[EWGB]

I created my profile in this (and several other) forums motivated not so much by my desire to advertise myself or satisfy my ego as by the hope that I will find here a rich marketplace for exchange of ideas among writers and readers. I also used several days to study the logic of the forum so that, in case I decided to begin a discussion, it would not merely be opened in the right place but would provoke well-meaning responses. To my discomfort, I have discovered that the forum is dominated by topics associated with issues of technical support on operating systems, specific devices, and the pointless arguments of Kindle vs Nook or of both of them versus iPad. The only threads outside the ones discussing books and literature that I find worthwhile are the ones that relate to formatting the books in mobi or ePub files and to the design of book covers. Nevertheless, the proportion of topics, with 80 percent gravitating to discussion of technology and a mere 20 percent related to discussion of books, genres, authors, language, style etc. makes me feel not a little confused. Am I in the right place?

For decades, the publishing industry has been feeding the stereotype that the good authors are only the ones whose work has been published by a publisher. And not only that... This same mantra has been repeated endlessly by the media, mercilessly destroying not just truly talented authors but also entire genres. And in their place, they have established and promoted what brings the greatest profits. I will hardly be discovering the wheel if I say that everything is driven by money. Well! Times have changed and the development of IT technologies is pulling the goose down pillows from under the fat cats. Now, self-publishing authors come before the reading public on equal terms with the publishing giants that even until 2 or 3 years ago had a complete monopoly over the book market and, by implication, over the profits.

I personally make a distinction between two types of literature. One type causes readers to think and presents them with dilemmas. The other serves as entertainment. Both need to exist - there is no argument about that. But after the decades-long hegemony of the publishers, could you guess which type dominates the market and what is the proportion between the two... Even the genre that has been imposed as the one that drives sales best - the novel - is mercilessly dominated by novels meant for entertainment. Poetry is a genre that is pitilessly extirpated, followed by short stories. The reason?... They supposedly do not sell, because readers do not like them. And of course, as a result of this culture and way of approaching the reading public, it is no wonder that the comments on any given book in the forums are focused mostly on the kinds of sales that have been realized, instead of being focused on the literary qualities of the book. This leads to the absurd view that the good author is only the one who manages to make a lot of sales. I profoundly disagree. This is not true and could not be, because such logic would lead us to believe that Sarah Palin is a major star among authors. The good author deserves to have his or her work published in large circulation and make lots of sales. But that is different from the postulate that if someone makes lots of sales, they are a good author. As a writer, I have a big problem with the paradigm that aside from writing good literature, I also have to be a good manager and a good merchant. That the latter are inseparable from the activity of writing. I will go walk my dog now and will be back soon...