The Impoverished JK Rowling (Brain Dump for Writers)
- J.K. Rowling was told she should find a day job because she’d never be able to rely on writing children’s books for a living.
- Gosh. I hope poor little J.K. scrapes by.
- The crowd is starting to impact the way literature is written and distributed. Take “Cyberpunk”, for instance.
- The crowd may get more of the Kindle action too. Rumor has it Amazon is going to let self-published authors into the Kindle Lending Library.
- Follow three literature trends over time: Lord of the Flies covers over time, a brief history of time travel literature, and two centuries worth of Sense and Sensibilities.
- More sculptures made from books
- I started a free community for aspiring writers on how to start a book. Add your website and find out more here.
- “Literature was the passport to enter a larger life, that is, the zone of freedom.” — Susan Sontag.
Have you been trying to start writing a book? Here’s something free to help you get on your way!
Rory Tyer November 26, 2011 (4:24 pm)
Two thoughts about the crowd:
– this is obviously an exciting time for up-and-coming writers. Similar things are happening in the music world; the tools for creating and distributing truly excellent art are increasingly in the hands of the artists themselves rather than in the hands of corporate gatekeepers.
– there may also be a downside to this trend: success and broad appeal don’t equal ‘great art.’ Example (and I recognize this is everybody’s whipping boy, but): the Twilight novels. What I wonder is if this shift in the ‘process’ will also entail a shift in what is commonly understood to be great literature. Obviously there are currents much more deep and wide influencing this, but it seems that the very existence of canons of great literature to which one’s tastes ought to conform is in some way threatened by the ‘crowd’s’ influence on literature production and distribution. This is a heady debate and one I’m not qualified to enter – and I am certainly not a fan of keeping the power of influence and taste in the hands of a small group of gatekeepers – but it seems something worth thinking about. Thanks for the brain dump, Sarah.
Sarah Cunningham November 26, 2011 (5:13 pm)
@Rory. I love your comments for several reasons, the biggest of which is that it protects the luxury of writing for conscience; of standing for something because it’s right and important not just popular. I’ll applaud that all day long, my friend. Nice to hear from you! =)
Joanna November 26, 2011 (8:24 pm)
Thanks for starting the aspiring writers community. I’m working on what will hopefully be my first book, about the funny side of being single in the Christian subculture.
Sarah Cunningham November 26, 2011 (8:25 pm)
@Joanna, that is GREAT. Can’t wait to hear more about it.
Joanna November 27, 2011 (2:24 am)
thanks Sarah. there is certainly a lot to write about on the topic!