I have to admit I’m a little surprised that anybody in this industry would even suggest this is a good thing. But I think it goes to show how detached some folks–from big agencies and big publishers–are from the realities of those of us closer to the ground, business-wise. Of course, my perspective on this may be shaped by the fact that when Agate’s books did earn reviews in Kirkus, most often they were good ones. For all of us independent publishers, positive advance coverage from Kirkus, along with Publishers Weekly and Booklist and Library Journal, makes an enormous difference in a book getting more advance sales and more publicity.
