[IncPen]

Check this out...

[D. Brian Carter]

Not only do the small houses have to find new talent and be creative in keeping established authors, they have to find a way to pass on their legacy if and when they decide to sell-out. If the persons involved are truly committed to conservative and libertarian ideals, something has to come before the Almighty Dollar. When the day comes when the big houses come knocking on the door to buy these printers out, some assurance needs to be made that the tradition of the company will continue.

[RLK]

New talent will be difficult to find. On the whole, I'm not impressed with the quality of conservative writing.

[Dr. Scarpetta]

But will it work? Can liberal publishers really bring themselves to nurture conservative talent? Can they resist the temptation to censor, castrate, water down and otherwise abuse conservative authors?

It's hard to believe that it will actually work over the long haul.

[alloysteel]

Even if the type gets set, and the printing presses start rolling, and a number of books do get bound, the publisher orientated against conservative thought (assuming any kernel of conservative philosophy was not edited out of the manuscript to begin with), not much effort will be put into merchandising the product. Distribution will be almost directly to the discount tables and bargain bins.

The degree of respect would be something Rodney Dangerfield would spurn.

[foreverfree]

bump

[Tamzee]

A wonderful analysis of the challenges conservatives have faced with mainstream publishers... IMHO this is a large piece of the puzzle which helped liberals gain such a stranglehold on our society.

BTW, I just went to Amazon.com to purchase your book "The New Underground: How Conservatives Conquered the Internet". I've been waiting for it to show in stores and just tonight decided to pre-order it so I would have it immediately upon becoming available. To say I'm greatly looking forward to reading it would be like saying the sun is just a little warm ;-) Just as an FYI to you, Amazon won't let me pre-order the book, however... I'll try again another day but thought you might wish to know that if you weren't aware of the situation.

[fish hawk]

Great article Richard. I see you still drop in at FrontPage Magazine once in awhile. That is where I first read your works. Aloha from a rare breed: an American Indian Conservative.

[nutmeg]

FYI

[Travis McGee]

Outstanding website Richard. I really appreciate your up-frontness in putting the large Free Republic link front and center. So many columnists, talk hosts etc obviously lurk here to mine the cutting edge ideas, and then pretend they don't know us in "polite company."

I am wondering about publishing conservative fiction? A quick example. Clancy (I am no fan of his writing, but a big fan of his success) simply could not get The Hunt For Red October published in New York, and eventually convinced the tiny Naval Institute Press to take a flyer with their first work of fiction.

Another route to try is that taken by John Ross, author of Unintended Consequences. He has sold about 60,000 massive hardbacks through Accurate Press, a tiny publisher of technical gun booklets.

I have written a second amendment novel set in the near future, "Enemies Foreign and Domestic," which I am self-publishing and selling only via the internet and gun magazine ads. I don't have the years to spend pleading my case with the anti-gun liberals on 5th Avenue.

Are any of the conservative publishing houses you have listed considering branching into conservative fiction? I wild note the success of the extremely badly written "Left Behind" series within the Christian conservative demographic. There is a market out there starving for good conservative fiction!

A very well written second amendment novel could also be a great success, harking back to Clancy, and his unpublishable (in New York) pro-military Hunt For Red October.

How many books have Chris Lehane (SP) and Tom Clancy sold?

[Travis McGee]

Publishing Ping.

[GOPJ]

bump

[Lee'sGhost]

Are you the answer to a prayer? I've written an historical fiction and have just about decided to go the Internet route because I'm getting nowhere with the usual suspects. I truly believe it is largely because publishing is SO dominated by libs, especially females, and I happen to be a male who has, by all accounts (except lib agents) written a great book.

I have two anecdotes that are actually different versions of the same situation. The agent says, "You write just like John Grisham (the other agent said Nicholas Sparks).

"That's great!" say I.

"No," says the agent. "I hate the way he writes."

AAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

Just like Ann Coulter I'm thinking, "I thought your job was to get books published.

If anybody knows ANYBODY who give a good historical fiction a chance, please let me know.

Frustrated in NC.

[GOPJ]

I want conservative books -- science fiction that isn't silly, political books based in facts not "feelings", fiction reflecting my tribe and movies with "Key Largo" type villains rather than evil incarnate glorified as "smart".

I want conservative restaurants where the music is for the patrons not the wait staff. I want conservative communities, homes, and furniture. Someone has figured out that we're a market. A large, rich, totally ignored market. This is the tip of the iceberg.

[GOPJ]

I want conservative books -- science fiction that isn't silly, political books based in facts not "feelings", fiction reflecting my tribe and movies with "Key Largo" type villains rather than evil incarnate glorified as "smart".

I want conservative restaurants where the music is for the patrons not the wait staff. I want conservative communities, homes, and furniture. Someone has figured out that we're a market. A large, rich, totally ignored market. This is the tip of the iceberg.

[GOPJ]

night bump

[WOSG]

Great article. I look forward to seeing this run in the New York Times Review of Books .... NOT!

Seriously, it seems that there is a lot more than money-making involved in publishing. I have enough resources to start up a conservative publishing house. Should I try? It seems the big names keep destroying the conservative press and shutting it down. but that smells like business opportunity to me.

good luck with your new book.