Saturday, January 24, 2009

New blog: Obamaburmashave

Hi folks,

Apropos of nothing, I've started a new blog, Obamaburmashave, where I translate the President's weekly addresses into the form of Burma-shave ads.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Book Business raised some interesting questions (for me at least)

I didn't like Epstein's Book Business at first. When I started reading, I had a lot of the same problems with it that everyone else had: his obscure word choice, name-dropping, and rambles that didn't seem to be going anywhere. But I also didn't like it because it wasn't what I expected. After reading King's and Lukeman's opinionated books, I expected Book Business would also contain obvious advice. I thought he would discuss how to make it in the publishing industry, what skills would be necessary in an increasingly technological age. I expected to find industry terms and policies that Epstein believes are prerequisites to a literary career.

Though it wasn't what I expected, I definitely feel reading this book was helpful. Buried in Epstein's dense personal anecdotes were impressions of a changing industry and truths about the way people buy books. His book showed that the industry, though money-driven, employs a lot of people who are passionnate about their work. A lot of his frustrations over the years seem to result from the increasingly corporate nature of publishing. Epstein grumbles about red tape he'd had to overcome to complete his projects. He reminisces about the glory days in his early career when there was a lot of personal interaction. Later in the book, he talks about the decline of independent bookstores. Like the intimate feeling of publishing imprints, these bookstores seem to capture a flavor he craves. The book got increasingly depressing as I read on. Epstein seems to point out more problems than solutions. He describes publishing's trouble spots and then abruptly ends his book, almost as if to say that his part in the industry is done; now it's our problem. This book posed more questions than answers. What happens when the large bookselling chains collapse? What happens if people frequent libraries or used bookstores and book sales drop so low that they're no longer profitable to produce? What makes it possible for some independent booksellers to stay afloat? Will more of the larger publishing groups gobble up their competitors until eventually all the smaller companies are controlled by a large parent company? How will the internet and other digital media continue to affect the publishing industry?

This Book Business Business

So many interesting responses to the reading.  Lauren C and Peter don't really like Book Business.  Lauren C points out that the business is constantly evolving, and book Lauren C and Peter observe that Epstein is completely wrong about the book ATM idea.  Of course there are truths in both critiques, but there are also ways to respond. First, it's true that the publishing business evolves, but it's also the case -- and this is what Epstein has observed -- that it evolves along with a lot of other parts of the economy, including bookstores, malls, and readers themselves.  One of the mistakes people in the business keep making is that they think publishing is primarily about making money, and this perspective has, in Epstein's view, almost always led to bad outcomes. 

As to the ATM issue, Epstein is, of course, hilariously wrong.  But so is almost everybody who predicts anything related to technology.  (Who could have predicted the Kindle?)  And there is a sense in which he's right, though at a different level and location.  Let's think about why he made the prediction in the first place.  What would a book ATM model solve?  It would allow books to be produced on demand for individual readers.  It would reduce overhead (rental space and the like) and would solve the problem of overstock (now currently addressed by remainders, including book outlets devoted to remainders exclusively).  It would produce a text electronically but would not produce an electronic text.  Epstein's imagined future involves a change in distribution and a shift to electronic and individualized book making, but it is premised on the idea that people would rather read a book than a computer screen.  Now, the Kindle and similar e-ink technologies solve the same problem. The book is downloaded rather than printed, but the text of the Kindle "page" is real text: it does not require a lit screen and so it does not have the problem of backlighting or glare. 

There's another way in which Epstein's ATM model is taking hold, and that is with what is called Print on Demand publishing.  In traditional publishing, the publisher estimates demand and prints that many copies plus a few more in the first "print run."  The first print run for a Steven King novel is  in the hundreds of thousands, while a poetry book might have a print run of 1000 copies and no expectations of a second printing.  Economies of scale being what they are, the cost of publishing a small print run is much higher per copy than it is for a blockbuster novel.  Print on demand is a relative of the book ATM where the publisher, rather than the consumer, prints books only when they are ordered.  It can be useful for some small press publishers, though it also resembles vanity presses in ways that undermine its legitimacy. 

Both Peter and Shaz Kim have problems with Epstein's style and persona.  I'll admit that he's awfully prone to name-dropping, though I might be too if I had been friends with Robert Lowell and Edmund Wilson.  (On the other hand, I disagree that Epstein is showing off with the list of titles on page 52 -- the point is their connection to his memory, not ours.)  I also agree with Peter that many of Epstein's sentences are too long, though these are almost never grammatical errors.  (By the way, a comma splice is never marked by the absence of a comma.  I should make clear in class just what a comma splice is and is not.)  I tend to think he's an excellent writer of a particular kind, and that his social circle and his vocabulary and sentence structure are closely related. 

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

First Five Pages and Book Business

I read Chapter 2 of the The First Five Pages last week so it is not the freshest in my mind but I remember finding it more useful than the previous one. The example paragraphs however, way over did it. I can't imagine anyone writing like that, even the worst writer ever. I know he was exaggerating to prove a point, but I think just by reading the chapter, which explained what you were supposed to be on the look out for, one could figure out how to edit in such a situation.

Moving on to Book Business, I have to agree with Peter, I don't really find this book enjoyable at all, in fact I am struggling to stay with it. I have read Chapters 1 and 2 and I was hoping to read more but guess what, at the beginning of Chapter 3, I fell asleep. I hate Epstein's tone and his explanations of the publishing industry are a bit confusing to me, someone who knows nothing whatsoever about it, past, present, or future. While I think it is great that he intersperses experiences he's had throughout his career with the information about the industry, when he begins to talk about the structure of the business it feels boring and redundant. I feel like all he keeps saying is the publishing industry changed in the 1920's, then it changed again when my generation took over, now it's changing again...well we get that. It is an industry that constantly seems to be in transition. Is it unnatural for it to evolve? He makes a big deal out of this like it is a problem, and maybe I just don't understand enough about it to see his point. I did like the little image he creates about the original Random House building and the difference between how editors would relate to their writers then as opposed to how things operate today. The times when he is relaying personal stories I find him to be the most likable. I realize I said something similar about On Writing but the difference is while I enjoyed King's personal stories the most, I didn't dislike the rest of what he was saying, and I could consistently hear his voice throughout the work. With Book Business, Epstein becomes a boring, dry, could be anyone sort of character when he is not talking about himself. I will give this book the benefit of the doubt, but thus far I'm not impressed.

I also wanted to comment on two other things that have irked me. One, I think the book atm thing is so stupid, I don't see it being part of the future of publishing at all. I know he mentions at one point people may even have them in their homes...I highly doubt it. It seems like a paradox to say that both book atms and e-books will be major innovations that change publishing...if people are so excited to transition to digital words, why would they want a machine that would make actual books for them? This connects with my second thought- how accurate/relevant is this book if it was originally written in 1999? Epstein himself goes on and on about the industry rapidly changing, well a lot must have changed in the 10 years since he wrote it. Yet we aren't all downloading e-books and/or ordering them up from our personal atms. So I would be interested to hear maybe after finishing this book from someone who is up to date on the status of the publishing industry what it is really like today.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

On Book Business

I really enjoyed Stephen King’s On Writing and I was expecting Jason Epstein’s Book Business to be just as interesting as King’s book. Since I don’t know much about publishing and the role of publishers, I anticipated learning about the publishing industry, especially the mergers and acquisitions. Reading the first chapter of the book, I noticed how Epstein focused mainly on the new technology-transmitting books electronically- that affects the publishing industry.


Epstein depicts how the new technology renders the traditional publishing outmoded. He lists the pros and cons of this technology. In the Preface, page xi, Epstein writes that these technologies will “make books more widely available, less expensive, and more profitable to writers as costs related to physical distribution are minimized or eliminated.” However, later on he states that the electronic books take away the feeling that a book brings to its readers: “The feel of the book taken from the shelf and held in the hand is a magical experience, linking writer to reader”(38). He places the traditional publishing in competition with the new web technologies as he further suggests, “Tomorrow’s stores will have to be what the Web cannot be: tangible, intimate, and local; communal shrines, perhaps with coffee bars offering pleasure and wisdom in the company of others who share one’s interests, where the book one wants can always be found and surprises and temptations spring from every shelf”(38) Is he urging bookstores to create a communal environment by creating coffee bars? There were quite a few moments in the book, including this part, which threw me off a little.


With no background knowledge on the emergence of publishing houses, the process of publishing, and more, this book was hard to grasp. Also, Epstein’s use of vocabulary was difficult to impart. Perhaps the target audience of this book is more specific than King’s Book. So far, I could hardly say that I’m taking anything out of it. Hopefully, as I continue read, I’ll be able to understand the book and Epstein’s perspective better.

Writing Resources from an Unlikely Place

I hate to admit (seeing how I am might completely fit into the female stereotype right now)but I love writing and reading chick lit. I mean write what you know, right? Well, back in my creative writing days I used to visit eHarlequin.com. It just so happens to be a site that is completely overloaded with information that it might take you a while to navigate through the site, but there is an interesting section that even you non-romance writer mite like called “Write” (not very creative I know).


There is a section on Writing Guidelines, which gives you all the different rules on submitting to the various imprints of the Harlequin Company, including MIRA and Red Dress Ink. After reading these guidelines, you might want to submit a manuscript and they have a section that shows you submission samples to give you an idea of how things are formatted. Like Lukeman stated the same general ideas apply, but now you are able to see actual examples on the website. You can see how to write a sample query letter or a sample synopsis. It is a great place to learn the tools of the trade.

They also have an area where you can submit your manuscript for feedback. A place where experts can read you story and give you ideas on how to improve it. There are also various articles about being a writer and how to submit your work. Articles such as “Top 10 Writing Dos or Don’ts” and “What turns your readers off?” are just to name a few.

Like I said even if Romance is not your genre, it would not hurt to look at the site to get a few ideas on how writing and the industry works. And you never know…you might just find your niche.

The First Five Pages…To The Drawing Board

After reading Chapter 2 of Noah Lukeman’s The First Five Pages , I wanted to see if this piece of advice would help improve the little bit of writing that I have done (and basically prove if it is true). Therefore, I found some of my old writing pieces from the Creative Writing class that I took almost two years back at Northeastern. I wrote a short story for the class called “The Devil’s Cupid”, which is a story about a woman who has been in love affair with a guy, even though she is knows the relationship is bad for her. Here is an original excerpt from the story:

They slipped out through the back door, holding hands, running off as if they were school children. Her friends did not notice that she was gone, because they were too busy spilling wine and laughing, celebrating the fact that they made it through another year. It was officially 1999 and she was in love. He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder and made his way to the edge of the beach. Once they were far enough from the house, he placed her down on the sand. He walked toward the ocean and jumped in.

“Are you crazy? You’re fully clothed” she said. He laughed and took his shirt off and threw it at her. She could see the shape of his family’s crest on his shoulder blade as the moon shined on it. He dove back under, splashing the water toward the beach.

“What was the point of that? You are already wet” she got up and ran towards the water after him. She wanted to be near him and laugh with him. He swam away from her, teasing her to follow. She smiled and ducked under the water. She blindly made her way close to him, but far enough that he wondered where she went.

“Kara?” he called, with a sense of worry in his voice. She grabbed his legs from behind and pulled him under. He twisted to face her and grabbed her waist, and pulled her and himself up back to the surface. She leaned in and kissed him, as they treaded the water.

“Look up, and tell me what you see” he whispered in her ears.
She tilted her head to the sky and noticed that the night was filled with a million stars. Each one of them was twinkling at her, as if watching this moment and enjoying it with her.


“They are beautiful!” she awed.
“You have never seen stars before?” he grinned.
“Not so many.”


He turned on his back and slowly stroked his way towards the shore. She followed after him. They climbed out of the water and collapsed on the sand. Her eyes still on the stars and his eyes on hers, watching her lying there like an angel. He wanted her, but he would rather watch her look up at the sky, because this was a perfect moment. She was young, but mature and beautiful. He would take in the moment, because he would be back at school and away from her. Surrounded by females, that went too far with their make-up and never had anything smart to say. He adored her, but she could be nothing more then a sister to him. She turned towards him and touched his face.

Now it might not have helped that this short story has been read by various other students before and has had the changes that needed to be made to them already. But based on Lukeman's idea of adjectives, I thought I would be curious on what changes you guys would make. Do you think there is just enough description or lack of description? I know there would be a few changes that I would make, like take out a few metaphors such as "...watching her lying there like an angel". The reader would have gotten the same idea if I just wrote "watching her lie there". Based on the End-of-Chapter Exercise, do I have any clichés with my nouns or verbs that don't seem original? I am curious to see what you guys think.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Bad Business

I am halfway through Jason Epstein's Book Business. I have to say that if this weren't required reading for class, I probably would have tossed it aside by now. Why? There are several reasons.

First of all, Epstein's predictions about the future technology of the publishing industry seem to be poorly contrived. Book ATMs? A novel idea (excuse the pun), but logistically problematic. Book bindings, even in paperback, are not as easily stored as cash, since they are inherently thicker stock. And, most people, when going to an ATM, withdraw no more than six bills in one transaction. Imagine, then, your typical bookstore crowd lining up at one of these machines, purchasing books that are hundreds of pages each. An entire warehouse would be needed for each ATM! Perhaps I have misunderstood Epstein's concept, but this is what I imagine when he describes the idea on pages xviii-xix and on pages 28-29.

Next, I found Epstein's narration to be grating and self-indulgent, to say the least. This could be because I was not expecting a partial memoir when I began this book. However, for the portion I have read so far, I have found several unnecessary usages of lofty vocabulary or references to obscure texts. On page 41, Epstein writes "Clara Claussen, the outspoken Doubleday cookbook editor, who befriended me during my first weeks on the job, warned that the company I had just joined was so badly run that if it were not making so much money it would go out of business tomorrow. Despite her ellipsis I would soon discover that she was right." The word ellipsis in this sentence puzzled me because I thought the word only referred to the "..." we are all familiar with. Turning to the OED, I found out that ellipsis could also mean "The omission of one or more words in a sentence, which would be needed to complete the grammatical construction or fully to express the sense; concr. an instance of such omission." I don't think that the sentence on page 41 has either of these. If someone knows another definition of ellipsis or another interpretation of this sentence that could illuminate the author's meaning, please let me know. Why go through the trouble of looking up one strange word usage? I looked this up because I was very frustrated with Epstein's style - it just seems pretentious. I like it when writers use esoteric vocabulary, but it must be done artfully - not just to show one's literary or editorial pedigree, as Epstein is obviously doing. The same goes with allusion. If done moderately and tastefully, referencing other books and authors is great. Yet, with Book Business, we get an epic catalogue on page 52. Most of these authors are recognizable, and most of the titles Epstein lists are as well, but then he starts dropping the likes of The Eighteenth Brumaire, Bend Sinister, and Loving, among others. Okay, we get it - you're intelligent. As for his arrogant claim to playing a major role in the paperback revolution with his fancy new idea in Anchor Books, Allen Lane (whom Epstein mentions briefly later on) had already put much of Epstein's ideas into practice in the 1930s with Penguin. Furthermore, I was annoyed when Epstein tells the story of Jean Strouse's biography of J.P. Morgan (p.39) and begins by saying the work is "monumental," attaching a little asterisk to the end of the sentence. In the footnote, next to a corresponding asterisk, is written "I was the editor." Is he trying to be funny? It seems like blatant arrogance to me, especially since we are treated with a detailed description of the book's positive critical reception. Talk about blowing your own trumpet!

Lastly, it is hard to believe that Epstein is an editor. This book is littered, and I mean littered, with comma splices and run-on sentences. I may be making it painfully clear that I am an English major, but these sins would be forgivable by anyone else except the very person who should know better! This man knows how to weigh down and drag out a sentence, too. Even Charles Dickens and the Bronte sisters would be shocked by these train wrecks: "I admired Nabokov's earlier novels published by New Directions and preferred their cold precision to the plummy and it seemed to me [<-- comma splice] rather cruel, if also very funny, Lolita, in which Nabokov seemed to be congratulating himself on his jokes" (p. 75) and "What combination of genes and infantile misadventures attracted me in my late adolescence to Pater's aestheticism I have no idea, but the potentiality must have existed when I arrived from the provinces and entered Columbia in 1945, an auspicious time in the illustrious history of that great college" (p.55). Then, on pages 84-85, Epstein obliviously repeats the exact same lengthy sentence structure three times in a row. And I don't know how many times he uses the word ephemera when several others would do - but I guess the word's synonyms don't sound intellectual enough. I am reminded of the anecdote about the pulp author's repeated use of the word "zestful" in On Writing.

Again, if Epstein were not an editor, I would be inclined to let these things slide. I will admit, too, that I became a much severer reader when Epstein's arrogance and pretentiousness got on my nerves.

This book is not entirely without merit, though. Epstein does do a good job of showing how the publishing industry has changed over the years, and his insider's view is enlightening once the things I mentioned above have been filtered out. I knew that a few major companies own the big American publishing houses, but I didn't know that two of those companies are German. And in spite of the technological shortsightedness of Epstein's vision for the future, his faith that the cottage industry days of yore are returning gives me hope.

I am only half way through this book, so there is space yet to win me over. If my feelings change, you lot will be the first to know.