Blog: why e-books are the new punk rock

[Moxie Mezcal]

I posted some thoughts on my blog earlier today about e-books, their potential cultural significance, and why I'm really excited about all the great, DIY work that's out there. A few other e-book authors have responded well to the post, so I thought I'd share it on this board and get your thoughts.

Here is an excerpt of the bit you might be interested in (after I finish rambling on as I'm prone to do and finally get to my point):

The raw, DIY aesthetic creates works that are truly personal; they look, feel, and even smell completely sincere. Yes, they can be a little rough and unpolished. Sure, there are typos. But it's refreshing to read something that hasn't been processed, pasteurized, and artificially sweetened by the traditional publishing assembly line.

E-books as an art-form/medium are at a really exciting place right now. On the one hand, almost any one can do it. It's like punk rock - all you need is a little time, a little talent, and a lot of drive.

On the other hand, the world-at-large still views it as more or less a ghetto, creativity wise. It's hard for big media to control, even harder to monetize, and there are too many DIY-ers in the neighborhood driving the property values down. So as an e-book writer, you can do whatever you want, because there's no one with a financial stake in reigning in your creative control. Unlike film, there's no investor whose sunk millions into production and marketing who wants to make sure you'll play to the right demographics. Unlike major publishing, there's no vulture circling overhead, hoping to turn you into the next sexy teenage vampires franchise or perennial Oprah pick.

We are where comic books used to be before Hollywood's mad dash to turn anything with 32 pages and a couple staples through the middle into a summer blockbuster. We are Sub Pop/Seattle before Nevermind.

If you're interested, here's a link to the whole thing.