Lost in the Wilderness Of Marketing and Promotion. Are Publishers Helping?

Over the past few years, many small presses have got into severe difficulties or even closed, and I've been wondering why. I don't think it can be blamed on a shrinking market, because from what I've seen the market is not shrinking. In fact, I see new authors every day.

I also see many posts, articles etc that suggest many authors, new and existing, are struggling with marketing and promotion. It is a problem that spans genre and is prevalent in all shades of the rainbow. New authors, in particular, struggle. Those, like me, with added difficulties, are entirely lost.

As an autistic author, I cannot possibly navigate social media, let alone excel in such things as blogs, websites and promotional campaigns.

This brings me back to publishers. What are they doing to help their struggling authors? With some exceptions, from what I can see, very little. Sure, we get editing and book covers - which vary vastly in quality and some promotion around a book release, but by and large, it appears they focus most of their marketing expertise and resources on established and/or successful authors. What assistance can be found, is impersonal, often handing out information-heavy, non-personal leaflets or handbooks, instead of being individual to the abilities and needs of each particular author - individualized marketing plans, for example.

The marketing model of focussing resources at the top of the pyramid, ultimately don't work. By throwing almost everything you have on the top of the food chain, the highly successful authors, who often have little interest in, no time for, and even derision for their lowly brethren, they are setting themselves up to fail.

In my opinion, the highly successful authors require the least effort, resources and energy as they already have momentum and an extensive fan base. The real value for a publisher lies in the small fry. By boosting them, and helping them become successful and well known they are ensuring more revenue (as the top tier will still be generating the same) and evening out, or even reversing the pyramid. At the very least, they will be bringing in more money because they have a greater number of successful authors.

Am I saying this because I am still a little autistic fish swimming in a huge neurotypical pond? Maybe, and maybe I'm looking at it from a different viewpoint as autistic minds tend to take different paths than neurotypicals. Also, I am not a business person, never will be and have no desire to try to be, as the anxiety simply isn't worth it. I simply know that whatever is happening appears to not be working.

Another thought. With so many authors struggling, a publisher offering an individualized, custom marketing package would surely attract a lot of interest, and perhaps become a market leader in promoting a practical, working model for success.

Or maybe I'm just talking out of my ar... discontent.