A friend of mine - a freelance writer, playwright, mother and fellow scribbler - send me a link over Facebook about the demise of the writing profession. This time we can blame it on technology (too much free stuff out there). After reading the piece, I was accused by the same friend of not actually reading it carefully. Then I sent back a quote from the article which I will share with you here:
I ask you to take the long view, to look a generation beyond where we are now, and to express concern for the future of the book. I ask you to vote that the end of "the book" as written by professional writers, is imminent; and not to be placated with short-term projections and enthusiasms intended to reduce fear in a confused market. I ask you to leave this place troubled, and to ask yourself and as many others as you can, what you can do if you truly value the work of the people formerly known as writers.
I figured it would look better larger and bolder than my own thoughts. And I have just gotten over the sense of deja vu which has haunted me since I have read it.
Yes, I understand. Being a writer is very hard work that does not always pay well. But when has that not been the case? Ancient Rome or Greece? Elizabethan or Victorian England? The simple answer is always. And some of the greatest books and articles ever written were created without the promise of any type of financial reward. John Milton only received five pounds for "Paradise Lost". Samuel Johnson, creator of one of the first great English dictionaries - a decade of labour with very little help - did not receive a pension for his work until he was much older and frailer. And history is full of such people who did great things with less to show for it (see William Blake or John Keats).
Now, the issue of technology. This much I do understand. But I will not become a Luddite just because there is a way to put words in front of a reader that is not the same method used by the greats of the past. And would somebody please pose the question as to whether or not it is in a company's best interest to create a computer device that can carry books on it in a very portable and convenient method? Why would they even think about books when they could be selling music or video games? I am no fan of the Ereaders I have seen (yet), but if I hear that kids are now trading illegal downloads of Shakespeare and Dickens, I will cry happy tears.
So, keep writing if you want to write; keep reading if you want to read. I have barely made a single penny from this blog, but I cannot stop.
A sign that I am a true writer? Anyone?
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