A class blog for Publication Arts class at Northeastern University, Spring 2009. Students and instructors post entries responding to readings and commenting on trends and news relating to writing, editing, and publishing. Comments from the public welcome.
So they take some of the workload off the writer's shoulders. They can make it easier for publishing houses to filter through the good and the bad. But in today's booming publishing industry, is it worth the money to hire an agent? If you want to submit to a large publishing house, an agent is sometimes required. However, there are many ways to get a work published now and each method has its pros and cons. Many authors are turning to self-publishing, blogs, electronic publishing, etc. Many books have experienced success in these alternate channels, and with electronic methods becoming more accepted and integrated I wonder if it's threatening to the literary agents. There are a number of benefits I didn't even realize came with a literary agent until reading the description of what they do.
But there's no disagreement on the fact that after that first sale is made, a good agent is a tremendous boon to a writer's career. Agents have industry contacts and inside knowledge that most writers don't possess. They keep current with editors' tastes and needs, know what new imprints are starting up and which ones are downsizing, stay abreast of changing corporate policies, keep track of who's newly hired and who just got fired. They negotiate advances and publishing contracts to their clients' advantage, and are experienced in marketing subsidiary rights. Just as important, agents serve as writers' advocates in the increasingly complex and competitive world of publishing.
It appears these people still have their uses, as long as you're not getting scammed. Once again, I see no solid answer as to whether or not hiring an agent is worth the money...I suppose it all depends on how much you're willing to risk and what exactly it is you're wanting to publish.
Famed political bloggers like Markos Zuniga and Jerome Armstrong have been under scrutiny for possibly getting paid under the radar by political campaigns to speak highly of a certain candidate. Not only political parties are taking advantage of the reach successful blogs have to the public. Advertisers and sponsors are getting on the boat as well. This proves a threat to bloggers who wish to maintain the integrity of the craft. Blogger Aaron Brazell said in his article on The Politics of Blogging:
I don’t want to get into the politics of all this. However, if bloggers are to be seen as credible sources, it would seem to me that being transparent in endorsements and dealings should be a natural requirement.
In my opinion, a blogger who gets paid to say something on behalf of someone else has become a commercial machine. I understand what Brazell means when he says the blogger's credibility is threatened once his readers realize they are reading a sales pitch, not an actual opinion. Even if the monetary exchange was out in the open, credibility could still be challenged because an ulterior motive has been introduced. Tris Hussey had this to say about getting paid to blog in someone's favor:
For the “sponsored post” or “paid placement”, the same thing goes. Just because you pay me, doesn’t mean you’ve bought me. I won’t sing the praises of you or your product. Frankly, you don’t want that really. I’m of no value to you, as a place for your ad or information, if no one is reading me anymore.
I would have to respectfully disagree with the point of the statement. Yes, the blogger becomes of no value to the sponsor if he's lost his audience, but the fact that the sponsor would decide to keep paying proves it's either a fool with money or there is an influence over the blogger that is bought. In general, I'd say it's a bad idea to accept money for blogs which are supposed to be the blogger's opinion. If the money is too attractive an offer, the best way to go would be to attempt to keep it under the radar. After all, if it's your opinion and someone wants to pay you to say it because it lines up with them, why risk the chance of losing your credibility or losing the offer?
So it's not a secret now that I am not a fan of ebooks. I can't get out of my mind how bad for your eyes is staring at a screen for hours. Obviously you can't escape the computer for a ton of other fun things, but for books, you can. Anyway, when I first heard about blogs as a source of exposure for aspiring writers I again was skeptical. Who reads blogs for fiction anyway? And who actually gets a successful career from blogging beginnings? Wouldn't it be terribly easy for anyone to just steal your work right from under your nose? Apparently a zillion people read blogs, there are many people who have been catapulted to success because of their start in blogs, and I'm guessing there are ways to protect your work. Even so, this can't be a real shot at success, can it? This article I found had an interesting statistic:
The popularity of Weblog is gaining momentum. As per a survey conducted by Comscore.com,50 Million US population ( i.e- 1 in 6 of total US population or 30% of the total US online population) visited blog sites in the first quarter of 2005. This represents a 45% increase compared to the quarter one of 2004. Blog visitors are 11% more likely than the average Internet user to have incomes of $75,000 or more.
Why 11%? Do they visit blogs because they want to be intellectually stimulated and then have a higher chance of earning more money OR do they already earn more money because of their already stimulated mind so they seek out blogs for fun? I'm curious only because one doesn't increase your odds at all, the other does give you room for improvement. If I had an 11% higher chance at earning more just for reading blogs I might be persuaded to do it. However, until that's proven I think I'll stick with the books.
I came across this website called selfpublishingresources.com and discovered a lot of interesting statistics and facts about the publishing industry. I've often wondered with this increasing fascination in all things electronic how long hard-copy books would survive in the market. I admit I am very skeptical that e-books could become so popular as to make hard-copy book sales rare or obsolete, but that's what I said about digital cameras and ipods. I'm not a huge fan of electronic books only because I think staring at a screen for hours is bad for your eyes, and you can't take your computer around like you can a good book. Part of me wonders if it's just the part of me that resists change (that was the reasoning for my dislike of digital photos...which I love now, btw). Still, it's a bit alarming to see facts like:
The largest growth area in publishing is currently eBooks. In January 2006, eBook sales jumped by over 50%.
About 20% of online sales are of titles not available in traditional brick-and-mortar stores. Projections are this figure will soon reach a third of all book sales.
I hope it doesn't become too difficult to find a good book to read on a shelf. I guess for now I can thank the older generations for keeping the old (but wonderful) publishing methods in full swing.
Half of all books sold today are to people over the age of 45. Thank you Boomers!
Yes, thank you from all of us who hate the thought of curling up by the fire with a bright little laptop. :o)
I wrote a paper last year in one of my writing classes about how to beat writer's block. I basically sat down and thought about all the things that inspire people and narrowed the list down to 10 things. I got an A on the paper, but it left me thinking how effective these tips can really be. I am not a real writer. I write things down when I get the inkling to do so, but I haven't invested much time or energy in developing my own writing ability. How is it, then, that I could possibly tell anyone how to overcome writer's block? Answer: I used logic. But logic doesn't always translate into effective sharpening tools. So how useful would these logical tips on writing be for an actual writer? Step 3: Step up to bat and take a few swings. What does that even mean? It explains in the text that it means you should breathe deeply, visualize, and affirm yourself. Sounds interesting (kind of), but does it work? Maybe an accomplished writer can tell me. These tips are geared towards business documents, so it's a bit different than the fiction I'm interested in, but do you really have to breathe deeply, visualize, and affirm yourself to write a business document? At least you're not spilling your heart out to an audience that just wants to be entertained. I just want to know if these tips would work in any setting, or if it is just the fluff that people like to read and print but do nothing about.
I have a friend who writes for an online newspaper and as part of the submitting process, her articles are reviewed by copy editors and sent back with comments to her for final revisions. However, the articles are submitted anonymously and so, any comments made by the editors are blindly directed towards any of the writing team. The names of the writers are revealed only when the articles are accepted for submission, a blind-fold step that's similar to writing contests to bar against selecting articles based on names. I feel that this is a step toward legitimizing online newspapers and gives them an added degree of respectability. Still despite this, it doesn't mean that I would suddenly trust online newspapers as I'm one of those degenerates who doesn't read the news, paper or online. For those who do rely for news online, this is probably comforting, to know that the people who run this particular newspaper are concerned enough to set up such a system. It gives me hope that future online publications will continue to create stringent standards in an effort to legitimize their articles.
As you all know the best selling author, Michel Crichton passed away last year. The famous writer wrote such books as “Jurassic Park” and also won various awards for his work on the concluded series “ER”, but for all you fans out there two more novels well be released posthumously by the author.
One of the books was writted before he passes away and the other will be completed with the help of his notes. The HarperCollins publishers stated that the completed novel (called "Pirate Latitudes") will be published this November.
“The second book, to be published in late 2010, is a technological thriller ‘which explores the outer edges of new science and technology,’ HarperCollins said in a statement…The book will be based on extensive notes and files that Crichton compiled before his death and will be completed by an author yet to be determined [and] the title has not yet been decided.”
Scott Turow has decided to switch publishers when it comes to producing the sequel to his bestseller “Presumed Innocent”. Grand Central Publishing, which has produced seven of Scott Turow books in paperback, will be publishing that not yet named sequel in May 2010.
“Mr. Turow said in an interview that it no longer made sense to have one house publishing his books in hardcover and another releasing them in paperback. Such arrangements were common when he first sold the rights to “Presumed Innocent” in 1986 but are much rarer now, especially for a bestselling author.”
Some authors reasons for changing publishers deals with unhappiness that they might feel with said published, but Turow insist that was not the case. He had no problem with his previous publisher, Farrar Straus & Giroux, but knew it would be more sot effective if he decided to only have one publisher.
“Gail Hochman, Mr. Turow’s agent, said splitting editions between two houses made it more difficult for an author to achieve the best possible financial arrangement.”
How long do you think it will take before other authors follow suit?
Search literary magazines here. It's not comprehensive, but it will allow you to limit by genre, state, reading period, and percentage of unsolicited manuscripts. I have a few possibilities for you already.
Wow, teaching this class from my limited perspective has been an experience. Here's a beautiful site I should have found by now: The Future of Publishing. Thad McIlroy, the author, offers a wealth of information and a comprehensive, up-to-date perspective on the whole industry. It's a thing of beauty.
For some odd reason, interesting, facts about the world of textbook publishing continue to fall into my lap. My newest interest is how books are priced. Luckily, one of the people I am interviewing for my final portfolio, Sarah Williams Goldhagen, author of books such as Louis Kahn's Situated Modernism, recently returned from New York after pitching her new book to six publishers, two of which are Harper Collins and Random House. Originally, the new book she is writing was meant to be a how-to on modern architecture, however, when HarperCollins asked her if she would be willing to make it a version of Ways of Reading for Architecture students she said, "Yes". The next day an airplane ticket to JFK awaited her. Goldhagen then realized she should pitch Harpers idea to the other publishers she was planning on visiting anyway. To her surprise, four of the six all are currently pitching on the book, which, she says, will raise the price of the book altogether. As college students that purchase books such as this, how do you feel about the fact that book prices are settled through the demand of, essentially, six dinosaurs in the publishing industry? Most of all, how do you feel about the influence the publishing industry has over your pockets as a college student, and how does your love for publishing/writing influence your opinion?
If you're a fiction writer and you work on a Windows machine, consider yWriter. This is a nice writing platform that focuses on issues that fiction writers care about. Unlike Word, it is not about formatting. It allows you to organize chapters, keep track of characters and scenes, take notes that are important to background, and view a storyboard of your work in progress. You can export a project to various formats or print in a submission-ready format. Nice!
For all writers, keeping track of submissions is important. I use ancient software built on a Microsoft Access framework but I'm thinking about switching Sonar or Writer's Database. Both are free. Sonar is built by the same person who did yWriter, which has gotten great reviews. At first blush, I like Sonar better. Why? No reason that will hold up: mainly I like a program on my own computer rather than one that's web-based. But that just shows my age.
I swear this site hates me. Tried doing this comment as cut and paste. Then tried manually retyping it and still, nada. It's the same verification problem, only it loads and there's nothing to see. Is anyone else having this problem? I'm using Firefox version 3.0.6. Maybe I need to update...
Funny, my writing process class was also discussing this today when we breached the "technology and how it affects writing" topic. It seems the overwhelming consent was that while publishing is a dying industry and despite everything being digitized, many still love books and because of that, traditional publishing as we know it will continue. But not for long...
It's a sad thing to see publishers and text-book writers participate in this "scam" as you put in and it is a scam. I'm torn about it, knowing that perhaps text-books is the only place that will consistently and continually generate profits in the present and future while the rest of the book market fluctuates. But as a student and consumer of books, it frustrates me to no end to find that the 100+ dollar textbook I bought at the beginning of the semester is now worth $15 or worse, nothing because a new edition is out. Of course, it's not always a scam. Sometimes, there are valuable new additions to the edition, like interactive links, which can be very useful for a science major like me- nothing helps like visuals and online quizzes. But other times, it seems like a new edition is an excuse for a makeover. A new shiny cover, a few different pictures and it's the next must-have textbook while older editions are instantly obsolete. I don't approve of such practices. If there's a genuine need to update and often there are with the new things we discover, then a new edition is warranted. Otherwise, for majors where things are pretty static and don't change much, like math, it's a waste of money for students.
Realistically though, the publishing industry will do what it has to do to survive. I guess I'm only glad that I won't be a student forever and won't have to keep on purchasing the most up-to-date text-books too.
George's publication at BoxOfficeProphets is a great development, and an instructive one. It points toward some of the uncertainties -- and some of the suspicions -- of internet publication. As George writes,
I submitted what I was hoping to be a first draft to what I assumed was a bi-weekly article, so my first piece posted to the site is actually one I'm not too thrilled about. I was expecting more discussion with an editor, but instead found out it was live before I even knew the webmaster found it worthy.
(Strange for a blog post to quote a recent post from the same blog, but there you are.) George entered this arrangement, in short, believing that his work would go through the traditional editing process. It did not: instead, it was shipped straight to the site as is. As a result, he's not as happy with his publication (which he considers a draft) as he had hoped.
What does this suggest? To me, at least two things:
Web publication is faster, but the very speed of web publication may mean the role of "content developers" (what we used to call "writers" and "editors") is unclear. Do people even have editors? Or do writers do their own editing? What about post-publication editing? That's very possible, but should it be allowed, and to what extent?
Traditionalists are suspicious of the quality of web publishing. I tend to think their suspicions are overrated, but incidents like this suggest that there may be some rationale.
In traditional magazine or journal publishing, the writer gets to see a corrected draft or a galley proof before a text goes out into the world. The speed of web publishing makes that less likely, and a great deal of the burden of editing may be pushed upstream, as it were, in the direction of the writer.
Bottom line: the roles (and the rules) are changing. During a period of transition, mistakes proliferate. When working with a web publisher, try to nail down who is responsible for what. Get a clear sense (if you can) of the steps of the process. Because some web publishers might never have articulated the process in so many words, you could be doing them a favor.
Anyway, congratulations George! This is a good gig.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I recently was accepted to become a writer for BoxOfficeProphets.com, a site devoted primarily to film. One of the three assignments I'll be working on for them moving forward is a monthly article called the "Uncanny Update", where I discuss/rant about the latest super-hero and fanboy film adaptions on the upcoming release schedule. Unfortunately, I submitted what I was hoping to be a first draft to what I assumed was a bi-weekly article, so my first piece posted to the site is actually one I'm not too thrilled about. I was expecting more discussion with an editor, but instead found out it was live before I even knew the webmaster found it worthy. In any case, moving forward, I will be using the first three Tuesdays of the month to do a weekly article called "Take Five", where I pick 5 random films I've enjoyed to recommend and chat about; the last Tuesday of the month, I will be doing the "Uncanny Update"; and once every two months, I will do an article called "Shaking Our Fists at the Sun", which will be a bi-weekly piece about pop-culture events and is shared among four writers who rotate over those two months.
In any case, while I ask that you don't weigh your opinion of me as a writer for the entertainment industry entirely on this first rough draft of the "Uncanny Update", I figured I would share it with you all anyway. Enjoy, and stay tuned for my next article!
Last week, I had a co-op interview for a company in the publishing industry. While the experience was quiet ordinary, I struck up a very interesting conversation with my interviewer, and I am curious about what anyone here thinks. Once again, this is open to anyone, since I myself have not yet decided how I feel on the subject.
Aptara, the company I interviewed with, is a small 'publishing' house in Boston. It does mostly textbooks for all levels of education. While this is not a publishing house in itself, it is a company that other publishers outsource to.
Toward the end of my interview, I asked how the economy was affecting the publishing industry, and, in particular, this company. I was extremely surprised when the project managers told me they had been busier than ever and were doing extremely well. They then proceeded to tell me why....
Basically, both publishers and writers are supporting each other in the 'scam' of the century: they are printing new editions every year and attempting to print them bi-yearly. By doing this, they are constantly making new profits, since students cannot buy used textbooks.
Ultimately, the students blame the bookstores for now carrying 'used' editions, when the bookstores can only order what is in demand. As a student and someone who wants the publishing industry to succeed, how do you feel about all of this?
Hey everyone. In an effort to find out how Augusten Burroughs got published by Picador, I stumbled across this link. The short article is about Picador's new Twitter book club, where readers of their published books can go online and post thoughts on specific titles at scheduled times. First up is Yoko Ogawa’s “The Housekeeper and the Professor,” set for April 10, 2009. I haven't heard of it but I'm also not a book-a-week reader. What I am is an Augusten fan, and his latest memoir "A Wolf at the Table" is an upcoming discussion.
To promote the club, Picador was giving away free copies of "The Housekeeper and the Professor" today on the Twitter site. At 2 pm, the first twenty people to "tweet" (seriously?) got free copies. It appears to be an ongoing contest, with every new release 20 people will get the featured novel a few weeks in advance. It's obviously a marketing ploy, but an effective one for those with free time. I'd check the site more often to be among the first to know of the contest if I wasn't so afraid Twitter was doomed to be the next Facebook. The idea of the site seems like a time vortex and probably not worth the constant supervision required to win (or most likely lose) such a spontaneously announced contest, or the price of the paperback itself. I will, however, keep checking Augusten and the Picador Book Clubs' sites and hope they post ads of the dates there as well.
I agree with many of Julia's (and the article's) points. Frugality is something that has been missing from the publishing industry for decades now, it would seem. Gigantic profit margins are just not feasible in the American literary market. I don't think it should even be called a market, really. Innovation is something long due in the publishing world, as well. Technology certainly isn't everything, and relying on that to rebuild the industry would be foolish. In many cases technology simply poses in the guise of a new idea, rather than truly innovating. Just because something has been moved to the Internet does not mean it is completely new. I think for this reason e-books initially failed.
But the responsibility for innovation need not be solely on the shoulders of the publishing companies. Authors can do their part, too. In the current literary climate, it would seem that stylistic and promotional innovation are merging - at least in the case of John Wray, the author of The Right Hand of Sleep, Canaan's Tongue, and the just released Lowboy. For Canaan's Tongue he toured for two weeks in a makeshift raft down 600 miles of the Mississippi River, stopping to do readings on the way. The novel focuses on a horse thief who in reality haunted that same area in the 19th century. The story of this interesting though gimmicky move are detailed in this New York Times article. The readings were a bust, and the reporter notes that "there are few things more useless on a river than a novelist" but the scheme worked, in my opinion - I mean, it got a whole story in the New York Times. Similarly, Wray wrote the majority of his new novel on the New York subway, where most of its action takes place. I think by further collapsing the boundary between the author and his work, no matter how outlandish the work or the collapsing movement are, Wray's fiction rings with more of this "truth" that Stephen King and many other authors have spoken of. And as I said, it hasn't hurt his publicity.
This article in Publishers Weekly talks about the ways that some small, independent publishers have been able to prosper in this tough economy. The two primary reasons are that they are not afraid to be frugal and are not afraid to be innovative. A number of these companies have taken to helping authors grow their own businesses through promoting their books. Publishers should not be afraid to try out new, fresh ideas. Independent musicians have become increasingly popular via social networking sites such as myspace. Indie film festivals and other events are all over these days. Certain groups of people are growing tired of big name movies and music; the publishing industry should capitalize on this and market to those who 'go independent' in their choice in films and tunes. Technology is important, but it isn't everything. Small publishers should recognize that every outlet should be utilized, not simply those outlets that are the most obvious.
I look at the publishing industry and simply watch its inevitable decline. My generation was born in the middle of the digital revolution, allowing us to embrace the technology without giving the immense changes a second thought.
For forty, fifty and sixty-something-year-olds who have watched the change towards the digital and information revolution unfold have a very different sentiment toward the recent changes in the publishing world. My peers and I can only watch the subtle but steady collapse of the industry, not truly understanding it, while our parents live the change everyday.
Last night, I met up with a friend who was visiting town for a few days. Karen Escalona, an accomplished journalist and striving literary writer, has been a part of the industry since she left Julliard in the late 60s to purse another passion: writing. Once our catch-up conversation died down a bit, I decided to tae the plunge and ask Karen her thoughts about the continual decline of the publishing industry.. Ass so as the question was in the open, she hesitated for a moment, aced her cup of tea on the bar top before raising her heard and said: "Let me tell you a story about my neighbor, Roberta">
Roberta Valvarez* was a beat reporter at the Miami Herald for over fifteen years before coming a syndicated columnist in 1992. She is a veteran of the newspaper industry, having been an active journalist for over thirty years. Her bilingual skills allow Roberta to do two jobs for the price of one employee. She writes for both the Miami Herald and the Nuevo Herald- the paper's Spanish edition. Roberta first noticed the industry changes when other publications began paying the Herald for the rights to publish her column in their newspaper. This change was quiet and did not affect anyone else's job, but Roberta never saw an extra dollar for these additional publications.
The first officially market shift in the newspaper industry took place five years ago. The Miami Herald began to downsize, the known and feared first sign of trouble in the workforce. Now, the Herald was in the "red"- the industry's term for a substantial loss in revenue. The Herald's advertisements were not accumulating enough revenue, so in its bleak effort to compensate for the loss in profit, it began replacing article space with advertisements. But the Herald has such a large financial obligation that its marketing strategy could not save it from the quicksand of debt, leaving the newspaper with no other chose but to sell its rights to Knight Ridder.
The second marked industry change occurred exactly five years preceding the first, as if the timing was planned. Instead of The Change taking shape in the form of downsizing, the newspaper was giving itself a "makeover", complete with a new boss and the dismissal of reporters. To encourage the leave of certain employees, the paper supplemented the resign with a large financial package. The strategy was to dismiss those who could not take on more responsibilities, thus leaving the remaining employees with double- or triple- the workload.
Roberta Valvarez was considered an employee of value. After working her way up to an accomplished syndicated columnist of the paper's most popular column, Roberta was forced to take on beat journalism in addition to her current work, the entry-level position she long abandoned. Once again, Roberta did not see an extra dollar for her time.
Like so many writers in Roberta's position, she cannot afford to abandon her job and career. Widowed as a young mother of five, she still has children to send to college and a standard of life to uphold. Roberta compared the Herald's situation to walking through a morgue. Everyone is digging their own graves, waiting, waiting, for their turn to come.
Stay Tuned! As I find out more about the story, I'll post what happens next.
There's a guy at NU TV who is interested in getting people together to help work on original programming. He was wondering if anyone had a particularly interesting short story or script they'd like to see adapted. It sounds like NUTV is looking for people who would work with them to produce something for the fall semester. If anyone is interested or knows someone who might be, email Austin Park at Park.au@neu.edu .
While this doesn't directly address the question posed, it shows there are opportunities for writers in other forms of media.
In class yesterday, I perhaps mistakenly conflated the various South by Southwest (SXSW) events. In truth, as you'll see if you click on the link, there are three related events: the Film conference and festival, which takes place March 13-22; the Interactive festival, which overlaps with the early part of the week; and the Music and Media conference, which gets started tomorrow. (You can access the report on the publishing meltdown here.)
All this leads to the Question of the Week:
What can publishing learn from developments in music, film, and new media?
If you have been missing blog posts -- and some of you have, in a big way -- I'd like you to try to catch up now. Use this question, if you want, as an opportunity to explore the tech/publishing relationship. There are plenty of blogs on the right that explore that question in some detail.
I’ve just read an interesting article in Harper's, “The Last Book Party: Publishing drinks to a life after death”. In it, the author is attending a German publishing festival where publishing houses bid for the international rights to the year’s ‘hottest’ new books. What is interesting about the article is that the author is expressing a doubt I myself have about the future of the publishing industry and the different ways in which both authors and publishers are dealing with it. The author, Gideon Lewis-Kraus, also covers some ground familiar in Epstein. Lewis-Kraus creates a vision of the older generation of publishers as people genuinely interested in literature for literature’s sake, content with small profit margins with the greater goal of being purveyors of thought. This environment of people actually taking pride in their work was transformed when entities like Viacom and CBS entered the mix and “were insulted by margins of 5 percent”. We have all read about how this has created a craving for the next bestseller and authors receiving huge advances usually out of proportion with how well their book will actually sell. New technology, and more importantly the author’s ability to manipulate this technology is changing the focus once again. One author at the Fair, in a move similar to Stephen King’s online novel, has put his entire catalog on his website. He quips that he is “stealing from myself”. I find it interesting that by being on the vanguard of this techno-movement, the author forces the pendulum to swing back the other way, away from huge advances and inflated expectations. Because, at the moment, there is not an adequate system in place to create revenue for authors using technology to spread their work, we may be left with those authors that are true artists and whose greatest passion is to create great literature. Conversely, we may get to the point where everyone with an internet connection thinks that their work is worthy of being read to the masses. It will be interesting to see in the coming years how the publishing industry continues to navigate the issues arising from the use of newer technologies.
Scrolling through the Poets & Writers Submission Calendar, one contest captured my attention. Each year, the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) invites publishers to nominate book-length translations for this award. These books should have been published during the preceding calendar year. The winner receives $2,500. The criteria for judging the award are: (1) the significance of the literary contribution of the original as well as of the translation; and (2) the success of the translation in recreating the artistry of the original. Although this award is not something that I would be eligible for (at least not anytime soon), it interests me because of my passion for languages. I find it fascinating to read different translations of the same book and, if possible, to also read the text in its original language and see how the works compare. Translation is a craft that is hard to master and, no matter how gifted the translator, something is nearly always lost in the process. As mentioned in the criteria, submission to the National Translation Award must be a work of fiction, poetry, drama, or creative non-fiction. Literary criticism and philosophy are not eligible. Creative works are undoubtedly more difficult to translate, making this contest particularly challenging. The judges are board members of ALTA, and these members adhere to its goals of enhancing the status of literary translation, improving the quality of literary translation, and increasing the market for the publication of works in English translation. Skilled translators should be recognized and awarded for their craft. In addition to this, those features that make an exquisite translation must be brought out into the open so that the quality of literary translation as a whole can be improved.
The most intriguing of these contests at a glance was Fugue. I clicked on the link to discover it's a prose/poetry contest hosted by the literary magazine of University of Idaho, which I think has the awesomest name--Fugue. I have no idea how a small college publication funds a prize of $1000 for each other their two winners. But I think it's a genius idea that contest entrants get a subscription to the magazine, so the contest advertises and gets their name out to the public.
This week we will not have class on Thursday. If you are stuck for a blog topic, consider this: which of the contests listed in the Poets and Writers Submission Calendar seems most interesting to you, and why? What's interesting about the contest? The journal? The submission rules? The judge(s)?
Where is everybody? I suppose it does get harder to maintain a blog when you are stuck between the crushing weight of midterms and the prospective freedom of spring break. Lucky enough not to have midterms, I managed to find a few blips in the mainstream media that may interest the class:
First, Geoff Nicholson's editorial in the New York Times entitled "Can't. Stop. Writing." Musing on authors labeled "prolific," Nicholson tries to determine where productivity can entail too much of a good thing. He quotes James Gibbons as saying "The truly prolific author, as distinct from the merely respectably productive one, is either a genre writer or a relic." The idea here is that in today's world literary respect and prolificacy are often mutually exclusive - unlike in the 19th century, where Charles Dickens and Anthony Trollope got the best of both worlds.
Nicholson drops some pretty astounding numbers in respect to genre writers who broke world records with their output (we're talking close to a 1,000 books written in less than a lifetime). But he also considers some of the literary talents of the postmodern and contemporary era; Joyce Carol Oates, John Updike, and Anthony Burgess both have an impressive number of books under their names, and Thomas Pynchon has oh so few. Yet, I would argue, John Updike is a little more digestible than Thomas Pynchon. Imagine tomes such as Gravity's Rainbow and Against the Day appearing on bookshelves at a rate of 1 or 2 a year. Could the literary community read that quickly? I agree with Nicholson's final summation that creative output is almost out of the writer's control, at least when it reaches extreme levels. And I especially agree with Nicholson's theory that "perhaps the real reason we keep writing is the hope, naïve perhaps, that we’ll make a better job of it next time. Unless you’re a genius or a fool, you realize that everything you write, however 'successful,' is always a sort of failure. And so you try again."
Next up is an exhibit on books as art at the National Museum of Women in the Arts (at BC) that was pointed out to me by the Boston Globe. Apparently artists have taken to transforming books into miniature pieces of art - kind of like origami. I would be interested in seeing this exhibit, but I also wonder - how long before this mode is mass manufactured for sale in quirky little art stores, if it hasn't been already? The themes of the transformed books seem to have been incorporated into some of the pieces, though this idea could be taken to whole new levels - for example, a house for The House of the Seven Gables or an axe for Crime and Punishment. Or to return to our friend Thomas Pynchon, a mini V-2 rocket for Gravity's Rainbow. If these were manufactured, would the publishing industry be involved? I guess this is silly conjecture at this point, but the idea does seem lucrative. What if, instead of displaying your favorite books next to one another on a shelf, you had them sitting in their own displays as pieces of art?
I agree that, in terms of our blog voices, we must be conscientious of several things: We have to balance the informality of expressing our opinions about the readings with the academic necessities of the class. On the same note, we should be able to honestly voice our opinions while keeping in mind the nature of the blog as a public forum. I think it is too easy for us to fall into the trap, which seems to be common of cyberspace in general, of thinking that our writing is contained within the sphere of class, disregarding the very real fact that anyone on the planet could read our musings. It’s for this reason that I find it interesting that people are drawing comparisons between the blog and diaries. There are some obvious differences, such as the fact that I would probably never write a journal entry about the publishing industry, but I think the similarities are more prominent. David’s remark that we are always on view is never truer than when we post a blog entry, but I would be lying if I said that I have ever written in a journal with the notion that it would exist in a vacuum. By this I mean that, in some sense, anything we write we have the intention of having someone else read. If not, what would be the point of writing it? It would seem extremely self-congratulatory to write something down, particularly something like a journal entry, if it is only for the sake of proving to yourself of having thought that. To put it more clearly, the thought is yours the moment you think it, so why write it down for any other purpose than to communicate it to someone else? In this sense, the blog accomplishes exactly what a diary or journal does, but on a more prolific and immediate scale. Coming to the point in an extremely roundabout way, I think we should treat this blog with as much formality as we would treat a journal: We are all English majors so I imagine that we all have at least a semi-perfectionist attitude towards language, so the same impulse that would compel me to erase a misspelling in a journal prohibits me from writing this blog as though it were a text message. Simultaneously, I think we should all feel comfortable enough with the each other, and also with the public nature of the internet (thanks to its anonymity), to express whatever thoughts we have about the class, readings, or anything else that catches our attention. P.S. I couldn’t really think of anything coherent to write about this week, so I apologize if this post is rambling and pointless.
First, my response to blogging vs. journal/diaries:
I think the difference between diaries and blogs should be viewed similarly to the difference between feelings (diaries) and thoughts (blogs).
Thought - the content of cognition, carefully considered idea
Feelings - cognition itself, emotional responses
Diary's are like feelings.They're private and unexplainable.Feelings and deep writing happen when we least expect them.We’re not really sure why we experience certain emotional drives, how to write about them without some insecurity, how those feelings will be received by others and if you can piece a cohesive thought together to package it up for display.That’s why diaries are so crucial.They’re a place to store your random ideas and feelings into a safe place, free of judgment.We don’t display every feeling we have in the same way we don’t care to share everything that we feel and put it into writing.However, for the thoughts and feelings we can make sense of and wrap up neatly, we put them on display through…
Thoughts and blogs.If thoughts are carefully considered ideas, then blogs are the place to display the products of your working mind, but only if your careful thinking finds them acceptable for your desired audience.This does not imply thoughts and blogs can’t be bad or offensive.“Carefully considered” just means you’ve put enough consideration into it so that the people YOU care about aren’t offended.Referencing my last blog entry… even Hitler had a fan club.Carefully considered doesn’t always imply “widely accepted”.But this public display of yourself is “carefully considered” in a way that diaries are not.Unless you have an annoying sibling who won’t stop searching for your journal, you’re probably writing things in there you actively hope other people will never see.I know I do.Hell, I write things in there I don’t even want to see again!That’s how spontaneous and scary private writing and emotions can be.
But how can people differentiate what’s acceptable between the two, because let’s face it, feelings and thoughts (while clearly defined) are still just two ends of a spectrum that has a massive gray area in between.Thoughts make their way into diaries and feelings find their way into blogs.Many people don’t see feelings and thoughts as very different, so let me provide the x-factor I believe truly divides the two: time.
Diaries (feelings) are immediate, and therefore choppy and inconsistent.They’re too fast and unpredictable to be thrown into “careful consideration” so we throw them into our diaries instead, at the next most convenient time… for FUTURE viewing.Diaries are meant to be analyzed later, to find patterns in your thoughts processes.They exist for benefit in the future, unlike…
Blogs, which exist for the benefit of the PRESENT.Because this has nothing to do with one person, there is no time to waste in sharing your thoughts.If you wait long enough to go back to it, you’ll miss the topic at hand and be late in responding, therefore providing a nearly irrelevant response.If no one knows it exists, it might as well not.
You can go back to your diary whenever you want, so you write short, quick bursts of feelings that nobody can see.Your blog, though, requires immediate careful consideration because of the nature behind its immediate consumption by others.Your audience is your driving force and time is not on your side.The problem with this is that there are two different kinds of driving forces: desired and required.Desired would be the blogs you chose (ex: a movie blog, blog for cynics, writer blog… none of which I write on, though) and required would be the blogs you have assigned (ex: class, work).What’s the difference?Incentive.
If I cared what people thought of my thoughts, and wanted validation for my thoughts, I’d post on movie blogs and writing blogs.I know I will one day, when I don’t have a college full of friends distracting me and providing me already with the feedback I’d receive online.Once I graduate and have fewer forms of feedback, I’ll seek it on a properly selected blog.Because there is no incentive to blog now, I don’t.When I have nobody to talk to and need someone to respond, I’ll have incentive to blog.
Class and work are similar in the sense that they constantly have incentive (or should, if not at least through grades/paychecks).If a class or job has gone through the lengths of setting up a blog, there is probably a reason, and you’re probably required.
This blog is an interesting sort of fusion.For me, it is both required (class) and desired (of personal interest).Only because it has recently lost a bit of its formality, in the sense that we’ve abandoned certain forced writings on readings for less formal, writing-general responses.I like that we can talk about things that interest us personally, as long as it also pertains to the writing nature of the class.If this were a required class blog in a Biology class, I think I’d fail the course quickly.So, with the closing of my “required” blog entry on a class discussion topic, I will add something a little more personal.
Part Two of my Post: The Dream Begins
I’ve been reading about and analyzing the Box Office for over 10 years through a number of different online movie sites.It’s pretty much the one area of interest of mine that I’ve fully utilized the internet for.In my quest to become a writer and movie maker, I’ve become sort of a critic.Only until recently has that critic been limited to my internal thoughts.After staying up this past Thursday night to go see the midnight showing of “Friday the 13th”, I decided to finally write a mini-review and submit it to one of the sites I check multiple times a day:BoxOfficeProphets.com.It’s not a blogging site, but considering it combines two of my favorite hobbies, movies and writing (through reviewing) , I felt it to be both personal and relevant to the class.I thought it would be a good way to get at least one facet of my voice published, even if on a less-credible than print-publication medium.In any case, I received an email Saturday afternoon from one of the webmasters saying he enjoyed my review and personal statement submissions and was glad to bring me on as a part of BOP (basically he only thing good to come out of Valentine’s Day).It’s not a full-time staff writer’s position, but I will be given occasional assignments that might be posted to the site to start.I’m pretty excited, so after the first assignment of mine that gets posted I will add the link here on the blog.My personal and writing-relevant contribution to the class, if you will.This is of course on top of some of the more “required” entries, but at least I’m also trying to find a way to introduce some more “desired” entries in a way that you might find class-relevant and appealing.
Reading the first few chapters of the Writer’s Market Companion helped me understand the growing and declining categories of books and magazines. I found it interesting how the Christian market is growing: “In 2001, for the first time, religious titles sat atop both fiction and nonfiction Publishers Weekly best-seller list”(12). I have been witnessing the success of religious titles in my church. The church that I attend owns numerous Christian bookstores and tries to promote the titles by new authors. I even remember the minister suggesting that we buy Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life, which the book refers to as the longest-running nonfiction best seller on the Publishers Weekly 2003 charts. In the table labeled “Category Growth and Decline in Trade Publishing” in page 16, the titles published in the religion category doubled from 432 in 1992 to 834 in 2002. I found that there are Christian Resource websites such as www.christianbooks.com. When I entered this website, I saw different columns for bestsellers, fictions, children’s books, music, etc. Among the bestsellers were works by well known authors like Rick Warren, Tim LaHaye, and Karen Kingsbury. The bestselling books and other categories are said to be updated weekly. It says in Writer’s Market Companion that books seem to fragment into niches. I found this evident in the website since the book titles are categorized into smaller niches: Church, Pastoral, Theology, Philosophy, and others. Browsing through this site made me realize once again the growth in the Christian market.
[Note: corrected link -- David]
Tried to post these as comments, got a word verification pop-up box that said "Loading..." and never loaded, so posting these as a separate post that will hopefully show up.
Reply to lauren: I agree that this course is completely different from other class in the university, but the lack of regulations is a bit daunting. There are no set topics to post on and no real rules imposed. While those are limiting, they can also guide lost posters (including me!) to post something, even when it feels more obligatory rather than the need to share something insightful or interesting. Plus, this blog is so different from personal blogs, including liverjournal which you mentioned, that the difference is kind of jarring. Basically, open is good, open is freeing, but too open is...too much, with so many possible topics to post on and finding the proper blog voice as Abbyz said. For me, the prompt is a very welcome thing as I hope I can use it like a crutch to get more comfortable with posting here and then, posting prompt-less posts.
Reply to AbbyZ: Definitely, I'm also struggling to find both topics and the proper voice to use in this blog/forum thing. While I too, want to be informal, I want to sound informed and insightful too, rather than blurting out my reaction to the reading or something else. There's this disparity between the want to be informal and/or spontaneous and the need to contribute to the blog, that creates tension.
I’ve always had some kind of website- when I was 11 it was expage.com (a juvenile web-page builder that presents the user with many choices of how to terrorize any accidental viewer- my personal favorite was a pink-cloud background), then I moved on to getting “hosted,” and finally just resorted to simple blogs that I visit every 2-3 months. At first I was really into the whole website craze and spent a lot of time and consideration making my website presentable and interesting. Believe it or not there was a whole network of teenagers (mostly girls) who built sites similar to mine, but the goal was not to sell something or commemorate any particular interest. Our pages always were centered around a blog we wrote in about our daily teenage lives and would have an accompanying “about me” section and “guest-book.” These websites were a sort of social connection to the other website owners, but mostly it was just a hobby for us. Since the blogs would have mostly similar content (i.e.: the latest cd I bought and fell in love with, how unfair my parents were, and what a b*tch my best friend was being) I did feel some “pressure” to make mine as interesting as possible. This was done with added snarkyness and endless teenage angst. Not sure how effective it was, but it seemed to work.
My blogs now are abandoned 350 days of the year, and every so often I go back with enough rage or unusually high-pitched happiness and write something down. Sometimes it’s out of boredom. But what I write in those blogs now is mostly for myself, since I no longer really care if I have any “friends” or have other blogs that I link to or read. I think in that way I have less of a target audience, but I still catch myself trying to express an emotion in an overly showy way, as if keeping with the illusion that anyone will stumble upon and read it.
This blog is a part of a whole different universe of blogs- it forces us to write and think about our potential audience in a far different way than I had with my website or neglected live-journal. There is so much out there in the blog world that I’m really unfamiliar with- political blogs, blogs about gooey but diet-busting food, ones that rip apart Angelina’s latest baby announcement or how Jennifer Aniston really cannot get over it (I don't buy that, by the way). The point is blogs can be anything, really, because there is no moderator. I guess as students we’re not really used to this kind of forum, but this class is already so far apart from the other college courses I’ve taken that I’m open to the newness. And I'm happy that it’s a trial and error process, because that is as close to experiential education as I’ve gotten so far.
I'm struggling to be as informal as possible. I think the whole point of blogging is to write on the fly--to write your thoughts as they come. Because blogging is a conversation, I think it should be unedited, no copy & paste, no refining your words.
I think part of the problem with this format has been the idea that I'm writing for other writers. I want it to be good, something to make people think. But at the same time, I want my "blog voice" to be how I speak.
Plus with blogging, I think the tone of one post affects another. When someone writes something intensely formal, we all feel like we should do the same.
The Boston Globe recently published this article about the clamor surrounding the new Kindle. As the article notes, "Seldom has a new product that isn't really new created such excitement." Increased thinness and decreased weight are among the improvements the new Kindle has upon its predecessor. Fueling buzz for the product are endorsements from names quite familiar to our class: Stephen King (looking rather extraterrestrial in the photo) and Oprah Winfrey.
The article really isn't about the Kindle, but rather what it represents - the future of publishing, and more specifically, books. I think the position the article presents is probable. "Will the convenience of electronic reading make the experience of curling up with a book a thing of the past? Most authorities on the place of books in society doubt it." As is noted in the article, new technology often doesn't completely replace old - the comparison drawn to the emergence of photography technology and its effect on painting was very fitting, I thought.
Another issue raised by the Kindle and other electronic book devices is the question of royalties for authors. Electronic books sell for much cheaper than print books, and if royalties stay at present percentages, authors won't be making very much at all. A resolution to this is not clear at present. If the industry becomes mostly electronic, production costs should go down, allowing authors to stake a higher royalty. With enough fame, fortune, and tech savvy authors may even be able to go it alone without publishers - a la Radiohead and "In Rainbows." As for print books, maybe book contracts will come standard with separate sections for the two mediums, and a proportionate royalty for each.
A final interesting note about the Kindle 2: Stephen King has written a short story specifically for the device, and in that story, a character uses the Kindle. Could we call this product placement? I would say so. A clever marketing move? Maybe. It raises an interesting question about advertising in literature, a subject which has been mentioned by others on this blog. I don't think that we will ever see banners or pull out ads in our books, but I do believe product placement has the possibility for wide prevalence in some areas of fiction and non-fiction. Something tells me that the avant-garde won't take to it (without irony, at least), but I could see genre fiction and non-fiction using it. Obviously, product placement treads a fine line and must be used sparingly and with precision. Assaulting the reader with a tirade of real life products would probably have the same effect as the overuse of adjectives and adverbs has on the pace and feel of a story. But a few spots here and there - why not? Many popular authors have inadvertently done this in attempts to provide realistic detail: for example, Tom Clancy's novels are quite specific about vehicle and weapon brands. The appearance of the iPod, as opposed to the generic mp3 player, in many pieces of popular writing is also technically product placement.
It is a wonderful site about a writer who loves to write and hopefully can be published one day. She wrote a great article today, that was kind of reminiscent of Stephen King’s On Writing,, but it had me thinking about character development for stories and how people go about expressing there stories thorough there characters. Here is an excerpt of today’s entry called “Living, Breathing Fake People”:
“Any writer who goes about things through her characters is well familiar with the notion that fictional characters become almost real to those of us who conceive them and spend inordinate amounts of time thinking about them and then writing about them. These people who are nothing more than figments of our imagination become as real to us as people we know who actually move and breathe, even if we keep this little fact to ourselves. We can hear voices, imagine what a character will do in a given situation, even attribute a runaway plot to a character who isn't doing what we expected him or her to do.
But in the interest of creating three-dimensional characters who are able to engage a reader and draw them into the story, I have to wonder when a writer has gone too far. When the character becomes a little too real.
I'm sure each writer has his or her own particular line.
I have an entire village worth of characters who populate my brain, each person as unique and familiar to me as my own family members. And I've done some crazy things in my efforts to get to know the ins and outs of these folks.
I've interviewed my characters. Inserted myself into a scene, asked questions like a reporter and responded to the answers I was given, just as if I were as fictional as my character. I find this is a great way to fine-tune my character's voice. It also helps me dig deep, to follow threads that reveal motivation and deep seated feelings I'd never before considered. I have a lot of fun with this, and often it threatens to take over the actual writing of the story…”(Read More Here)
After reading this blog entry and a few others, I though about the question that was brought up. I think it can be hard to do a response for these blog because I think many of us are torn to do our academic duty and respond because its part of our grade. However, it seems that many of us are familiar with how blogging works and feel the ease of being able to express ourselves differenly. Since, we don’t have such a specific subject we have to keep addressing. Many of us have went as far as submitting our own work or bringing up Publishing News. All of this helps us get a sense of what this class is suppose to be about. I don’t think any of us have crossed the line in making anything too personal. It has all been opinion which is health for discussion and commmeting. In my own opinion, I think that we all have done a great job finding out own blog voice. I try to do the responses in away where it is something that I will enjoy reading as well as sharing. My last few responses have personally strayed away from our readings, just because I think many people tend to response on the readings and it has just been away to bring a sort of diversity to our blog. But I love reading comments about Lukeman, King and others because it gives an insight on what people think of the same textbook that is being read. It’s hard to find a blog voice for an academic class, but I think for this experimental case we succed.
First I want to thank George for suggesting that I prompt students with a question each week. This seems like a great idea. Thinking about my distractedness in class yesterday brings to mind a general principle of life:
We are always on view.
It's tempting to think that we can just be ourselves in social, professional, and academic settings, but it's just not so. We are always on stage, always on display, always potentially being scrutinized. (Facebook candor provides an endless set of lessons on this issue.) By its presence and accessibility, this blog is a public document. We all, students and instructor, continue to build public presences through our postings and comments. Potential employers and professional references might very well chance on this blog.
This leads to my question of the week:
How do you manage your blog voice?
I don't want this question to limit topics: feel free to avoid it. But if you're stuck, this might be a place to start.
On the whole, the blog posts have had the feel of "weekly responses," resembling the kind of informal responses that might be submitted individually in a traditional class. Here's a reading; here's my response. Here's another reading; here's another response. As such, a number of them have the informality (one might say carelessness) of private writings, with little attention to formatting or style. There's nothing necessarily wrong with this approach: it's one way to proceed. And I'm not going to urge you to be more dialogical again -- you know where I stand. What I'd like this question to generate, rather, is a conversation about blogging versus "private" forms such as diaries. Informality can be a kind of voice, including inattention to error. However, if such informality is not deliberate, it runs the risk of mistaking a blog for a private forum.
I'm aware I've not gotten off to the greatest start this semester. A lot has been distracting me (not just senior-itis) and blogging has often fallen victim to the back burner as a result. I apologize for that and hope this first entry of mine can pave the way for all those that are to come. I'll keep this brief, so as not to waste too much time when I could be posting about more class-relevant items, but there is something I would like to address. Last Thursday, I sort of had a breakdown during class. Not "sort of", so much as "a blatantly uncontrollable" breakdown. I have known for some time that my best friend is sick, but found out shortly before class that the diagnosis is two kinds of cancer. The odds clearly aren't good and for 3o seconds in class I was finally able to begin processing it. I'm not really taking the news well. In fact, it kills me someone so wonderful is being dealt such an unfortunate set of cards. I have since had more time to deal with it and wanted to appologize for not being more, for lack of a better word, "professional" during class. I meant to take the day off, but was convinced going to class was for the best. I'm sorry for distracting everyone and causing a scene. I know the issue was dropped shortly after my departure, but I didn't want there to be an awkward air around me in the class like I'm some ticking emotional time-bomb. It's extremely rare that I cry at all, so in a way you were all lucky to see a hidden human side to me. In any regard, thank you for understanding and not making me feel like an idiot today in class. I'll be more composed from here forward.
Many readers have come across the occasionally book in the bookstore with the big letter O written on it and have know what it stand for, Oprah’s Book Club. A club that in its own right is a Bestseller’s list that rivals the New York Times. Authors, publishers and editors know that if this woman – Oprah – chooses your novel then it is a guaranteed gold mine for you. As Kate Pickert described it in her TIME magazine article, Oprah’s Book Club “is not so much a club as a ruthlessly influential marketing vehicle, with the power to fundamentally alter best-seller lists, Amazon rankings and royalty payments” According to Pickert the Oprah’s club has 2 million members and has its own website that helps readers interact with each other and have reading tools on the chosen books or just advice on reading. Many authors, publishers, and editors believe in the power of Oprah’s Book Club because of “its influence on sales, which has been known to increase a print run fivefold”
Take for example the latest book that was chosen by Oprah Winfrey back in September; The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, a book by a first-time novelist. The publisher who “had already ordered 750,000 "Oprah versions" from the printers…[and] were already on their way to bookstores across the country” when the announcement was made. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle “debuted at #14 on the New York Times fiction bestseller list with an initial print run of 26,000 and crept up to #2; it will be #1 on the list published October 5”. That is the effect that Oprah’s Book Club has on the publishing industry.
Pickert brings up the point that being branded by Oprah is not always a good thing for many publisher, especially authors. Jonathan Franzen, author of The Corrections was picked to be on Oprah’s Book List in 2001. Franzen thought this made his “book [have] ‘that logo of corporate ownership on it’ [and] dismayed him. "
On a side note, Pickert lets us know that “since her club debuted in 1996, Winfrey — who personally chooses which books to endorse and does not financially benefit — has invited 66 titles into her club.”
Based on the article, what do you think of Oprah’s Book Club? Does it stay true to literature? Is it a marketing ploy? How is it beneficial to the readers and the authors? Thoughts?
While the rise of technology is directly correlated to the death of the publishing industry, it does not necessarily have to put an end to publishing and editing industry altogether. Most people say they do not read because they do not have time, not because they do not want to. If technology is going to make reading an experience of convenience for these readers, perhaps more people will begin to read again. In this case, books sent directly to media still need to be edited and go through most parts of the publishing business. The ability to obtain free things to read online, however, is worrisome. I enjoy nothing more than the smell of a ‘real’ book and the sound of freshly opened binding, but I can easily understand why readers are choosing to go digital. Theoretically, if reading is more convenient, more people should read, and the demand for books online should go up. Once again, this is only a theory, and, in practicality, it will probably make people lazier than they already are. However, the possibility for a ‘new’ type of publishing world exists. It’s up to current and future readers to decide where and when to read.
I am sorry Epstein; I have seen the end of the publishing business as we know it. I just watched an iPhone commercial in which one of our friendly fingers was paging through 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I have to believe, copyright issues notwithstanding, that this marks a crucial step towards the complete digitization of books. On a previous iPhone commercial they demonstrated how the phone could analyze a fragment of a song and connect the user to the iTunes store where the album could be purchased. What’s stopping this from being applied to text? I am greatly anticipating the time when I can read the New York Times Book Review, on their website via my phone of course, and immediately be connected to an online bookstore so that I can purchase the hottest new titles. Given these new possibilities, perhaps Apple should create something like iMedia. Similar to what Epstein conceptualized as a publishing conglomerate, filtered through online marketplaces, the opportunities afforded Apple could lead to the eventual creation of localized sites that cater to every interest of every consumer, be it Peruvian pan-flute music, the newest blockbuster action movie, or digital copies of text books. What I find terribly ironic is that the iPhone answers Epstein’s complaint, and the subsequent voracity of his belief that printed text will never become an extinct expression of technology, by providing digital books with which a reader can still fulfill some sort of tactile experience. It is true that holding an iPhone loaded with your favorite novels and poetry will never equal the sensory experience of standing in a room filled with those same books. I guess we just have to ask ourselves whether it is a fair trade-off to lose the experience of the smell and feel of a book in exchange for having access to the most extensive library imaginable in our front pocket. For me, the answer is a resounding yes and my interest is piqued as to how these technologies will continue to unfold and change our day-to-day lives.
I think The First Five Pages is a good little guidebook for those who aspire to become published writers but may need some help to get there. I like that Lukeman's chapters are short and to the point. He is able to explain concepts basically and although his examples are usually over the top, I think it is good, because it makes it absolutely clear what is unacceptable. I think I like this book because it could be useful to a wide range of writers. For novices, it gives clear guidelines about what one needs to perfect to be successful. For a more experienced writer, I think that it gives clear cut reference points that allow one to reinforce the things they were probably doing already. Lukeman's writing feels easygoing but firm and I like that. I think the most useful chapter out of these three is the one on style. While Sound and Comparison both point out important facets of writing, I think of the three style is the hardest one to alter. I also was amused because while I was reading the five ways to "tell if a manuscript suffers from stylistic errors" all I could think about was Epstein! I don't think number one really applies, but he manages to do the other four! I did feel that Book Business was being used as "an arena for the writer to exhibit his talent," that the writing was "too noticeable," that there was a great deal of redundancy, and that I was "being used as a reader." In the last post I made I tried to articulate just what I felt was wrong with Epstein's book and I don't feel like I quite put my finger on it. With Lukeman's descriptions, I can safely say that what was wrong with Book Business for me was definitely a stylistic problem.
The last 40 or 50 pages of Book Business felt very anticlimactic to me, going back now after finishing the book two weeks ago it is hard to even remember how Epstein wrapped it all up. I think that in theory it is interesting to hear from someone who had such an integral part in making the Library of America book series come to life, but Epstein somehow managed to make this story remarkably dull and flat. I think the most enjoyable part is when he relays the brainstorming Edmund Wilson did to come up with the concept. The story about the founding of the New York Review of Books also felt that way to me. I don't think that the topics he brings up are uninteresting, but for some reason for me the way that Epstein relays information is either irritating or flat out boring. His strength lies in the personal epithets he infuses throughout, but occasionally these are even tainted by a pretentiousness that he has about him. I think of the final three chapters I found the last one the most interesting, with the historical information about independent bookstores, and the transition from small shopping mall retailers to megastores like Barnes and Noble. A big part of the problem with this book I think is the fact that the information is taken from lectures that Epstein gave. It does occasionally have a story-like feel, but overall it reads like a lecture put on paper. The story is not a cohesive one, like I thought it would be. Coming into this book I envisioned a chronological history of Epstein's experience in the publishing industry, with some insight on future innovations. While you do get some of that from this book, I feel it could have been structured/written better. I don't know that I would have finished it if I didn't have to. As I've mentioned before, I don't think much of his book atm idea, and it was so annoying that he had to keep going on about it. The redundancy of this idea really got to me and made it difficult for me to stick it out through the afterword.
I guess I would say that I am sort of disappointed; I wanted to like this book, it sounded to me like something I would enjoy, but it didn't live up to my expectations. Epstein should be an interesting person, considering the life he led, and although I feel I would classify myself as a writer, I still am interested in the history of the publishing industry. I wanted this book to work, but I just found it lacking.
