As an author and a publisher, I often find myself in an ambivalent position. I know the problems publishers face in a crowded marketplace. I also recognize the gripes of authors against their publishers.

So I’m posting this little cri de coeur I found on the web. It’s written by a publisher, obviously, who shall remain anonymous, largely because I’ve lost the reference. But it does provide some insight into the always tortuous relationship between author and publisher :

“Authors really don’t like publishers. They don’t like us because we change their work ~ or force them to. We reject their titles. We dress their books in jackets they hate. We take custody of their manuscripts and refuse visitation rights. We don’t let them see or comment on marketing plans. We spend very little money or time promoting their books. Our royalty statements might as well be Aramaic. We don’t return their voicemail or e-mail. We don’t communicate and we don’t care. Sure, that’s an over-generalization, but it’s too close to the truth for comfort. It should concern us that so many authors feel this way about their publishers. And it’s our fault, really, for not communicating better about exactly what we do, and why.”

Shouldn’t all publishers have these insights?