by John Rakestraw
I saw this headline on the internet today… How do we preserve quality literature with freedom of self publishing?
Do these people really believe that Patterson, King, Hoag and the like are literature worth preserving?
Let face it people, none of them are Shakespeare, (though I will admit he was the pulp fiction of his time.)
Self publishing is not the death of quality writing, nor is New York the last bastion of quality literature. We the readers are the true judges of what we read, love and set on the altar of literature worth preserving.
Let’s be up front… what I might place there is not the same as what you, and you over there, might consider worth preserving. If you would ask me what three things I’d take with me to a deserted island, they would be food, clean water and a boat… so that I could get back to my pulp fiction of choice.
Quality is in the eye of the beholder…
Remember, to feed the soul of a writer, read the books!
John and Toni Rakestraw are the owners of Rakestraw Book Design. Toni is the editor; she keeps all those words in line. John is the voice of the company. He can often be found hosting Google+ Hangouts on writing and issues writers face online. Archives for his shows can be found on YouTube.
It’s a good thing I don’t care about leaving an historical mark. Perhaps I’d like to earn a living, but I couldn’t care less about being “famous” as an author (or anything else). So I’d rather be a hack and be read, and then forgotten, than be someone who, years after my death, people will gather together and use my name against other writers like an iron club.
When is Shakespeare a bad word? When his name is used to beat up lesser writers. I cannot stand book snobs. I run from them. Not out of fear, but utter disgust