---
title: 'Confessions of a Semi-Successful Author'
date: '2004-03-22T07:46:42-05:00'
permalink: /confessions-of-a-semi-successful-author/
tags:
    - novels
---

Today, on [Salon](http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2004/03/22/midlist/index.html) \[subscription or ad-viewing required\], the travails of the mid-list author in contemporary publishing:

> If you don’t want to hear about the noir underside of publishing — if you’re a writer longing for a literary career, or a reader who’s happier not knowing that producing and marketing a book these days involves about as much moral purity as producing and marketing a pair of Nikes — I suggest you stop reading now.

If, on the other hand, you want a sobering view of the publishing industry’s focus on the bottom line, go read the full article. I’m left even more convinced that many writers — and not just those writing for a [scholarly audience](/on_the_future_of_academic_publishing/) — would be well-served by a move back toward a gift-economy model of publishing.