midlist

[mid-list]

noun

the part of a publisher's sales list of newly or recently published books consisting of titles that are expected to have average sales or success, as compared to the frontlist.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for midlist

Contemporary Examples of midlist

He calls these authors who have been dropped by the big publishers midway into their careers the “midlist” writers.
Are Indie Presses the Minor Leagues of Publishing?
James McGirk
June 13, 2013
Calculatedly come-lately, mainstream publishing houses soon signed their own midlist gay authors.
How Gossip Became History: Eminent Outlaws by Christopher Bram
Brad Gooch
January 29, 2012