This is the end, my only friend, the end
Posted at 4:35 PM Sep 04, 2008
By Bonnie Ruberg
For a ambitious, antsy, over-educated writer like me, a book deal is like the holy grail of... well, life. And for a cynical, elitist, over-educated human being like me, the idea of trusting the internet masses to judge the literary merit of potential book deals is... well, terrifying. So it's with great territoriality and fear that I present to you Authonomy, a beta site for HarperCollins where internet goers can vote on which manuscripts from the publishing house's slush pile should be voted up and considered by editors. The horror. The horror.
The people behind Authonomy presumably feel the site will 1) "flush out the brightest, freshest new writing talent around" and 2) it will rejuvenate the dying art of print publishing by involving the internet community. To that I say 1) have you ever worked at a literary agency or a publishing house? Of course you have, because you are one. In that case, you should know you get hundreds of submissions every day and you so don't need to flush out new talent, because new talent is already falling all over itself to get your attention and 2) have you met the people who live on the internet? These may be the community members who've collectively written Wikipedia, but they're also the asshats who troll forums.
Is this the beginning of the end for traditional print, or some brave new worlds in which LoLcats rule publishing houses with adorable irons fists? Heartless Doll readers, assure me this will all be ok, or at least join me in the comfy land of disillusion.
Comments
I'm sorry, I can't be comforting.... I share too many of your fears. After spending as much time as I do among the unwashed non-grammar using Internet masses I really REALLY do not want them voting on book deals....
Posted 09/05/2008 at 05:24:18 AMThose on the Internet are often regular people. So I would disagree somewhat with Anne, respectfully, I do want their
weighing in some, when voting on book deals.
Publishers, in a desperate search to achieve mass consciousness will, in all likelihood, put out titles that will be basal, quick or easy-reads, suitable like for the perpetually young, in their attempt to lean towards the most common demoninator - and for good reason as we are often told: Publishing is a business.
With that understanding, yes, I'd pin my some faint hope on those voting on the Net. After all, what other choice is there to affect what we read?
Posted 10/27/2008 at 09:18:11 AMThose on the Internet are often regular people. So I would disagree somewhat with Anne, respectfully. I do would want
them weighing in some, when voting on book deals.
Publishers, in a desperate search to achieve mass consciousness will, in all likelihood, put out titles that will be basal, quick or easy-reads, suitable like for the perpetually young, in their attempt to lean towards the most common denominator - and for good reason, as we are often told: publishing is a business.
With that understanding, yes, I'd pin my some faint hope on those voting on the Net. After all, what other choice is there to affect what we collectively see available in bookshops?
Posted 10/27/2008 at 09:22:25 AM