Couple of interesting developments in the publishing world: first off, Techno-literary Blogger Writing Open Source Novel, which is pretty much self explanatory:
J Wynia, a web consultant, writer and geek is writing an open source novel called “Inheritance” and documenting the process on his web site as part of National Novel Writing Month. The event itself has participants writing a 50,000 word (approx 175 pages) novel during the month of November. Participation has grown from 21 people in 1999 to approximately 60,000 this year. J is using this year’s program as a platform for experimenting in alternatives to the traditional publishing methods for fiction using Creative Commons licensing, web publishing and print on demand publishing.
“The current model of book publishing is outdated. The more and more I thought about a system where writers are convinced by lottery-like promises of multi-million copy bestsellers, to beg and plead with New York publishing houses for approval, and the average author makes less money for the effort than the average convenience store clerk, I was convinced that there’s got to be a better way,” says J.
Hear, hear (PS, anyone interested in a book on a now obscure Southeast Asian expresident?).
Then there’s more movement in the growing print on demand world, with the first woman ever to win the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartoons, who has become the first top-rank cartoonist to publish a print-on-demand compilation of her work. Signe Wilkinson’s cartoons are syndicated to newspapers by the Washington Post Writers Group. They are available at multiple sites online including her own site, http://www.signetoons.com, and as part of the Cartoonist Group, http://www.cartoonistgroup.com. “One Nation, Under Surveillance” is published by the Cartoonist Group and is available through www.Lulu.com and many bookstores.