Jane's essay has been deconstructed so amply elsewhere that there's little profit in my adding to the pile. One thing missing in these comments, however, is the acknowledgment of the emerging role of literary weblogs as possible harbingers of both the Next Literary Thing and the Unsung Author.

In addition to my site, The Elegant Variation, there are numerous excellent book blogs -- Maud Newton, Beatrice, Return of the Reluctant, Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind, The Literary Saloon, Moorishgirl, Bookslut, Golden Rules Jones and The Reading Experience, to name only a few of the very best (links provided on my site) -- where, in addition to the latest daily literary news and reviews, lesser-known authors are noted and championed. I've received e-mails from publicity departments of a number of major houses, and perhaps these sites over time will begin to have an influence that the B&N's, Borders, Amazons and other bulk buyers begin to notice. Many of these sites link book titles that they recommend directly to purchasing points, including independents like Powell's.

It seems best not to cry about the inevitable corporate consolidation of things (Hollywood went through it in the '80s), but rather to figure out inventive ways to spread the word and engage readers.

-- Mark Sarvas

Ms. Doe missed some important points about the industry:

1. Publishers don't invest as much in books they deem "midlist," so even books that don't earn out their authors' advances can be profitable to the publisher (and to the author, since she doesn't ever have to repay the unearned portion). It's the large print runs with advances that don't come close to earning out, like Ms. Doe's first, that keep publishers struggling to stay in the black.

2. All bookstores and distributors require all publishers to accept returns of unsold copies for a full refund. This lays the risk of overestimating a given title's sales potential solely on the publisher, even where large bookstore orders drive large print runs. Any publisher that agreed to invest as much as Doe's first publisher did in her subsequent works would be failing its shareholders.

3. Readers who want to support midlist authors should buy new, not used, copies and donate their used copies to people who can't afford books instead of selling them online. Alibris, the used and rare bookseller that is going public this year, has revealed that it earns some $30 million in commissions alone on used and rare book sales. Imagine how much Amazon, which markets used copies aggressively, cuts into publishers' sales.

-- Kay Murray

It's intriguing that so many of the infuriated respondents to Jane Austen Doe called her a "whiner," and then followed up the accusation with rants about their own situations as struggling writers. It seems to me that if Doe had penned a straightforward journalistic exploration of the more discouraging aspects of authordom, that is to say, if she hadn't written a personal essay, these same letter-writers would have been nodding in somber recognition, and writing to express their thanks to Doe for letting the rest of the world know what a difficult time writers -- midlist and otherwise -- often have of it.

Why is it that when individuals dare speak critically of their vocation, those in the same boat, who no doubt sit at home making similar complaints most of the time, respond with such over-the-top vitriol? "How dare you?" one such person writes. "There are imprisoned Chinese poets writing poems with their own blood on toilet paper ..." Why, yes, I suppose there are. And I assume if ever one of those Chinese poets grows so bold as to complain about the lumps in his gruel, all his fellow inmates will pile on and kick the crap out the whiny asshole until he admits how good he's got it.

-- Lynn Coady

Jane Austen Doe's choice of pseudonym pretty much encompasses what is so wrong with her entire outlook. She chooses the name of a writer who was, first and foremost, a consummately commercially successful businesswoman. And then she launches into a long whine about how mistreated she's been, clearly showing how bad a businesswoman she is.

I mean, this is a woman who got an advance on her first book of more than $100,000. Forget midlist. Many bestsellers top out at $100k per book.

In excitement about this book, her publisher promoted her hugely. She got the Big Push most of us dream about, publicity, radio spots, tours, TV.

And guess what? She still sold all of 10,000 copies.

Now, after that kind of publicity, I have only one conclusion: The general population believes that she sucks. And I don't have much sympathy.

The true lament of the midlist author is not that "the machine" forces her out after such a spectacular flop or that the public are all idiots who only buy trash, and only if people had some taste, they would love me!

Jane Austen Doe needs to find a real job (one that will get her the income she so clearly believes she deserves) and either get a hobby other than writing or accept that she will always be a niche writer-on-the-side with a small press that suits her. That's all a reasonable author can hope for.

-- Lydia Joyce

As a writer, a reader and an ex-pat from the publishing industry, I could find no purchase whatsoever in the self-indulgent words of Ms. Doe. The letters submitted before mine mirror many of the thoughts I had on reading her whine.

But among all the exhortations against large publishing companies and bookstores and suggestions for readers to patronize independent bookstores, I spotted an interesting omission. It seems that Ms. Doe has never considered the many small publishing houses that do business and produce quality books against the weight of the conglomerated publishers.

It seems that for Ms. Doe, independent bookstores are suitable for her readers but independent publishers are not good enough for her needs.

-- Margaret O'Gorman

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