[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.