Far From The Madding Crowd

Something cool I found on the Internet….and probably something you should be searching for too…:-)

Upon the launch of Expressions, genuine concerns were raised as to how this might help authors themselves - given that there was no immediate monetary gain to be had. Point taken. To that end, we hope to attract enough viewers who will in turn appreciate good writing and some of whom will, hopefully, be there to scout for talent they can publish.

In her blog, Lisa Haneberg challenges traditional publishers to rise up to this new challenge. She says

How will writers make a living? The question of monetizing one’s writing is challenging. When something becomes a commodity, it loses value. With the cost of entry being very low, we writers will have lots of sisters and brothers elbowing with us for readership. This means a couple things. Being known - our platform - is more important than ever. In a sea of available books, we need to stand out. Design and presentation will become more important - think Target. Ease of purchase and use will be more important, too. Funny, but I just don’t see traditional publishers coming out winners here (unless they reinvent themselves).

Takers, anyone?

Expressions is an initiative of Dogears Etc. with the aim of providing budding authors and poets a platform on which to showcase their talent. Authors can send their submissions to expressions@dogearsetc.com along with their bio and contact information.

The intention is to ultimately catch the eye of publishers looking for something novel and creative to publish so that authors find a way of suitably monetizing their works.

Marina Lewycka’s first book was rejected 36 times before she finally found a publisher at the age of 58. Now A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian is a worldwide hit. She talks to Stephen Moss about family ties, that tricky second novel - and never giving up

REGARDED as the greatest living poet of Kashmir, the 82-year-old Rehman Rahi had a gift to give back to the language that had nurtured him. He was awarded the Gnanpith, the highest literary award of the country. He is the first Kashmiri poet to achieve this distinction.

For more on this distinguished poet, read Shujaat Bukhari’s article in the Hindu.