rippling through the 'sphere

So it seems my screed about comparing getting a book deal to the job hunt has led to some interesting counter-arguments over at Dan Green's The Reading Experience and The Literary Saloon, which uses the post to make some observations about the dichotomy of publishing vs. writing good books. I'm oversimplifying, but do check out both pieces as they present much additional food for thought.

Comments

[Kevin Wignall]

As I made clear in my comment to Dan's post, I didn't agree with your argument in its entirety, but I agreed with the basic premise that bad books are getting there because of contacts, so why shouldn't you use the same system to get your good book published? I also think Dan is slightly missing the point when he questions whether art can exist in an industry setting. Writers are part of the entertainment industry and always have been. Dickens would change the plot of his serialized books as public feedback came in - that's businesslike, but it doesn't diminish in any way his creative achievement.