Commentary on various aspects of publishing and marketing, primarily focused on books, magazines, and social media.
It's an unfortunate truth about books that it's never simply been about being a good writer, but as literal thousands of new books are published every month, marketability is arguably more important — and harder to define — than it's ever been.
I don't usually buy into "blame the user" for most problems, but our collective addiction to vanity metrics ruined everything, and even those who didn't buy into them have suffered the consequences. The problem exists between keyboard and chair.
"I'd pay good money to hear the whisper networks' take on that." Five things for November 30, 2023.
"On KKR and publishing, book bans' human cost, more World Cup, and becoming a Trekkie." Five things for August 17, 2023.
"Let it die." Five things for June 8, 2023. That's it! That's the excerpt.
"Be the change you want to see." Five things for April 27, 2023. That's it! That's the excerpt.
Whether it's the outright banning of individual journalists he doesn't like, or the recent mis-labeling of NPR's account, Twitter has become an even more dangerous platform for spreading misinformation under Musk — a comically dystopian combination of The New York Times and Truth Social.