Excellent post about the state of the publishing industry

This writer knows the problems well:

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Malcolm

What a terrific article. Even is it is over a decade old. I especially understand when he talked about the youngsters growing up with technology. Those of us who are older probably prefer to hold a book, while younger folks like the convenience and portability of a reader.

Interesting that the next to the article it says:


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This is known as a tie-in. :-)


What strikes me about this...especially the date of the original article... is the similarities to the auto industry. The whole giant guzzling SUV thing would be stupid at any rate, but coming after the oil crisis of 1973 it's practically criminal.

Think the publishers will fly private jets down to Washington and ask for hand-outs?


Frankly, I don't see the problem with publishing being so much format. People still like books.

It's that they publish so much crap that people don't want because they're arrogant and think they can buy sales.

So they keep pumping out the Judaica and ponderous non-fiction and relationship neurosis and multi-culti mediocrity because that's what people at their cocktail parties on Manhattan think is cool.
Instead of trying to find the next writer with a big vision.

Well said, Lin.

The BBC were decidedly uncool last night. They replaced the tenth episode of twelve in the adaptation of Charles Dickens's Little Dorrit with a Pamorama special documentary about a low life mother in Doncaster who kidnapped her own child in an attempt to fraud the police out of a "reward" for her missing child.

Tax payers will be paying for her long stay in prison, for the upkeep of her seven children by five different fathers, for thousands of police hours searching for the "lost" child, for an expensive trial and... a programme on the BBC!

The BBC scheduled the series in half hour programmes on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8pm and then wondered why the viewing figures were low! Wives and girlfriends of millions of football fans were denied the pleasure of this wonderful adaptation because mid week, televised football matches kick-off at 8pm.

How could the BBC be so stupid!

Shelagh,
perhaps they need one of those "Think" signs on their desks.
Of course if they don't read the football schedule they most likely wouldn't read the "Think" sign.