A while back, doing some research for an article on reading, I came across some interesting facts. The question had come up about whether the book publishing business was going the way of buggy whips and the dodo, and here's what I found:
If you are, say, forty years old, and if you read a book a day, every day, for the rest of your life, and if you live to be a hundred and fifty years old?
You won't be able to read all the books that were published in the United States last year ...
Of course, this number includes non-fiction, and a whole lot of drek; however, the publishing industry isn't about to go belly up just yet ...
2 comments:
Any thoughts about agents? Your views would be appreciated...
Also I was going to say something else but I can't remember what it was.
Oh yes. I was going to say that I think the publishing industry is starting to experience the same type of sea change that the music and record industries have seen. But it won't be as bad because hardcopy books are so nice, and there's just no way to duplicate them. BTW, the Sony SR505 is a very nice ebook reader. 7500 page turns on one battery charge and it holds several hundred or thousand books depending on how they're stored...
Agents, if you get a good one, fill in a lot of potholes on the highway to book sales. Trouble is, when you most need one is before you get published, which is when it it hardest to get one.
You essentially have to audition. Write 'em a query letter, and if you get a bite, send them something they think they can sell. There are place online where you can get a list of those who are reputable. Go down the list, look for one who sells and is looking for the kind of stuff you write, drop 'em a note.
Snail mail with SASE is still better than email for most of them. Email is easy to send -- and delete.
Better ones usually are full -- my agent doesn't have any room at the moment, until some of us die off, but there are some young and upcoming agents who will take a chance on a newbie.
I like the look of the latest round of readers, that e-paper looks cool -- but they don't connect to my Mac and since Macs haven't gone completely to the dark side yet, I'm holding off on getting one until the computers or the Macs intersect.
Leave a paperback on the seat of the jet, no great loss. Leave your reader, that'll sting a little more.
Drop one in the bathtub ... ?
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