What's Wrong With Publishing

Andrew Wylie (full disclosure: my agent for 20 years) , tells it like it is:

"The key point in the business is that the investment is made in the wrong areas in the business, and I think that quality which is more valuable over time has been undervalued, and quantity which is less valuable over time has been overvalued. And I think this is a reaction to the dominance of the influence of the chains. In England right now, this is a catastrophe. The retail side is leading the business by the nose, and publishers have not reacted with sufficient strength, and they should have. And so the business in England is just in the tank basically."