Say it ain't so
Garrison Keillor predicts a world without traditional publishing.
Back in the day, we became writers through the laying on of hands. Some teacher who we worshipped touched our shoulder, and this benediction saw us through a hundred defeats. And then an editor smiled on us and wrote us a check and our babies got shoes. But in the New Era, writers will be self-anointed. No passing of the torch. Just sit down and write the book. And The New York Times, the great brand name of publishing, will vanish (POOF), whose imprimatur you covet for your book ("brilliantly lyrical, edgy, suffused with light" — N.Y. Times). And editors will vanish.
Back in the day, we became writers through the laying on of hands. Some teacher who we worshipped touched our shoulder, and this benediction saw us through a hundred defeats. And then an editor smiled on us and wrote us a check and our babies got shoes. But in the New Era, writers will be self-anointed. No passing of the torch. Just sit down and write the book. And The New York Times, the great brand name of publishing, will vanish (POOF), whose imprimatur you covet for your book ("brilliantly lyrical, edgy, suffused with light" — N.Y. Times). And editors will vanish.
posted by Madame Defarge at 9:17 AM
1 Comments:
It's sad to think how easy it is. Not that I don't believe that there are good writers out there, (for whom, perhaps, this innovation of immediate publication is a blessing). But now it seems like there'll be so much more crap to wade through. It's a vanity press, but even easier. I suppose the same can be said of music as well. With Youtube, we can all become actors and singers regardless of talent.
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