July 29th, 2009 / 2:38 pm
Snippets

I’m really agiggle about all this scrambling for new models of publishing. It’s like redecorating a boat halfway underwater. The thing about a sinking boat is that things left on the boat that float will float regardless. When the boat is gone there will be a slightly more calm ocean. And then there’s all that land.

34 Comments

  1. Drew

      Avast!

  2. Drew

      Avast!

  3. Nathan Tyree

      rats flee. the rest floats

  4. Nathan Tyree

      rats flee. the rest floats

  5. Ken Baumann

      the only rule :
      Make (something that makes) you happy.

      people wanna talk about stuff

  6. Ken Baumann

      the only rule :
      Make (something that makes) you happy.

      people wanna talk about stuff

  7. Derek

      I’m sure someone else said it before me, but I always tell J, don’t jump a sinking ship for another ship, only jump a sinking ship for land.

  8. Derek

      I’m sure someone else said it before me, but I always tell J, don’t jump a sinking ship for another ship, only jump a sinking ship for land.

  9. Janey Smith

      Iceberg at night. Arrogance.

  10. Janey Smith

      Iceberg at night. Arrogance.

  11. PHM

      When I am your manager at Wal*Mart, I will find a reason to fire you.

  12. PHM

      When I am your manager at Wal*Mart, I will find a reason to fire you.

  13. PHM

      Also, those things would have to be on the top deck of the boat or somehow thrust outside the hulk of the boat. A wine bottle in the galley kitchen will go down with the rest of the ship. A lifesaver on the top deck like Stephen King or Brett Easton Ellis will surely float. What object do you consider yourself to be? Because you’re not a lifesaver on the top deck like Stephen King or Brett Easton Ellis, and despite favorable reviews, you’re not David Foster Wallace, either. Wow I’m negative right now. But anyways. Publishing isn’t a sinking ship. It’s more like a floatilla (sp?) that is finding new ways to import things. Just because the major houses that few of the people reading this comment have really enjoyed in the past five or six years are no longer making their phenomenal 4% profit margin and advances are dropping, that doesn’t mean publishing is going anywhere. People worldwide are reading and writing more than ever. There’s only so much youtube before you get tired and decide to read something. Something.

  14. PHM

      Also, those things would have to be on the top deck of the boat or somehow thrust outside the hulk of the boat. A wine bottle in the galley kitchen will go down with the rest of the ship. A lifesaver on the top deck like Stephen King or Brett Easton Ellis will surely float. What object do you consider yourself to be? Because you’re not a lifesaver on the top deck like Stephen King or Brett Easton Ellis, and despite favorable reviews, you’re not David Foster Wallace, either. Wow I’m negative right now. But anyways. Publishing isn’t a sinking ship. It’s more like a floatilla (sp?) that is finding new ways to import things. Just because the major houses that few of the people reading this comment have really enjoyed in the past five or six years are no longer making their phenomenal 4% profit margin and advances are dropping, that doesn’t mean publishing is going anywhere. People worldwide are reading and writing more than ever. There’s only so much youtube before you get tired and decide to read something. Something.

  15. Matt Bell

      This is a great post. I couldn’t agree more.

  16. Matt Bell

      This is a great post. I couldn’t agree more.

  17. Nathan (Nate) Tyree

      but it is changing. warping. becoming in some new way. so many new ways, so many new venues. The internet; handmade chapbooks, kindle and the like; posting stories on fliers stapled to lampposts – it’s all changing and it’s all wonderful…

  18. Nathan (Nate) Tyree

      but it is changing. warping. becoming in some new way. so many new ways, so many new venues. The internet; handmade chapbooks, kindle and the like; posting stories on fliers stapled to lampposts – it’s all changing and it’s all wonderful…

  19. christian

      i don’t think that metaphor really works, but to continue on those terms —

      i know plenty of very talented people who feel like they’re sinking, with both big ships and tiny boats. some days i feel like one of them. so far, you’ve published with very smart people who worked hard to build good, new boats just before a storm, coincidentally or not. the storm is not as big as people might be saying, but any storm feels big when you’re on the boat. if you’re confident you’ll stay a float, consider yourself lucky. sailors are superstitious people.

  20. christian

      i don’t think that metaphor really works, but to continue on those terms —

      i know plenty of very talented people who feel like they’re sinking, with both big ships and tiny boats. some days i feel like one of them. so far, you’ve published with very smart people who worked hard to build good, new boats just before a storm, coincidentally or not. the storm is not as big as people might be saying, but any storm feels big when you’re on the boat. if you’re confident you’ll stay a float, consider yourself lucky. sailors are superstitious people.

  21. Sleeping Fish

      Who said anything about a ship? Blake Butler can walk across the bottom of the ocean.

  22. Sleeping Fish

      Who said anything about a ship? Blake Butler can walk across the bottom of the ocean.

  23. Blake Butler

      still agiggle n shit

  24. Blake Butler

      still agiggle n shit

  25. christian

      only until i get the last of those aztec coins into the treasure chest.

  26. christian

      only until i get the last of those aztec coins into the treasure chest.

  27. Blake Butler

      you should get a load of these shorts i’ve been running in for about 6 months. man, they are just horrendous

  28. Blake Butler

      you should get a load of these shorts i’ve been running in for about 6 months. man, they are just horrendous

  29. PHM

      Ten-second bukkake.

  30. PHM

      Ten-second bukkake.

  31. Ross Brighton

      Fukkin hate Brett Easton Ellis

  32. Ross Brighton

      Fukkin hate Brett Easton Ellis

  33. Ross Brighton

      And Handmade chaps have been around for ages. I’ve got a bunch from the sixties/seventies.

  34. Ross Brighton

      And Handmade chaps have been around for ages. I’ve got a bunch from the sixties/seventies.