Of course, not everyone is embracing this new approach to publishing. Garrison Keillor has bemoaned where this will lead. Rather than restate his position, I'll quote some relevant passages.
"I grew up on the windswept plains with my nose in a book, so I am awestruck in the presence of book people, even though I have written a couple books myself. These are anti-elitist times, when mobs are calling for the downfall of pointy-head intellectuals who dare tell decent people what to think, but I admire the elite. I'm not one of them — I'm a deadline writer, my car has 150,000 miles on it — but I'm sorry about their downfall. And this book party in Tribeca feels like a Historic Moment, like a 1982 convention of typewriter salesmen or the hunting party of Kaiser Wilhelm II with his coterie of plumed barons in the fall of 1913 before the Great War sent their world spinning off the precipice."
Clearly, Keillor enjoys the "reader be damned" notion of publishing being ruled by elitists. Okay, fine. Whatever. Back to Keillor.
"[Now] if you want to write, you just write and publish yourself. No need to ask permission, just open a website. And if you want to write a book, you just write it, send it to Lulu.com or BookSurge at Amazon or PubIt or ExLibris and you've got yourself an e-book. No problem. And that is the future of publishing: 18 million authors in America, each with an average of 14 readers, eight of whom are blood relatives. Average annual earnings: $1.75."
Um, I think Keillor's a bit confused. He names several POD and/or vanity publishers who produce print books, but confines their output to ebooks.
Anyway, we'll overlook that. The larger issue is that he assumes self-published work will only be read by a handful of blood relatives. Well, hello. Tell that to Karen McQuestion or Elisa Lorello, neither of whom have had traditional publishers and both of whom have been Kindle bestselling authors. (Karen McQuestion has even signed a movie deal.)
We could talk about Karla Brady, an up-until-now indie author (in print and ebook format) who's recently landed a two-book deal with Simon & Schuster.
I could talk here about my own book, IDENTITY CRISIS, which enjoyed remarkable ebook sales earlier this year. It's gotten some really awesome reviews in online and print publications, as well as from readers (none of whom are blood relations and most of whom I've never met).Oh, and speaking of self-publishing ebooks, now Apple is getting in on the act. And even the Wall Street Journal is questioning the publishing industry's chances of surviving a brave new world of digital publishing. (Jeez! What took them so long to catch on?)
But back to Keillor's concluding thoughts.
"Self-publishing will destroy the aura of martyrdom that writers have enjoyed for centuries. Tortured geniuses, rejected by publishers, etc., etc. If you publish yourself, this doesn't work anymore, alas.
"Children, I am an author who used to type a book manuscript on a manual typewriter. Yes, I did. And mailed it to a New York publisher in a big manila envelope with actual postage stamps on it. And kept a carbon copy for myself. I waited for a month or so and then got an acceptance letter in the mail. It was typed on paper. They offered to pay me a large sum of money. I read it over and over and ran up and down the rows of corn whooping. It was beautiful, the Old Era. I'm sorry you missed it."
I'm sorry, but is this not the publishing equivalent of "I used to have to walk five miles in the snow to get to school"?
And who says the self-publishing process was a quick and easy way to (successfully) break into the business?
Got news for you -- each way involves hard work, patience and persistence.
Sure, Mr. Keillor. I'm really missing out on all that martyrdom.
Like I'm missing out on using leeches instead of medicine.
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