Thomas Bertram Lance once said, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” It’s a colloquial way of stating the obvious; stop trying to build a better mousetrap. Yet, that’s exactly what has happened to the publishing world, isn’t it?
At one point in the not-too-distant past, it was all about the relationship between the author, the story, and the reader. The publishers were the conduit through which this relationship flourished; but then things started to change. Slowly at first, but the shift from merely facilitating the relationship between author and reader to being the sole Judge, Jury, and Executioner of the content made available to the reader has permeated the publishing world.
With the Big 5 now firmly in control, the author and the story were rendered obsolete in favor of profits, trends, and cultural preferences. Literary formulas and analytical data points became the measurement of choice, not the content of the story nor the literary skill of the author. The power behind the words of the author and the nature of the story had essentially died, much to the chagrin of the reader. This madness, this selective elitism, this forced capitulation of our imaginations must be stopped.
But who will step up and return the publishing world to its original purpose?
We will.
Belen Books believes in reestablishing the relationship between the author, the story, and the reader. We will bring you unique stories that the Big 5 would never consider. We will bring you authors writing books based upon the principles of great story telling, not subject to the quotas, formulas, or analytics of the Big 5. We believe in our authors, we believe in their stories, and, most importantly, we believe in you, the readers.
Together, we shall right this ship and chart a course back to when the publishing world was great.
--Jacob Robinson, Belen Books Publishing