A Few Good Reasons Why You Should Think Before You Write
By Anthony F. Shaker
Writing, ghostwriters and publishers just aren’t what they used to be. The industry, of course, shows a few bright spots here and there, but its nature has dramatically changed.
For one thing, print publishers can no longer afford to print with the same abandon as in the past, or spend tens of thousands of dollars on hotel bookings and air fares for every major book campaign. This has been a business model long in decline. Replacing it are online publishers of every variety. And they’re churning out content on an even grander scale, with less than a fraction of the cost.
It seems everything is getting “published” these days. The good, the bad, the vain—makes no difference as long as it sells, or leads to a sale. The Internet has opened up unprecedented possibilities for self-expression. All you need is some optimization savvy, good ranking on the search engines…and, presto, you’re a publisher.
Given the possibilities, only an addlebrained blogger or independent web publisher would complain about “Athens on the Net,” as New York Times op-ed writer Anand Giridharadas dubbed the democratizing impact of the Internet. Technology has simply transformed the way we think, communicate, read, write and publish. But there’s more to it than that.
In the 1970s, rising costs began to force print publishers and writers alike to give more than just lip service to planning and forethought. A great development—considering how many trees were being cut down to print all those books. That is, until the Internet came into being and marketing became everyone’s sole obsession.
Don’t get me wrong. I love the Internet—the Web. What troubles me is