When Acquiring Debut Authors, Ask If They Can Compete - Publishing Perspectives

The word "debut" can be the ultimate taboo in the UK market. Debuts propose risk, the unknown, and if a reader has never heard of the author before, how on earth are we going to sell them the book? It's probably best to stick to a winning formula. Keep churning out formulaic fiction, a lot of similar looking books and similar, predictable plot lines.

There is, of course, a need to make money, but we shouldn't shy away from a challenge. Major publishers pride themselves on having at least one fiction debut each year and they are proud of it. One. Maybe two. Out of hundreds of titles published that year.

Imagine if the same marketing and publicity budget that was allocated to a bestselling author's fifteenth novel were applied to an unknown name. A nobody with a big talent.