I don't think the information is revolutionary for anyone who's well acquainted with publishing, but it could be a good resource for newer authors trying to figure out what to expect on either end of the Big 5 deal spectrum. All are very interesting and the hosts are engaging. The major differences in support from their publisher are covered in the first episode, with the second diving into the relationship between publishers and booksellers and the third bringing in an author at a midsize press (Rebellion) to compare his experience. It's a new podcast with only three episodes so far. At the end of the first podcast, Dean asks Drakeford if he feels the Tor deal has been worth it and there is a long pause followed by a very equivocal answer. Listening to it, I'd sometimes cringe and hope no one at Tor gets too mad at Drakeford for what is basically brutal honesty for what you can expect as an author who is not a priority for a major publisher. The smaller deal had the publication date and format changed multiple times, no marketing, poor communication, inaccurate information (including a bio for the wrong author) in sales catalogues, a dropped audiobook, etc. The bigger deal got a lot more marketing support, good presentation by sales reps, smooth production, good communication. They are surprisingly honest about how divergent their experiences were, in pretty much the exact ways you'd imagine given those advances. Dean's advance was $300k for 3 books and Drakeford's was $30k for 3. I admittedly hadn't heard of either, but both debuted with Tor in 2022 with the first installments of three book deals. The podcast is called Publishing Rodeo ( Apple Podcast link here) and is hosted by Sunyi Dean ( The Book Eaters) and Scott Drakeford ( Rise of the Mages).

It's just making the rounds among SF/F writers I know lately and I thought it might serve as an interesting discussion point here.)

(I'm not affiliated with this podcast and don't know anyone involved.

Tor macmillan