Last evening’s panel: making a living from online publishing

By on July 24th, 2009 In Best Practices, Uncategorized

From the packed seats at yesterday’s discussion on “Publishing and Getting Paid in the Digital Age” at Changing Hands Bookstore, there are a many who want to crack this nut.

Rene Gutel did a great job keeping everyone on topic, since there were so many sidebars that were equally interesting –from the merits of different blog platforms, to the usual ‘Twitter is awesome, ya!’ discussion, to the Kindle. The irony was not lost on the discussion of a paperless device in the middle of a bookstore. Hey, people publish books about podcasting. (I noticed Evo Terra somewhere at the back, smiling!)

Panelists were Stefan Shepherd, Adam Klawonn, Mike Stackpole and Ray Stern.

I thought Adam’s intro about how he ‘saw the collapse (of mainstream journalism) ahead of his time’ was a good reminder to anyone contemplating making a living in the new, new media. Likewise Mike made a good point that we could be returning to the Dickensian era, of value in serialized story telling. Ray  made a passing statement that sounded radical. Unlike the old model of publishing, he (they) publish, then edit. I know exactly what he means. It is a bit like Clay Shirky‘s ‘publish, then filter’ concept.  If you’re cynical about this, check this.

I had to sneak out early, so if someone who was there would fill us in on the wrap up, I’d appreciate it. Which brings up an idea. I wonder if Changing Hands records these events. If not, why not? It’s dead easy to do it today, sans clip-on-mikes etc.

Comments

Evo Terra Says:
July 28th, 2009 at 9:30 am

Too bad you had to sneak out early, Angelo. I was looking forward to catching up with you.

One thing I learned: the audience was *hungry* for more information. While the panel showed us that some publishers are starting to take notice of the changes coming, the general population isn’t waiting. They know they now have options, and they’re rushing the gates.

And I love it.

Let’s all do what we can to help foster self-empowerment for these leaders. And let’s all be committed to the role of “though leaders” as more and more begin to explore the space.

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