Not unlike climate change, it’s something that digital-age writers worry about, but can’t nail down. I’m not sure what effect the accepting warmth of digital communities has on our literature. I don’t think encouraging people can make bad writing suddenly appeal to the masses. Are the communities going to start getting the same blame that self-publishing… Read More
#WDC15: Writer's Digest's Annual Conference
Hundreds of authors head into the ballrooms of New York City’s Roosevelt Hotel at Madison and East 45th this week for Writer’s Digest’s Annual Conference. There, many of them will woo literary agents in the confab’s huge Pitch Slam. And this year, the savviest of them will know exactly what moves those agents are looking for, thanks to… Read More
At HOW Design Live In Chicago: Karim Rashid, Creative Empowerment, And ‘Digital Freedom’
‘The Analog Age Was A Kind Of Oppression’ Like a Vegas-sideburned Tom Wolfe, Karim Rashid is fond of wearing white outfits, updated, taut, sleek. And his mission is flamboyant liberation: The digital age has shifted the mechanical age…a new non-serialized age…Total customization. You should be able to go online and pick out your car color from… Read More
Isn’t It Time For Self-Publishers To Get Over Self-Publishing?
Let’s Say You Walk Into A Bookstore You’re taken with all the books on the front table. New releases. Beautiful covers. Fascinating titles. You leaf through a few. You settle on one you really like. You’re ready to head for the cash register when suddenly somebody jumps up from behind the table and nearly gives… Read More
Don't Let Publishing Intimidate You
Messing With The Mystique You have the right to ask questions. You have the right to get answers. You have the right not to like the answers. To see your own publisher’s jaw drop? Phil Sexton recommends you ask him or her to let you review your book’s metadata. Then, with smelling salts ready for your… Read More
Writer's Digest's Conference In New York: Sway With Me
Every Year, New Moves Staging national-class writers’ conferences has never been easy. Competing interests go with the territory. In the past, organizers could lose a lot of sleep over the question of “craft vs. career” — how many sessions did hundreds of authors need on the art and skills of writing, and how many on the… Read More
Do All Conference Roads Lead to Writers Now?
By Porter Anderson | @Porter_Anderson Ether for Authors: Do All Conference Roads Lead to Writers Now? [dropcap style=”flat” size=”5″]T[/dropcap]he centricity of the entrepreneurial writer in publishing circles still comes and goes as a focus these days. We’re in the early days, yes. But Jon Fine’s line about starting with the author as customer and working backward… Read More
WRITING ON THE ETHER: Burning Up the Bunting
Writing on the Ether is a collection of news and perspectives on publishing. It is written by journalist and critic Porter Anderson for Jane Friedman and it appears at JaneFriedman.com each Thursday. Sponsorship opportunities are available and offer generous promotion. Join us on Tuesdays at Ed Nawotka’s Publishing Perspectives for the new Ether for Authors column. Read More