The Business: The Collapse of OldPub By Convergence Is On Schedule

The leading Latino voice in Science Fiction, Jon del Arroz, has good news.

The numbers aren't lying, even if the Death Cultists do without a hint of shame.

They can't sell, so they cost the publishers money to publish them, and as that sweet SocJus venture capital isn't coming their way the results are plain to see: declining fortunes, followed by consolidation, and eventually the sole survivor will buckle under the weight of all this parasitic consumption of the institution and down it goes at last. We've already seen the Big Six become the Big Four, so it is happening and faster than some would expect.

Even Amazon--already afflicted--is noticing and that's why it isn't doing what it can to artificially boost these books; Amazon's margins are thin, and even with access to that ESG money it's too tight to go hard on cooking the books (hah), so the languishing is allowed to be seen by dissidents and competitors like Jon here. You can bet that publishers outside the Cult's control also see these numbers and enjoy some schadenfraude.

In short, we are winning, but we haven't won yet.

This is good news indeed, and it's time to step up support for our clean alternatives at home as well clean competitors abroad. The sooner we finish this fight, the sooner we can begin rebuilding a stronger successor.