Fuel Injected Dreams
Having worked as an editor and contributor on various online literary sites, it appears to me that the mainstream publishing is finally waking up to the power of the internet and more importantly, how to nurture a lasting relationship with the millions of people worldwide who read these sites every day.
In the past few years there has been a distinct divide between the literary underground (where most of my own experience is based) where self publishing and viral marketing has caused a new hive of creativity to establish itself in various pockets of the internet – and the mainstream publishers’ sites, many of which tried to jump onto the digital bandwagon without too much consideration. We are in a new digital age, and, like it or not — we are witnessing a huge revolution in the author/reader relationship which has occurred over the past five years.
I am currently visiting the world of mainstream publishing and looking into ways that we can help authors build relationships with their own readers online. My opinion is that blogging works the best when it is personal, and that corporations and blogging don’t really mix. My advice to mainstream publishing houses would be to work directly with the authors to provide high quality content in a magazine format – which was in fact part of the original vision of 5th Estate. Trying to emulate established blogging sites is a ploy that web savvy readers are more than aware of. But the advantage that publishing houses hold is that they have some of the best writers and journalists already working within their ranks. My point being: that an organic growth of publishing sites will attract more readers and longevity. By using exclusive material from authors and providing an area in which debate, communication and opinions can be swapped — I think there is a bright future for mainstream publishing websites; they just might need to be a little more conceptual in terms of development with stronger editorial direction and ideas.
I have looked at various online literary sites in my quest to develop ideas for a new look Fifth Estate, but also a few other sites that provide excellent forums with vast amounts of visitors…I think these are all worth considering in terms of the future of web publishing and how to make this an engaging space.
Susan Tomaselli’s respected Dublin based site mixes features, poetry, reviews and opinion from a wide spectrum of literary sources – from Harry Crews to Cormac McCarthy and back again via Mohamed Choukri.
The ‘Daddy’ of literary blogs. Andrew Gallix’s site was officially the first literary blog and has a wide array of essays, prose, music, and literary contributors. 3:AM is the bible of underground blogging.
Cult American writer Dennis Cooper has created a huge community of followers from his regularly updated blog — containing in depth articles on Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Utopian Architecture, through to Alexandro Jodorowsky.
This American site is clearly laid out and helps to promote new writing from the ‘disenfranchised’ leagues of international writers. The regular Virtual Round Table debate manages to engage readers and writers on hot literary topics, within a structured diplomatic ‘invite’ system.
Head honcho of the hugely influential Rebel Inc imprint continues to write and publish, yet reviews books and posts opinion on this popular blog. Kevin has transferred this concept into a Radio Show, The Scottish Patient, which focuses on Scottish literature and music.
Sites such as Melissa Mann’s Beat the Dust are trailblazing in terms of providing a magazine format with video clips, a monthly chapbook & podcast, and a variety of poetry, prose and experimental fiction — from writers across an international stage.
Steve Finbow’s blog is visually stimulating, contains a plethora of fascinating book reports, whilst providing an interesting view of London’s live art & literature events.
The dawn of the internet has provided a freedom of expression for writers who have never had the capability to reach such a wide audience in previous years. Once confined to the small presses and counter culture publications, there are online communities where readers of supposedly ‘niche’ writing have crossed the stepping stones from the internet into print. One blogger in particular, Chris Killen, has recently seen his debut novel The Bird Room picked up by Canongate – other examples include Lee Rourke’s Everyday (on the Social Disease POD imprint) and Tony O’Neill’s Down and Out on Murder Mile (Harper Perennial US). Rourke’s main Scarecrow blog is now infrequently updated but featured many of O’Neill’s short stories that eventually lead him to a signing with Perennial US – its main strength was a thriving community of readers, potential writers, and essays on major icons and undiscovered cult classics within literature.
Of course, I am looking at the mainstream publishing world with underground rose tinted goggles — the reality of a burgeoning cult literature scene only gives a small view of the potential of writers to connect with their readers. But by applying some of the principles of these websites (that mostly run on no budget if any at all) both areas could potentially feed each other through RSS and digital feed connections.
Considering that many author sites are now inspired from the Web2.0 developments, the ability to edit and layout their own work without anybody else’s help or interference has liberated writers in the form of Blogger, WordPress and countless other DIY blog sites. These sites contain the facility to broadcast video clips, images, pod casts, and help forge links via cross pollination with other like minded literary sites on a global level. Add into the mix the potential of social networking sites to post articles from external sites into personal profiles through folksonomy— the ability to spread a buzz on new titles has now potentially been given a massive boost through the democratisation of internet publishing within the Web 2.0 vision.
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