But the point is that if you are a seminal author like JD Salinger, you can do whatever the hell you like. For many writers (i.e. those without seats in the literary canon) the phone is not ringing off the hook with requests to do interviews, articles and guest spots on Question Time. And for first-time authors who are simply hoping to make a career out of writing, promoting their work is
2 thoughts on “On The Inevitablity of Self-Marketing”
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The BookEnds blog has a similar post on this economic reality. I don’t know why art isn’t free, but until it is recessing from the marketplace isn’t going to do much for abstraction.
The Hood Company
He’s absolutely right. in the modern day there are so many writers and so few book slots – and books stay on the shelves for so short a time – that writers have to do everything they can to ensure their books sell.
Brian – art isn’t free because artists have to eat. On the other hand, the internet provides such an outlet that an author might be able to sustain themselves the way radio and network television traditionally did – through advertising.
Only time will tell.