Muse by Craig Ranapia

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Muse: Shelf Life: The Dying Elephant in The Book Room?

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  • Islander,

    Ben Wilson, O yea!
    May I say here, a long time after, how very much I respect & enjoy your contributions?
    Bad start – but it was a bard start- and it has grown ever after.
    You came here in at an extraordinarily difficult time (at least, as far as I read the history) and I came in here in an extraordinarily fraught time.
    But - I truly enjoy what you contribute – thank you- cheers n/n Islander

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report Reply

  • recordari, in reply to Anonymous Author,

    From The Onion:

    Funnily enough, I didn't find that very funny.

    AUCKLAND • Since Dec 2009 • 2607 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    Islander, I'm touched. That means a lot to me.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson, in reply to giovanni tiso,

    What he said was that there is no outside-text, that is to say, there is nothing outside context.

    See, that almost makes sense to me. In my mind context is still the main thing modernists fail to explain, although to their credit they do try. Always they seek "context-free" knowledge. This is the aim of mechanized knowledge. The modernist approach is to enumerate contexts, and try to engineer the knowledge within them. This works to a limited degree. The problem is that there seems to be no end to the number of contexts humans operate within. To engineer the knowledge in every possible context is a task so enormous we don't even have any way of knowing how far into it we are. It also seems rather strange that humans pick up how to do it in only a couple of decades, just by hanging out and watching. You could say that's on account of millions of years of evolutionary history, but this does seem like a cop-out when explaining how it is that humans can master environments that have only been in existence for a few years.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Jackie Clark,

    If I was at work, and you any of you were talking in front of the kids I teach, they would either ignore you, or raise their very expressive eyebrows. I, however, have tried to follow recent contributions to this conversation, and on behalf of, I believe, quite a few of us, I would have to say: what the fuck are you all on about?

    Mt Eden, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 3136 posts Report Reply

  • Islander,

    Words, Jackie, words - those teensy soundbitish things that when carved/scrawled/painted/whispered/ shouted/sung/droned/exactly written
    say
    I am a human being
    I think this-
    I hoped that-
    I was here-

    do you know, the vast majority of so-called ice-age engravings/pictures were made by yer usual grubby-minded adolescents depicting their pricks or their scores?
    Yup.

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report Reply

  • recordari, in reply to Jackie Clark,

    I would have to say: what the fuck are you all on about?

    I would have to say that any assumptions that we know, at least on my part, would be grossly overstating the facts.

    Word-speak is truth inversion. That's not mine, but you can have it.

    AUCKLAND • Since Dec 2009 • 2607 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    do you know, the vast majority of so-called ice-age engravings/pictures were made by yer usual grubby-minded adolescents depicting their pricks or their scores?

    I can see why it caught on. I believe that the most small popular primitive sculpture is that of a woman with large breasts and a big bum, though. So they were thinking of their mums, too.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Barnes, in reply to Jackie Clark,

    words – those teensy soundbitish things that when carved/scrawled/painted/whispered/ shouted/sung/droned/exactly written
    say
    I am a human being
    I think this-
    I hoped that-
    I was here-

    And sometimes but not always-
    The meaning is received as meant-
    And when not, is discussed
    And misunderstood...
    Sometimes I like to ignore the words and just feel it instead.
    Sometimes, in that dark nothingness, I can feel it all,
    Sometimes, I just know.

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report Reply

  • Jacqui Dunn, in reply to Steve Barnes,

    you can drink, you can get drunk but its value relies purely on its taste

    No, Steve, its value is that you can get drunk QED!

    Deepest, darkest Avondale… • Since Jul 2010 • 585 posts Report Reply

  • Jacqui Dunn, in reply to Islander,

    those teensy soundbitish things that when carved/scrawled/painted/whispered/ shouted/sung/droned/exactly written
    say
    I am a human being
    I think this-
    I hoped that-
    I was here-

    If I'm not very much mistaken, somebody has done exactly that on two wrecked cars in a Christchurch street.

    Deepest, darkest Avondale… • Since Jul 2010 • 585 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson, in reply to Jacqui Dunn,

    I saw those, wondered if it was graffiti. Then I realized the words said "Clear". So people wouldn't have to waste time checking if there were people in the cars, I presume.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Jacqui Dunn, in reply to BenWilson,

    Ah, thank you, Ben. My eyesight, combined with a tiny computer screen, means I sometimes can't decipher stuff that I can't magnify.

    Deepest, darkest Avondale… • Since Jul 2010 • 585 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    Story about low price e-book successes for authors.

    Not too long ago, we wrote about JA Konrath's claim that we had reached the tipping point with ebooks, where a decent self-published ebook author, who priced their books cheaply (generally under $4) could make a really good living, selling thousands of books per month. I still wasn't convinced that there were that many authors who could really do this, but we're starting to see more examples.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Islander,

    Anybody know these writers? (As in, read them?)
    Anybody been one of these writers?
    Anyone actually downloaded these writers?
    To my mind, there has been a massive & very intensive "persuade campaign" to make writers in general make their books available for e-publication by this kind of crap article.

    A journalist truly seeking facts would go to, say, me.books, and find out just how much ANZ writers have actually made through this site...

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report Reply

  • Islander, in reply to Sacha,

    Sacha - I've now taken time to read the comments thread for the article you linked to, and 3 things have become very clear: the author mentioned writes genre fiction aimed at a youth market, and charges 99c (US) to 2.99 a copy (and receives 2/3rds of that if she sells through Amazon.) The difference between her & Stephanie Myers is that she is self-publishing & distributing by & large.

    No-one would argue that writers of genre* fiction make more money - far& away *way* more money - than other writers. It's just that there arnt a lot of them in ANZ (and we actually need other kinds of writing -non-fiction not least- and those sorts of books dont lead themselves to e-publishing.)

    *There are other extremely popular kinds of genre writing; self-help & business know-how/how-to & 'spirituality' books will make the cross-over to e-books
    easily. Cookbooks - not yet...

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha, in reply to Islander,

    The difference between her & Stephanie Myers is that she is self-publishing & distributing by & large.

    That's the point that interests me. Do wish I could have found the link for that earlier story I mentioned by an author about his experience of transition to the new model.

    Some genres will be better suited, I agree. As William Gibson says, the future is here; it's just not evenly distributed yet.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Sam F,

    Interesting piece on the Whitcoulls crisis in the Business Herald – unfortunately haven’t been able to locate it online.

    One point that stood out to me: odd discounting practices, namely slashing prices on bestsellers and quietly ramping up prices on less exalted items. In hindsight I feel guilty about buying Iain M Banks’ latest Culture novel in January, which was just released and surely had a market ready to pay cover price but was already discounted at 50%…

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report Reply

  • Matthew Poole, in reply to Sam F,

    Interesting piece on the Whitcoulls crisis in the Business Herald – unfortunately haven’t been able to locate it online.

    This one?

    Instead, they claim, the company's current predicament is an all-too-familiar tale of mismanagement: of shiny new executives rubbishing the opinions of experienced staff; of a bizarre attitude to discounting which saw popular books slashed in price and less popular ones quietly hiked; of cash being bled from the business in the form of management fees and interest payments on debt; of relentless cost-cutting that left many of its staff and suppliers utterly demoralised; and of short-term business decisions which proved a huge millstone around the owners' necks.

    Auckland • Since Mar 2007 • 4097 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia, in reply to Sam F,

    One point that stood out to me: odd discounting practices, namely slashing prices on bestsellers and quietly ramping up prices on less exalted items.

    But complaints of Whitcoulls' predatory loss-leading (and demanding publishers suck up ridiculous discounts and sale-or-return conditions) are nothing new. I remember when Thomas Harris' <i>Hannibal</i> was released in 1999, and Unity quietly announced they'd be filling orders but not holding any stock because there was no way they could afford to match (IIRC) Whitcoulls pricing the hardcover only slightly more expensive than a trade paperback.

    If anyone can explain how psychotic deep discounting doesn't inevitably end in a circle jerk death spiral for everyone involved, you'll have earned a Nobel Medal in economics and my eternal gratitude.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    O'Reilly picks up the fuss around Amanda Hocking.
    Also links to her own blog post about it:

    Traditional publishing and indie publishing aren't all that different, and I don't think people realize that. Some books and authors are best sellers, but most aren't. It may be easier to self-publish than it is to traditionally publish, but in all honesty, it's harder to be a best seller self-publishing than it is with a house.

    I don't think people really grasp how much work I do. I think there is this very big misconception that I was like, "Hey, paranormal is pretty hot right now," and then I spent a weekend smashing out some words, threw it up online, and woke up the next day with a million dollars in my bank account.

    This is literally years of work you're seeing. And hours and hours of work each day. The amount of time and energy I put into marketing is exhausting. I am continuously overwhelmed by the amount of work I have to do that isn't writing a book. I hardly have time to write anymore, which sucks and terrifies me.

    The O'Reilly story expands on what publishers offer.

    Many characterize Hocking as a self publisher, but that's not quite right. The companies that own the distribution/sales platforms Hocking and other authors use are in many ways the real publishers. In the email thread, Tim O'Reilly used Amazon to illustrate this point:

    "I think it's important to frame all this correctly. We're not really talking about a situation where authors are self-publishing so much as one where we're watching Amazon become a publisher.

    "Amazon is starting with the now standard Internet approach of 'publish first, curate afterwards' (vs. the old scarcity model of 'curate, then publish'), but it's also clear that as the ecosystem develops, Amazon will offer more of the kinds of services that Russell [Jones, excerpted on same page] is talking about."

    If Amazon and Apple and others are publishers now, what competitive advantage can traditional publishers claim?

    Brett McLaughlin [excerpted on same page] said the things that happen around the writing process — the conversations, the shaping, and the author-editor relationships — are key differentiators...

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia, in reply to Sacha,

    Thanks for that, Sacha. As our host could tell you, self-publishing requires a hell of a lot of work -- and it helps when you've got someone as disturbingly omni-competent as David Hayward teching the tech. (And though Russell would be far too modest to say so, he's not bad at self-promotion either.)

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    Google Books settlement refused (PDF, 145KB)

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • recordari, in reply to Sacha,

    All that stuff is real interesting. Thanks. I would say 'paradigm shift', but someone might bonk me on the head with a hyperbole hammer.

    AUCKLAND • Since Dec 2009 • 2607 posts Report Reply

  • Islander, in reply to Sacha,

    Was just reading this in a fwd'd email from Lynley Hood-

    "We won! (this battle not the war)"

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report Reply

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