virtualDavis

“We’re not suggesting that Eric Chase Anderson is a tad, well, quirky, but consider this: He plastic-wraps his books. With library covers. That he specially orders. From Wisconsin.”

via nytimes.com

Just stumbled across this former undergrad classmate who I knew mostly through The Georgetown Journal, the literary arts mag. A quick poke around online hasn’t shown me anything more, but I’m certain he’s up to something creative. Any leads on the whereabouts and/or doings of Eric Chase Anderson?

via blog.nathanbransford.com

The publishing world is awash in doomsday chatter, agonizing over the rapidly evolving packaging, distribution, retail and copyright landscape. There’s no question; the publishing world has changed, is changing and will continue to change. Bitch if you want, but we can’t go back!

Frankly, I’m with literary agent Nathan Bransford who says, “You can either be scared of the future or excited. I’m pretty excited.” His blog posting last Thursday has been swamped with comments, mostly optimistic comment from folks who are tired of the horror stories.

Bransford trumpets what’s being referred to more and more as thedemocratization of the publishing world. In the old paradigm, the filtration process (publishers, agents, retailers, etc.) dramatically limited the content that made it from creators to consumers. Probably in most cases this was a “good” thing, but it’s not hard to find fault with the top-down publishing model.

“In the e-book era, everyone will have a shot. And I refuse to believe that’s a bad thing… Yes, there’s going to be a lot of dreck out there that we’ll have to find a way to sort through. Yes, publishers will be challenged by lower price points and will have to change and adapt to the digital era. Yes, my job will probably change some too… And yes, this new era will require more of authors… It will require an entrepreneurial spirit and a whole lot of virtual elbow grease… But what better time to be an author?! All any writer wants is the chance to reach an audience and see what happens from there. Just a chance. And it’s looking like everyone’s going to get that chance.” (via blog.nathanbransford.com)

Poor Kelly Corrigan, first-time author, didn’t get invited to this weekend’s National Book Festival on the Mall to plug her 2008 memoir, “The Middle Place.” She won’t be rubbing shoulders with heavyweight authors such as Sue Monk Kidd, John Grisham or Pulitzer winner Junot Diaz. No major newspaper bothered to review the California mom’s tale about cancer and family and recovery when it was released. Her publisher didn’t send her on tour. All the old-school staples of book promotion — the book festival, the tour, the glowing newspaper review — Corrigan got none of them.

What was a newbie author to do?

She cobbled together a trailer for her book on her home computer, using iMovie software, downloading a free tune off the Web for background music, and stuck it on her Web site. Her agent helped get her on one network television morning show. About 20 friends hosted book parties, which she hit on a self-funded three-week blitz, selling books out of the trunk of her car. A guy shot video of her reading an essay at one of these parties, and she posted it on YouTube when the paperback came out.

A year later, the book has sold about 80,000 copies in hardcover and another 260,000 in paperback, according to Nielsen BookScan data. It sat on the New York Times bestseller list for 20 weeks, peaking at No. 2. That homemade trailer has been viewed more than 100,000 times. The video of her reading has drawn 4.5 million hits. She’s in Washington on Thursday, speaking at the Congressional Families Cancer Prevention Award luncheon. Then she will plow into more than a dozen paid speaking gigs across the country in the next six weeks.

What’s a book? Is this timely, or what?

(Cartoon via kratlee.tumblr.com)

“What I really love is that after working for (gulp) over twenty years in publishing, the game is still changing. Though no one really knows what the new business model(s) will look like, or how they’ll generate revenue, I am optimistic (or foolish) enough to think that these challenging times will give way to an exciting new landscape when all the details shake out. And I am honored to bear witness to this rebirth.”

via Lydia Dishman’s blog

The game is changing for sure, and it’s damned exciting! I feel like book publishing and storytelling in its purest form are re-converging. Storytelling in the digital age will grow more and more engaging, more and more compelling. I share Lydia Dishman’s optimism; only a lack of imagination can inhibit the exciting new means of sharing stories.

via webdesignerdepot.com

I’m beginning to feel a theme emerging. What is it about books as the raw material for creativity? For art? I’d love to see these in person!

via corcholat.com

I imagine this would not be fun as a traveling exhibition. Take down and set up? “Wait, that book’s in the wrong place!”

Posted by virtualDavis via web from virtualDavis’s posterous

This was simply too, too good to send off to the recycling bin without sharing the chuckle. If you’ve spent time in China — and maybe even if you haven’t — you’ll appreciate an email that was forwarded to me today. It’s one of those *clever* dispatches that asks you to read something and then scroll down until an image appears. So, some of the lead-up vanishes here, but the image says it all.

“If you can’t find the book you want, you’re probably shopping at the…”