“However, these publishers also can’t afford to pay the kinds of advances that will attract authors with really large platforms, so they are left scrambling for authors with mid-sized platforms.

And yet, those are exactly the types of “platforms” that are the most soul-crushing for writers to build and maintain. Because these mid-sized platforms are usually not financially self-sustaining they have to be built and managed in the margins of a writer’s life, which is especially difficult for anyone who is invested in hands on ministry, is the primary caregiver for aging parents and/or small children, or who must work to contribute to their household income.”