Writing Out of the Box

On my way home today, I listened to an interview on NPR with Michael Pietsch, the newly named CEO for Hachette Books, who said that he truly believes "we're in a golden age for books." I tend to agree.
Sure there are too many poorly written self-published books out there, e-readers are crowding out print, and bookstores are closing faster than you can spell a-m-a-z-o-n.
But...
Then I arrived home to find a box on the front porch that changed the way I think about books. When was the last time you could say that?
Rewind a bit: I have made it clear that I'm going to read all of the novels on the Tournament of Books starting bracket before March 1. One book was proving elusive, however. I couldn't find it in the library and it wasn't in my local bookstore. And it was expensive. But a goal is a goal.
Now feast your eyes on what arrived (I put the remote there for scale):

Can I just say WOW?!?
It's an amazing (and big) box. And look what it's filled with:

It's Building Stories by Chris Ware.
I don't want to give too much away – I'll do that in my review during the Tournament. Let me just say that telling a story in a brand new way is a tall order. Telling a story in an engaging, inventive, engrossing, and thoroughly entertaining way...that's a whole other thing.
This is what thinking out of the box can do for you. Welcome to the golden age.

Black-Velvet Books

On Monday, yet another publishing program entered the "publish your own e-book" arena. Vook says it provides an easy-to-use platform that will create a "professionally styled" book and then the program will help you distribute that e-book to Amazon, BN.com, and other online sellers.

The finished books do look much more professional and offer more interactivity than some of the free or low-cost services I've seen (like CreateBaby, Sigil, more), but Vook is much more expensive in return.
While I applaud the idea that many talented authors who are overlooked by publishing houses will be able to get their work in front of an audience, I have an issue with self-publishing. Many of the books aren't, well, worth the time.
Think about all of the people out there who truly believe that they are artists and that the world really does need another black-velvet painting of clowns. The only thing saving them from us is the fact that there is no venue for them to get their "art" in front of the world through an online gallery...yet.
Some of the self-published writers have to print their own books for a reason. They are writing stories that are the equivalent of black-velvet paintings. I've had a LOT of those books emailed to me in the last few months, so I know what I'm talking about.
There is a certain element of curation that takes place in publishing, and maybe Amazon, BN.com, Apple and others are going to have to start providing that curation. Or maybe reviewers will have a bigger role to play in helping people decide what's good, and what isn't. But some sort of curation will be needed.
And I don't like black velvet.

Hearst at 125

Given my past history with newspapers and magazines, I've always been fascinated with the Hearst family. Hearst Corp. celebrates its 125th anniversary this week.
It's grown from its first publication (the San Francisco Examiner) to a worldwide empire that includes newspapers, digital marketing services, magazines, TV stations, cable networks, online businesses, real estate and more – including my former employer Elle Decor. That's 200 businesses in over 100 countries.

This September, Hearst will publish a commemorative book to celebrate the anniversary. Meanwhile, here are some titles about the founder, William Randolph Hearst, to keep you entertained: