Eras are pretty short these days

I have a good friend who goes to the same publishing program I went to. Back in Venezuela where he's from, he's an old hand at the process and up here he's been working as a translator. He's trying to convince me to go into business with him. You know what's stopping us from opening our own publishing house? Well, other than the fact that he needs sponsorship to eventually become a citizen? You'd think we'd be afraid of failure. I mean, I'm pretty gutless. But he said something I can't really argue with. He said "It's easier to make our own business than find another one willing to pay us."

Publishing's a tough gig. Not that life is easy in general, especially in the current climate. You know I still get e-mails from a temp agency I worked through years ago? I saw one posting not long ago- 10 years experience, MBA required, bilingual executive assistant starting at 40K. In New York (or Connecticut where that company is) 40K is nothing. You know what an apartment costs in NYC, Westchester, Putnam, or Fairfield counties (that is, anywhere within 2 hours of NYC). I wanted to laugh when I saw that. Who, with 10 years prior experience as an executive assistant, and with those credentials would work for a company that paid so little and had a list of duties a mile long- and most of them far beneath anyone who qualified for that position? But that's where were are today. And publishing was always like that.

You know, recently the Rejectionist quit her job. I'm assuming (given who my readers are and that I've linked her before) that all's y'all know about the Rejectionist? Well, she detailed how hard it was for her to find that job in the first place (Listen, if you don't want it, I could use a full time gig) but that it was holding her back from pursuing her own dream. This is sort of like a kick in the nuts to yours truly. See, I'm an academic born and bred. I'm accustomed to strategizing but not having to be there when shit goes down. I love digital distribution but I don't own an e-reader yet. That sort of thing. Really, I love the IDEA of digital distribution. Hell, my thesis at the publishing program was all about how the industry is polarized and becoming moreso everyday. Random House won't print if it won't sell 50,000 copies in the first year, but thanks to various technology such as print on demand, or online publicity startup costs are lower than ever and potential audience for niche products are easier to reach than ever. I made the case that while Harper Collins isn't likely to fold, we're entering an era in which small specialists are on the rise and taking market share back from enormous generalists.

Honestly, I think that's good for the consumer. At the same time, I'm a rabid consumer of media in all its forms. The whole point of mass media is to reach a mass audience. It's the same reason I roll my eyes at ultra high-end literary fiction that assumes if you don't like it that you must be an ill bred country idiot. Why write if no one reads? Or more accurately, since writing is a fine hobby... why publish if no one reads? So you see, I have a bizarre conundrum. On the one hand, I salute entrepreneurs for their kutzpah and simultaneously scratch my head and wonder what they think they'll accomplish. Because of a confluence of events including but not limited to the Rejectionist's resignations and the currently-still-theoretical discussions I have with my Venezuelan compadre I think it's the perfect time to go back through some of my thoughts on the subject and share them with you. So for the next week or so, I'll be highlighting cases of successful media entrepreneurship. As a warm up, check out Gary Vaynerchuk here who I cited in my thesis (or as I call him Gary Wine-and-Chops.)