Digital Publishing: Barbarians at the Gate?

I had some interesting stuff come through my email this morning, in particular this article from the NY Times: "Digital Publishing Is Scrambling the Industry."

In an industry where five big companies rule the roost, I love the way digital publishing allows authors, small presses, and self-publishers to speak directly to their readers and do some unconventional business. And by "digital publishing," I mean Web sites, blogs, ebooks, and Print-On-Demand.

The article compares the trade houses to a huge fortress, locking its doors up tight while the barbarians at the gate (digital publishers) laugh. After all, the barbarians aren't such bad guys. If we all just work together, we can build a better industry. Enough of this war-and-destruction stuff. Let's have tea.

Shel Horowitz posted an overview of BEA this year that caught my interest as well, particularly the bit on how many subsidy press authors were book award finalists, and of course the section on child prodigies. I wrote my first publishable novel when I was thirteen, but some of these kids have me beaten.

* * *

Buy my unconventionally published book! "Lord, Teach Us to Pray: Reflections on the Lord's Prayer" is available here.