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Blooks: The pros and the cons from an editor’s viewpoint
March 25, 2006 | 6:30 am
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By David Rothman
“Little, Brown Executive Editor Judy Clain, who acquired ‘Julie and Julia,’ says she was amazed by the boost the book got from fans of the blog. ‘What we underestimated was how huge the audience was,’ she says.” – Wall Street Journal, via The Real Paul Jones.
The cons: “Still, not every blogger is a born author. ‘I don’t think a blog is a great place to look for new writers,’ says Ms. Clain, ‘because there are so many, and so many aren’t very good.’”
Related: Wikipedia’s blook definition and A few musings on the Lulu Blooker Prize and the Great American Gender War. Prize winners will be announced on April 3.
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Comments:
It is interesting to note the quote that blogs are not a great place to look for new writers. Where is that place? Most publishing houses depend on agents, who in turn tend to filter out books that publishers have no track record on, so it can become a vicious cycle of similar authors and similar titles.
The best ways to break the cycle seem to be having an inside track in the industry, or to be famous. If the publishing industry is truly looking for new writers, what could be more convenient that spending a little time dipping in and out of blogs? Who knows what you’ll find?
In my own case, I have a science-based thriller on nuclear power that has the backing of both a Pulitzer Prize Winner and a National Medal of Science recipient. But it doesn’t fit a genre exactly, I don’t have an inside track, and I’m just an unknown nuclear energy worker. I’ve now posted my book on my blog for free, and I’ve gotten great reviews from a wide variety of readers. (See the homepage comments.) Better than letting it just gather dust on a shelf………
James Aach