Writing Around Frustration - Writers and Publishing Dinosaurs

I've been hearing frustration from a number of writers I know and respect. It has becoming increasingly difficult to get good work published if it doesn't fall into formulaic approaches that publishers think will make money. There's a dangerous trend of experimentation and new thinking getting pushed out of the market. Publishers want writers with "platforms" to automatically sell so there is no need to invest in building word and audience over the long run. Ironically, in a business where developing something new can take multiples of the time necessary to engineer and manufacturer the latest sophisticated consumer electronics device, those running the show are ever more lusting after instant gratification.

But some writers, universities, and individuals are trying to find different approaches to getting to readers. One example is the author-run Fiction Collective Two, working with Florida State University, Illinois State University, private contributors, and the University of Alabama Press. Journalist and science fiction author Cory Doctorow has been releasing books and stories online for some time, finding that it helps build audience and, ultimately, sell copies. Self-publishing has been around for years: Walt Whitman first sold Leaves of Grass that way. But I think we're entering a time when some variation on the idea could actually go beyond getting exposure for a daring writer and ultimately save publishing from itself.