[drakonka]

I only skimmed this, have not yet read in great detail, but it made me think about backlists in indie publishing.

This is a thing for self-published authors as well, only we tend to take a more optimistic view on the backlist: a large backlist is more of a benefit than a challenge. It is necessary to keep putting out new books of course to get new visibility, but income stability comes not from readers buying your shiny new book - it comes from them buying _all of your other books_ after they read and enjoy the shiny new book. The backlist is generally considered king for a sustainable self-publishing career.

It does come with maintenance, however. As the post mentions, my early books are just not very good. Heck my new books are not very good either, but they're better than my early books. Likewise, covers and blurbs go out of date and need to be refreshed once in a while. It is work - but a large backlist is in the end what keeps you afloat.

[carlosjobim]

> Likewise, covers and blurbs go out of date and need to be refreshed once in a while.

Why? The reader understand that they are from another time.

[drakonka]

Genre fiction readers usually do not want something that obviously comes from another time. They want something that is just unique enough to catch the eye, but largely similar to whatever cover trends are currently popular.

[dsr_]

I think you completely misunderstand.

The people who want to read the complete Travis McGee series don't want updated covers. They want complete metadata and good search tools, so they can figure out that The Long Lavender Look comes before A Tan and Sandy Silence. The folks who are trying to hunt down ebooks of all the non-Fleming James Bond novels don't care much about the covers.

And if your epub reader software doesn't allow you to change the CSS to your own preferences, it's badly under-featured.

"Obviously comes from another time" is either a non-issue or a feature, not a bug.

[drakonka]

I'm sure this is true for some (maybe even many) readers, but this simply is not reflective of the larger genre fiction market today.

Most genre fiction authors, even those making a great living, are not writing the next Travis McGee - they're writing thrillers, mysteries, or romance series that will not get Wikipedia pages or be turned into TV adaptations. Readers will not discover their books thinking "Oh yeah, Series X by that Obscure Author Y, I want to read that specifically."

Instead, they will stumble across a book in their chosen genre on their Amazon search (or top 100 list) or a BookBub promo. At best, they'll see a recommendation on TikTok or a readers facebook group. Hopefully that book will catch their interest with a solid on-market cover and blurb. They will read it, and then (hopefully) check out the rest of the author's backlist from there - judging those books' blurbs and covers as well. If the author is lucky and skilled, the reader will turn into a superfan and sign up for their newsletter, making it easier to sell them new books in the future.

[cxr]

Cool story.

What are you actually arguing for/against here?

[drakonka]

I was replying to a comment I disagree with as part of this discussion thread, explaining why I don't think it is entirely reflective of reality. I suggest reading that comment for the context.

[squidbeak]

The same reason you repaint your fence occasionally.

[ses1984]

Your covers lose their protective coating and will rot due to moisture?

[brendoelfrendo]

That's not what they meant, but... yes, I suppose that is something that could happen to a book cover.