What I've Been Reading
On Publishing
—I don't have a take on the Internet Archive case yet, but I have some links for those of you interested in this topic, which divides folks who are otherwise usually aligned. Is it better for the dissemination of knowledge—and libraries—to allow digital copies of books to flow more freely, or is it better for them to be more restricted, benefitting publishers and authors? Or is that question itself a problem, putting the topic into terms that aren’t accurate?
Kenneth Whyte is very mad at the Internet Archive
The Walrus disagrees
So does The Nation
As a publisher and an author, I don’t enjoy being seen as on the “wrong” side of this issue by those with whom I otherwise align myself. And my research on the history of American publishing—which is rooted in the lack of copyright laws—complicates the question of “sides”.
—Similarly, I am behind on having a take on AI and the future of writing, but I am a big fan of Matthew Kirschenbaum, so I was interested in his dire warnings.
—Upmarket fiction? It’s a new way to say middlebrow imo. Carly Watters makes a pretty chart explaining, and John Warner has a response.
—The Grove Atlantic Influencer Program is batshit fascinating. But I wonder if it isn’t the most trailing of indicators, as the case that the age of social media as a way to promote and market books might be nearing its end, a topic that Kathleen Schmidt takes up in
.—Lydia Davis joins Dave Eggers in the interesting ploy to raise awareness of the problems of Amazon by refusing to have her new book available for sale there. I do not oppose this move, but it also brings attention to one part of publishing (the dominance of Amazon) while obscuring other key parts. First, Belt Publishing, as with most independent presses who have national distribution, is not able to decide not to sell books via Amazon; our distribution contracts don’t allow it. Second, the entire self-publishing industry, which has been a hugely democratizing, anti-corporate movement, relies upon Amazon. There are significant points at which support for independent bookstores can hurt self-published authors and independent presses, and that’s something I’ve been shaking my fist at here in this newsletter for years now, but one which I still think deserves a fuller and larger airing.
—Debut authors often struggle. (This is why publishing with people you like and trust—as opposed to people who offer you the most money upfront—is often a wise move, despite the apparent bottom line differences).
—Related, sort of, this “when do I earn out?” calculator, which is good, but I encourage seeing only as a ballpark estimate, as there are variances in how contracts are structured not included here.
For Fun
—After adoring The Girls of Slender Means I reread The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and didn’t love it as much. I plan to continue to work my way through more Spark.
—I read some upmarket fiction—Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld, and got incredibly angry at it. Then I read some reviews and got angrier. Explaining requires spoilers, so I’ll keep my rant to the DMs.
—I read Unscripted, the book about the Redstones, who are worse than the Roys.
—I read Good Girls by Hadley Freeman and enjoyed her prose so much I then started her The House of Glass, which I’m about halfway through, and also enjoying.
—As a listener to a weirdly large number of political podcasts, I must recommend The Run Up above all the others. Astead Herndon is doing such great reporting, and taking us to places and people the others are just referring to or quoting, and he’s the nicest guy to follow along with.
—I have now changed my predictions: Roman, not Kendall, will die. Tom, Shiv, Marcia, and Gerri variously end up “on top”. The election is going to cause some big change that I am desperately trying and failing to figure out. I remain so involved in the last season of Succession, and reading and listening and talking to others about it, that I have decided the best way to understand anyone is to ask them about their take on the latest episode on Monday, before the takes have hardened into conventional wisdom. Is there someone in your life you can’t decide if you should get closer to? Next Monday, ask them their thoughts about what the characters did next Sunday!
By June Succession will be over but my book proposal course will just be starting. Spots available!
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First, thank you for mentioning me!
Second, Succession: I didn't think about Roman dying. I think he's going to end up having to walk away or one of his siblings will fire him. Things are too calm for Kendall, and he is not smart enough to outsmart Shiv and Tom. Shiv is a killer. She is most like her father, and her alliance with Tom is a good one. She is playing her brothers and Mattson. Ken reminds me so much of Adam Neumann (ex-CEO of WeWork, and bonkers), which makes me think it all crashes down. I think it is Shiv's time to shine.
I would love to hear your thoughts on Romantic Comedy, spoilers included. I have never been able to get into one of Sittenfeld's books, and I don't think the "romcom" is something that really needs to be Upmarketed. It feels like that would suck all the joy out, somehow.