These days literary fiction has to contend with two factors that are increasingly central to the publishing process: timing and volume. In a market dominated by the big chain stores, if a novel doesn't sell a healthy number of copies in the first two weeks after its publication, its chances of gaining longer-term momentum are slim.
"The whole system is set up for impatience."
In 2005, almost half of all sales in the literary fiction category came from the top 20 best-selling books.
... the single most powerful person in American literary publishing. No, not Oprah, but a woman you've probably never heard of: Sessalee Hensley, the one literary fiction buyer for Barnes & Noble.
