23) Addendum #3: The Big Five do publish great books sometimes. But it's incidental to the machine, not a product of the machine.

Independent presses and academic presses are more incentivized to publish quality, because they depend on word of mouth for sales, not large marketing budgets.

22) Addendum #2: The more a publishing house pays to acquire a book, the more they will spend on marketing.

This is why that HOT READ that was suddenly everywhere was just okay when you actually read it. They paid a lot for the book so they had to recoup their expense by getting you to buy it.

19) Lastly, about rejection:

Every! Rejection! Is! A Gift!