I've read a bit more (certainly not all - who has the time) of the previous discussion, and I'll agree now that the cumulative effect of all the posts in Bear's 'defense' fits the metaphor better than I originally thought.

It wouldn't have fit writing or publishing the book, as I thought you meant, at all well. We live in a world where readers have to make an active choice to purchase or borrow and read a book; they don't fly off the shelves and force themselves on us (although that's a nifty idea for a fantasy novel).