Direct-to-consumer - it's the way to go

The distance between publishers and readers has, traditionally, been a big one. It has been based on the simple understanding that publishers acquire/commission manuscripts and edit them, printers turn them into books and booksellers sell those books. Readers can usually tell you about the books they're reading, the authors of those books, the bookshops from which they bought the books and/or the libraries from which they borrowed them. But if you ask: "Who is the publisher?" you'll probably get a blank stare. There has, traditionally, been no direct link, no relationship, between publishers and readers. All this is changing, for several reasons...