tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post114803489135911544..comments2024-03-04T12:44:00.261+00:00Comments on Debi Alper: State of the IndustryDebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09600815804658702077noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-1148383936849314142006-05-23T11:32:00.000+00:002006-05-23T11:32:00.000+00:00Forgot to spell-check again so got equations wrong...Forgot to spell-check again so got equations wrong, apologies.<BR/><BR/>At least I got typesetting right this time, usually my fingers go "typsetting".Maxine Clarkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06628509319992204770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-1148383831487447972006-05-23T11:30:00.000+00:002006-05-23T11:30:00.000+00:00I love thinking about all this brave new worldy st...I love thinking about all this brave new worldy stuff and doing "thought experiments" as to where all this new tech might or could lead to.<BR/><BR/>However, my own actual experience of implementing "digital solutions" at work, which we do a lot, being a publisher, is that they are imperfect, and usually need a "manual check" throughout. Even typesetting is like that once you start putting in greeks, eqations and special characters. You can't just press a button.<BR/><BR/>So there is hope for us all yet but it is fun thinking about it all -- or maybe I am just a geeky nerd (not in reality but in what passes for my brain).<BR/><BR/>Good words, Lee --- so long as you can buy the Tesco stripe beans, whatever they are! (See Minx comment on later posting).Maxine Clarkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06628509319992204770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-1148217724061131992006-05-21T13:22:00.000+00:002006-05-21T13:22:00.000+00:00This is good stuff innit?Maxine - your brave new w...This is good stuff innit?<BR/>Maxine - your brave new world is scarey! But I think there will always be people who want to hold a real book in their hands. I know I will. And to continue Lee's analogy - photographs didn't replace paintings, tv didn't replace radio, dvd's ... vinyl, digital photography ... film. <BR/>But you're right - we ignore the new technology at our peril and would be crazy not to try to use it for our own purposes.<BR/>Lee - I'm always up for anything subversive!Debihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09600815804658702077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-1148189047794167592006-05-21T05:24:00.000+00:002006-05-21T05:24:00.000+00:00I 'm here, Maxine! Don't know if all conventional ...I 'm here, Maxine! Don't know if all conventional book publishers will go bust - film didn't destroy theatre, though perhaps the analogy is not quite appropriate - but there are major paradigm changes coming. Predictions are notoriously difficult and rarely accurate, so who knows what forms the new models will take? Interesting time, isn't it?<BR/><BR/>Debi, everyone always seems to assume writers <I> want </I> to publish (your 'natural progression'), that everything else we do is because we can't somehow break into the arena. But how about refusing to play the gladiator? The internet is one way. After all, how many novelists can actually support themselves through their writing alone? Think of all those MFA lecturers ... And the academy threatens the future of poetry, at least in the States: poetry <I>needs</I> to be free of the university, needs to be much broader, and more subversive.Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13770069472552779217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-1148160593450057412006-05-20T21:29:00.000+00:002006-05-20T21:29:00.000+00:00Well said, Debi. Especially the last bit!Well said, Debi. Especially the last bit!Roger Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08071467030127707462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-1148158227782199832006-05-20T20:50:00.000+00:002006-05-20T20:50:00.000+00:00Absolutely squared and cubed.I love your outlooks,...Absolutely squared and cubed.<BR/>I love your outlooks, everyone. I am sure that your "conviction writing" will win through, somehow.<BR/><BR/>I wonder if the technology "solutions" I am always reading about will help authors? At some point conventional book publishers will all go bust (read, eg, Michael Allen (GOB) on the randomness of it all), and we will be into an Infogeognostic-like situation of readers' choice between print, ebook, pdf or whatever, with Google Scholar (or other) indexing at author's cost (or something) -- and a page-rank-type system with reader ratings (a Google book search/Amazon hybrid) for books to reach the "top" of their subject categories. So books are kind of self-selected, rather than "published" as such.<BR/><BR/>Hmmmm -- Lee, are you there -- can you feel a sci fi story coming on? Put me in the acknowledgements -- the rest is yours to take and run with!Maxine Clarkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06628509319992204770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-1148144636939560962006-05-20T17:03:00.000+00:002006-05-20T17:03:00.000+00:00Absolutely!!Absolutely!!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03665385782194826703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-1148122772366829082006-05-20T10:59:00.000+00:002006-05-20T10:59:00.000+00:00So we're all of one mind then.-We love writing and...So we're all of one mind then.<BR/>-We love writing and couldn't stop if we wanted to.<BR/>-We each have a story (or several) we need to tell whether there's anyone else out there who wants to hear it or not.<BR/>-It's a natural progression to want to be published to give others access to our work.<BR/>-We recognise the limitations of the above even if we do get published.<BR/>-But if we do get into print, we're determined to drain every last drop of satisfaction from the experience as well as recognise our privilege.<BR/>-We find blogging just as creative and satisfying as any other type of writing.<BR/>-We're all yummy scrummy people who deserve only the best!Debihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09600815804658702077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-1148056086031213432006-05-19T16:28:00.000+00:002006-05-19T16:28:00.000+00:00Thanks Debi, and no I don't find this a depressing...Thanks Debi, and no I don't find this a depressing post, just a realistic one.<BR/>When I first started to think about submitting my work I read Carole Blake's - From Pitch to Publication. She pulled no punches from start to finish, laying out the pitfalls page after page.<BR/>What I came away with was that pursuing publication is a natural progression for me. I love writing and I can't stop. If I ever get to the place where you are I shall be eating the icing, the cake and the wrapper as well!<BR/>If not, then I can say with hand on heart, that my grandchildren will have some interesting stories to tell their children at bedtime!!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03665385782194826703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-1148052816561448942006-05-19T15:33:00.000+00:002006-05-19T15:33:00.000+00:00Yeah even though the holy grail of publishing anyt...Yeah even though the holy grail of publishing anything substantial has teased me for too long, since starting blogging I'm not so bothered about it, and posts like this help a lot.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-1148048356686657982006-05-19T14:19:00.000+00:002006-05-19T14:19:00.000+00:00First of all, hearty congratulations, Roger! Don'...First of all, hearty congratulations, Roger! Don't let me get you down! You could be the exception that proves the rule. It's impossible to predict who will make it and who will fall by the wayside and (sadly)it doesn't necessarily depend on the quality of your writing, as is obvious from some of the dross that's on the shelves as well as the maasive number of gems that never make it to first deal.<BR/>Publishers and agents always say that, even with massive marketing budgets (which few authors get) not all books make it, while there are others who fly high with minimal publicity. It's all about creating a buzz, but no one can tell you how that comes about.<BR/>Keep on doing what you're doing to spread the word from the bottom up. I wish I'd done that earlier. <BR/>Good luck! And for Chrissakes try to enjoy it!Debihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09600815804658702077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-1148047323030075782006-05-19T14:02:00.000+00:002006-05-19T14:02:00.000+00:00Sobering post. I find it particularly chilling as ...Sobering post. I find it particularly chilling as I'm about six weeks or so on from the publication of my first novel. That means the returns should be coming back from the bookshops around now!<BR/><BR/>I've had some great responses from actual readers - I was hoping for the word of mouth effect. Second generation readers, and so on. The slow burn, in fact. How naive!<BR/><BR/>When I was an unpublished writer I used to find bookshops the most depressing places in the world. Now I'm published, they're oppressive as well as depressing. I can hardly bear to go in them!Roger Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08071467030127707462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-1148045506493220132006-05-19T13:31:00.000+00:002006-05-19T13:31:00.000+00:00Hi and welcome. Glad you find this somewhat negat...Hi and welcome. Glad you find this somewhat negative rant useful.<BR/>Any ideas about the alternatives to the convention? (Apart from what we're doing now.)Debihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09600815804658702077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-1148043338324014252006-05-19T12:55:00.000+00:002006-05-19T12:55:00.000+00:00I agree with Skint that this is an excellent infor...I agree with Skint that this is an excellent informative post, containing much which is new to me. But my conclusion? Less and less inclination to bother with conventional publishing.Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13770069472552779217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-1148041969249071552006-05-19T12:32:00.000+00:002006-05-19T12:32:00.000+00:00Couldn't do it any other way!Couldn't do it any other way!Debihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09600815804658702077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-1148038025109563422006-05-19T11:27:00.000+00:002006-05-19T11:27:00.000+00:00Thanks debi, this is good information and good adv...Thanks debi, this is good information and good advice. Keep the faith - but keep it real.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com