am I supposed to take out a loan to pay them back so we're even?  (No, they're not asking for the money back, that's not how it works.)   Should I set up my own book tour?  Hire a publicity agent?  The answer is no.  This book was 2 years of upset and it's an embarrassment.  This is how you get authors fleeing from traditional publishing.

by me