The proofs are in

fugue-in-hand-R

During my career as an editor and as director of editorial systems for newspapers, I have ushered millions of words into print. I also have helped authors get a good many books into print. But today for the first time I held in my hands a book with my name on the cover. Awesome.

At this point, I have only the five proof copies. They’re being dispatched to the first readers. Then revisions will follow. The book is still on track to be released for sale in December.

Publishing is undergoing a revolution. Those lucky authors who have book contracts and who work within the traditional publishing industry are probably not as enthusiastic about this as the rest of us. The barriers to publishing are now very low. One consequence of this, of course, is that a lot of low-quality work will get into print. Though traditional publishers also put out a stunning amount of mass-market trash. To some degree, online reviewing systems such as Amazon’s help readers sort the wheat from the chaff. I am now anticipating those online reviewing systems with much terror.

One of the biggest categories of beneficiaries from the new order in publishing will be niche markets for writers and readers. Some of the material in those niches is bound to be quite good, but the market was just too small to support it in the old order.