Gwenda

Good thing there’s plenty of nice, sane, excellent writers in the world.

Chris McLaren considers how much easier it is for knowledge of the artist to contaminate the experience of the art these days:

I’m not sure what the conclusion is here. For authors, the obvious conclusion is to be mindful of the potential effect of your online persona on your audience. For me, in the audience, there isn’t as obvious a conclusion. Maybe I just need to reconcile myself again to the fact that the artist and art are different, and try not to be so shocked when an artist reveals himself to be very different from my mental idea of who they are. I’m not sure I can do anything about the related bias question, or even if I should feel like I should do anything about it.

And he gives examples, which is always the fun part.

I almost read John Hodgman’s The Areas of My Expertise awhile back, but then it strolled back down to the library without even asking if I’d had a chance to read it yet. Thus, I re-entered the long line of  library patrons too cheap to actually shell out for the book and was finally allowed to check it out again a few days ago. I realize that I am perhaps poised on the cutting edge of September 2005 (AT LEAST) talking about it now, but them’s the breaks out in here in the sticks with our begging cup. And I’m a sucker for a miscellany, especially one so concerned with the Loup-Garou.

I thought y’all might be amused by this little section of "HOW TO WRITE A BOOK: THE FIFTY-FIVE DRAMATIC SITUATIONS," on what is the best kind of book to write:

I was asked this many times when I was a professional literary agent. The answer at that time was obvious: The most marketable kind of book to write was one in which vampires fight serial killers. But the best kind of book was one in which the vampires fight large weather systems and perfect storms.

Of course, that answer isn’t correct in today’s publishing environment, as neither sort of those examples includes a worldwide conspiracy overseen by a centuries-old religious secret society. While my initial response dates me hopelessly, literature — bless it — ever grows and matures.

There’s also these two entries from the table OTHER MARKETS FOR YOUR SHORT STORIES:

Where to Market Your Short Stories Featuring Lots of Footnotes, Comic Book References, and Lists – The Journal for Extra Smart Boys

Where to Market Your Charles Bukowski/Raymond Carver Slash Fiction – Penthouse, circa 1981 and What We Talk About When We Talk About Raymond Carver Having Sex With Charles Bukowski Monthly.

Ah, sweet mockery.