[ SECRET POST #6112 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #6112 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


01.



__________________________________________________



02.



__________________________________________________



03.



__________________________________________________



04.



__________________________________________________



05.
[Remnant: From the Ashes]



__________________________________________________



06.



























Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 40 secrets from Secret Submission Post #874.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

*Conspiracy tinfoil hat on* I think it's down to the greater use of Big Data, the shifting perception of morality and (for want of a better term) appropriateness in the English-speaking world, and the greater accessibility of ebooks.

Big Data - if the goal is to sell books, publishing houses are going to prioritise books that sell. Most people like things that are a little predictable, that's why popular music has got so samey, and if you're able to churn out the same book that's just different enough to be worth buying and just samey enough that people aren't scared of buying it in case they don't like it, numbers go up. A book that relies on people willing to be challenged and take a risk = low numbers, so the data says "avoid!". This kind of data is being farmed more now, to a more detailed level than it was 10 years ago, so although the principle has been there from the beginning the key beats identified as selling points have got a lot more specific.

Shifting perception of morality and appropriateness = people are scared of being cancelled or representing different people with different backgrounds/ sexualities / gender presentation in a problematic way. Add in publishing houses not wanting the bad kind of controversy and you have a whole lot of bland going on to avoid harassment and boycotts. This bland pap isn't particularly riveting reading.

Ebooks = books are accessible from anywhere in the world (with a signal) in an instant. Algorithms recommend books more than friends and family, and they will recommend what's read most often, and usually that's a combo of already popular authors and stuff that people found really easy to read. Not necessarily good, but ones where they didn't have to look up any words or stop and *feel* the moment in the book because of emotional tension or, well, do much other than get the dopamine hit from a simple quick read. So people don't find the interesting books as easily, and authors are incentivised to write more and fast rather than take their time. So those books they could have made incredible are just "ok".

[(Anonymous)]

For what it's worth, I suspect you're right. I think it also helps explain why so much television and so many big budget movies are so bland and inoffensive as well.

[(Anonymous)]

Oh, I don't think it's too far fetched to think there's something to this. I think publishers have been sloooowly scaling back the effort they put into books as they figure out that sloppy editing, sloppy and repetitive plots, cliches, crappy covers, etc. don't affect sales so much that it's worth it to correct all those things. If sales plummeted, they'd probably try harder, but if they don't, why bother? There'll be enough of a market out there for books that are just so-so to okay.

Kind of like how McDonalds isn't the best tasting burger in the world, but enough people think it's okay that they'll buy it and eat it.

[(Anonymous)]

YES. Capitalism is BAD FOR ART. Under capitalism companies have not only a financial incentive, but a RESPONSIBILITY to employees and shareholders to make money, to prioritise profit. Making Good Art can never be the top priority.

[(Anonymous)]

There's the social media aspect too I think. Books get drilled down to a list of easily digestible tropes that are popular, so now every book must have Found Family and Love Triangle etc etc. And lately it seems like publishers are less interested in things like decent writing or an interesting plot and more interested in how many followers a writer has so that the company doesn't have to do their own marketing.