Is This the Golden Era of Writing?

 Who hasn't heard the saying that just because anyone can publish doesn't mean everyone should publish? That's like saying just because anyone can have a blog doesn't mean everyone should have a blog. What's the worry? That readers won't find what they want to read because of all the clutter? I don't buy it. I find the blogs I want to read the same way readers find the books they want to read, by word of mouth. Whether a book is independently published or traditionally published shouldn't matter because readers will still read what they want. A good book is a good book, period.

I've read some blogs where a tradition author will put down self-published books not even realizing they are doing so. Their intentions might have been innocent, but the result was the same. A bunch of unpublished writers will comment about all the garbage being put out by Indies and swear they would never self-publish as though it was a fate worse than death. I have to chuckle at those posts because I was one of those people a few years ago. Oh, I don't think I ever posted my opinion, but I do know I thought that anyone who self-published was a loser. Yikes! Thankfully, I discovered some radical blogs like the one by J.A. Konrath, at just the right time. His ideas made me re-think my position on self-publishing and I am so glad I did. I love the freedom of doing it all myself. Other indies have felt the same way. Let's face it, the system as it currently is set up allows for only a tiny fraction of books to actually go on to be published. If your book isn't geared to the right market at the right time, you can forget about any of the legacy publishers showing interest. They don't have the time or interest in nurturing writing careers of rookie authors.

The thing is, this is the time that could become the golden era of writing. You may not think it now, but why wouldn't it be? Never before have so many writers been allowed to let their voices be heard. There *will* be diamonds in the piles of dreck. (those piles of dreck are made up of both legacy and Indie published books, btw). Indie published books will more and more often hit the best-seller lists, and the line between legacy published and self-published will blur as some writers choose to go both routes. It's already happening for a minority of authors. It's a win for readers and for authors. The only ones who really should fear it are the big publishing houses, but there is still time for them to make  adjustments so that they don't lose their best and most promising authors.

Thirty years from now, I think people will look back and pinpoint this as the time when they first had so many choices. Some will even remember being children and receiving their first e-reader, and how it changed their lives. Am I being overly dramatic? I don't think so. How many people say that going to a library as a child changed their lives and made them love books? Exactly. And think of it, now that library is right in their pockets.