I've noticed that the majority of the young writers don't talk too much on the PAMB. . . .
Do you have any data on the age distribution of PA writers?
My own tiny (call it purely anecdotal) sample of local PA authors I know (or in one case, know of) is roughly as follows:
About age 80:
3 (one with one book, and quickly, but quietly, disgruntled; one with one book and happy; one with one book immediately regretted and trying to get out of contract)
Mid-70s(?):
1 (with three books, and happy with PA; active shill)
About age 55-60:
2 (one not dissatisfied, as far as I know, all things considered; one with two or three books, and satisfied, last I heard)
About age 50:
1 (two books, I think, but moved out of the area before second appeared; seemed satisfied)
About age 25:
1 (good local sales; not someone I have met personally, but I am aware of book and know something of its local reception)
I also know of another, perhaps 70ish, who queried, was promptly accepted (with no manuscript in hand), and decided to take a pass on PA; ended up with a subsidy press.
And I know one other, 80-something, who at the last minuted rejected the offered PA contract and eventually signed with a small press. Come to think of it, I know another 70-something who considered PA, but partly as a result of my cautions decided against and instead used iUniverse (albeit not pleased with the belatedly discovered implications and limitations of POD).
That is
not a random sample, but reflects the extent of my personal knowledge, mostly through one organization that primarily caters to older writers, and wannabe writers. That personal knowledge suggests average age of PA authors of 70 or above, and median in mid-seventies. But it is a small group and not a random sample.
FWIW. I invite comparisons from others who personally know (or have other reasonably direct local knowledge of) PA authors..
--Ken
