Publishing used to be like banking - easy money making. Then about 25 years ago, there was a change in the industry. Up until that point, publishers used to have initial print runs of 5000 books, and the books were sold to stores. It was the book store that took the loss if it didn't sell.

In addition, it was the commissioning editor that decided on whether to publish a book or not - now it is the marketing department.

The change came when bookstores said that they would only accept books that were sold on consignment. So if the book didn't selll, they were returned to the published, and the publisher took the loss.

They then switched to an initial print run of 2000 books.

I'd be interested to know what three editors you are talking about. I worked as an editor for two publishing houses in London.