I have links to two articles I want y’all to read; each of them is, in its own way, such a bombshell about the craft and business of writing in today’s book world that I hardly know what to say.
(What, you ask? No clever comment, witty set-up, deplorable pun with which to frame these links?)
First, from the Boston Review, a revelation of some of the worst of Amazon’s business practices – except that if you have ever worked in publishing, it’s a revelation only of the extent of Amazon’s disrespect for publishers and, generally, books. (In the interest of full disclosure, my wife once worked for the American Booksellers Association, which represents independent bookstores nationwide, and the Network’s board president works for the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance, which does the same for stores in the Southeast. )
Second, from Slate, an article about America’s two “distinct literary cultures: MFA vs. NYC.”
Both are long articles, but well worth the time. Both tackles issues of the utmost importance to the literary marketplace, present and future.