My grandfather has actually been trying to get a book published for years, and has been walled by this system by every publisher he's ever tried. He has related the plot of the book to me before. Basically, it is the tale of a number of different personalities and their interaction with the American steel industry from the 1880s to the 1970s. It's a rather long book, too, nearing 600 pages.

They've been telling him that they won't publish his book because it doesn't fit with the 24-month projection of reader's interests, and I think that's a load of bologna. When is a mass audience ever going to be interested in a comprehensive historical-fiction of the American steel industry? His plot is sufficiently obscure that only a niche audience would ever want to read, whether it was published in a big year or a small year. Plus, he's my grandfather, and he's pretty old, too. There's only so many years left for him; what if none of them align with his book's topic? Getting his book published would likely become the work of one of his children or grandchildren.

So, I personally don't like the system because I have a personal bias. It might bolster sales, but I don't give a damn. I look around my local bookstore and hardly any of the popukar literature books interest me at all. Most of my reading comes from classics and scientific journals. Though I may not be the typical case, I wonder how effective this system really is.