There is much in what he says - especially this about "newspapers ... not acting responsibly and instead cheapening their product" - but the internet just happened to come along at a time when fewer and fewer people were being educated properly. But the movement away from formative to instrumental education - which is the problem - began decades ago.
What do you think of some of the decent fiction being self-published online? I just finished a novel by 'Lasses' which was absolutely brilliant. What do you think some writers are actually choosing to give away their manuscripts for free?
ReplyDeleteI think it's a good idea, simply because it is good to get work before the public. If someone publishes something online and it turns out a lot of people want to read, you can be sure that the commercial publishers won't be far behind. The problem is no one has come up with a viable economic model for this. Off the top of my head, I suppose an author could publish something online for free and if it meets with success, publish his next work but with a modest subscription fee. If it's noticeably cheaper than a hardcover book - after all, there won't be the overhead - I think people would gladly pay.
ReplyDeleteHi Jamie, can you post a link please? I'm always interested in good online fiction - for obvious reasons!
ReplyDeleteHere's the link to the novel mentioned: www.monuments.lassesandnoises.com
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