Comments on: The sky is falling?

By: laughingwolf

laughingwolf — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:34:03 +0000

very well said… readers will always find ways to get the books they want in their preferred formats, like you say

By: Gini Koch

Gini Koch — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 21:01:17 +0000

When movies came in, they said it was the death of print. When talkies came in, they said it was the death of print. When TV showed up, yep, death of print. Internet, again, death of print.

And so it goes.

You’re so right and thanks for such a great, well written comment on the latest “death of print” brouhaha. I’m sick of hearing people cackle about how this will kill books or that will kill books. And I’m tired of defending the publishing model (which is there because, as you said, it works) especially to those who aren’t inside it or who refuse to understand why it is how it is.

Thanks for the voice of reason!

By: Bernita

Bernita — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 23:25:28 +0000

Thank you, Stacia!
I have been so freaking annoyed by all this Chicken Little yap and it is a pleasure to read some good logic and clear common sense applied!
I’m not worried about this idea that self-publishing will dilute the market place either.
So there will be more books available to the reader, but so what?
People will continue to buy books the way they always do: on the recommendation of friends or review sites, because of the cover or the blurb.The fact that there will be more doesn’t change this dynamic.

By: jjdebenedictis

jjdebenedictis — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 21:32:19 +0000

Ooh! Ooh! May I be a complete nerd in the name of reassuring you? Physics is my field!

Gravity is proportional to mass, so the Earth’s gravitational field cannot get smaller unless the mass of the planet gets smaller. And honestly? Some scientists think the Moon is a big chunk of Earth that got whacked out of us by an asteroid, so the planet appears to be able to withstand a big loss of mass. And we can walk on the Moon, so lower gravity is not necessarily dangerous to humans.

Likewise, the Sun’s gravitational attraction is what holds Earth in its orbit, so Earth’s orbit cannot fail unless the mass of the Sun decreases significantly. The Sun, however, is so freakin’ massive that even a rogue planet the size of Jupiter crashing into it would have no noticeable effect. The only thing that could would have to be equally massive–i.e. another star.

Which we would see coming for a loooooong time; the closest star to Earth is currently about 9,500,000,000,000 kilometers away and moving at a fairly sedate speed relative to us.

So we’re good, gravitationally speaking.

By: mkcbunny

mkcbunny — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 18:41:28 +0000

Great post.

By: midnightblooms

midnightblooms — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:08:38 +0000

Your blog, and a handful of others, are where I always find a good healthy dose of common sense and a great deal of professionalism. It’s refreshing to see that side to writing and publishing.

Yes, times are tough all over; why shouldn’t publishing feel the pinch, too? (Can I cram any more cliches into that sentence?) I see these “doom and gloom” discussions popping up all over the Internet, but I’ve yet to see any actual physical proof of the death of publishing.

By: Jenn Bennett

Jenn Bennett — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 21:00:34 +0000

Awesome post. As someone just getting started in this business, I am so weary of reading the doom-and-gloom industry wailing. Thanks for digging up the facts and bringing a little common sense to the discussion.

By: Andrew Shaffer

Andrew Shaffer — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 20:28:17 +0000

Agree with all pts. Good post! My agent is definitely worth 20%, but don’t tell her I said that.