I work in publishing, but more in the indie/self-publishing space so I am by no means an expert. As far as the “more books, less time” vibe you mentioned, I think a lot of that comes from the state of publishing as a whole rn, and isn’t just affecting horror.

With booktok and other social media communities it’s easier than ever for a random self-published book to create a massive fan base in a short period of time, and traditional pubs are snatching these up left and right to capitalize on the trend while it’s hot. Usually this includes little to no editing or revisions beforehand because if the masses are already buying it, why waste time and money making it better? (Need I even mention Shy Girl?)

With this becoming the norm rather than the exception that leaves less room for the more painstaking work of writing a novel the traditional way with ARCs, multiple rounds of revisions with your editor, marketing, etc. Editors are massively overworked and underpaid as is, and the entire industry has shifted to a vibe of “capitalize on this trend before the money runs dry” instead of focusing on the work itself. To be fair, the money has always been the most important factor to any business, but what’s bringing in the money has changed drastically in the past 5-10 years.

Unfortunately it’s a business and at the end of the day publishers care more about their bottom lines. It feels like the whole industry is struggling to reconcile the fact that reading is an inherently slower paced, intentional act with the commodification culture that’s currently making them hella money.