gdp's Comments

The Litopia Writers Podcast : The Green, Green Shoots of Tome

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:20:04 +0000

I agree – I saw POD being demonstrated at least ten years ago at Frankfurt, and thought that it would take the publishing world by storm – why didn’t it? If it had, we might be in a very different situation now.

The Litopia Writers Podcast : F For Fake

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:26:03 +0000

We try to strike a balance between chat and info, especially with E.S.C., which is very much centred around Eve and the things she’s discovered (and the things she’s experienced in the bookshop, which is surely pretty interesting to most authors). But we don’t always get it right. Also, we’re in the midst of our Summer Season, which is deliberately more lightweight (i.e. holiday listening) than our normal fare.

The Litopia Writers Podcast : How Not To Get Ripped Off

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:32:34 +0000

I know – isn’t that the strangest name for a church you’ve ever seen?

The Litopia Writers Podcast : Tropes Are In

Mon, 1 Jun 2009 09:19:54 +0000

Thanks - sorry about earlier stutter, file is Ok now.

The Litopia Writers Podcast : Are You A Fair Reader?

Tue, 26 May 2009 07:45:51 +0000

That’s very interesting! Getting access to the Well in those days involved Compuserve, if I remember rightly, and the speed was so slow it looked as if someone was typing on your screen... very s-l-o-w-l-y-... almost made it feel more exciting, more real to traverse those vast distances... I do miss the optimism of those days about the future of the net, but as you say, the potential is up to us to realize... but yes, that experience was really the idea behind Litopia. Ought to make that clearer, I think.

The Litopia Writers Podcast : It's FutureAgent!

Fri, 8 May 2009 10:46:31 +0000

Robert, I think our business (agenting) is in profound transition, just as publishing is in transition from analog to digital. The traditional agent’s role of deal-broker will become, I suspect, less and less important, counter-balanced by authors’ growing requirement for a broader range of support services (and they won’t get that from publishers). I’d say that the traditional agent has been closer to the publisher than the author. However, the new agent will be much closer to the author. That’s one of the reasons that I think Mary’s voice is so important, because clearly, there are a lot of authors out there who don’t feel agents are doing a good job – and we ignore them at our peril. How do we persuade booksellers to get behind new talent (and indeed, to support the mid-lister)? Well, any business that allows itself to become hostage to a very small number of very powerful buyers is asking for trouble, and that’s just what’s happened to publishing. Bizarrely, publishing has never been consumer-facing, and they’re certainly paying the price for that now. I suspect the answer to this lies in developing a closer relationship between the author and their readership, which is already happening in some cases quite nicely here on the net. It’s not a short-term - or necessarily complete - solution, but it’s one promising step into our digital future.

The Litopia Writers Podcast : Agents With Attitude

Thu, 7 May 2009 18:04:09 +0000

That's a pretty Snarky comment of your own, "anon". I don’t know what you consider “name-calling”, perhaps you can expand on that. Listen to the week’s output and you’ll see that we’re covering this huge – and hugely important – topic in a pretty responsible way. Or perhaps you think that agents should forever be immune to criticism? I’m afraid the sun is setting on that world, for better or worse.

The Litopia Writers Podcast : Agents Are Ruining Publishing

Wed, 6 May 2009 16:06:30 +0000

Very perceptive post - thank you. All the points you make ring true for me. I do think that publishing may soon start to de-corporatize itself (your second point) – maybe it already is – and that will produce some interesting surprises – such as for example, the success of Canongate in the UK. “What was up with the deep discounting of Harry Potter?” – Sheer madness, that’s what. “Work that was of a publishable standard 20 years ago is not publishable today” Again, I think that’s spot on. First time I’ve heard that argument made, but you’re dead right. “Perhaps we should think about outlawing discounting” The abolition of the NBA in the UK was, imo, a huge mistake in retrospect. Can we ever get it back? I doubt whether there’s the will, even among publishers. Unless we are to return to the Dark Ages (which apparently were never as dark and uncivilized as many think) people will still need and require the output of authors, in whatever format. It may well be that the future of agenting lies in this direction – being managers of the IP that authors create, not simply deal-makers. But agenting is certainly at the crossroads now.

The Litopia Writers Podcast : Agents Are Ruining Publishing

Mon, 4 May 2009 17:46:14 +0000

>It appears most agents can't take criticism. You have to bear in mind that most agents have come very late to the internet, and many wrongly view it as an extension of “business as usual”, which it most certainly ain’t. In the traditional (but rapidly disappearing) publishing world, agents encountered zero criticism. However, the net is a great leveler in some ways, and no-one’s opinion goes unchallenged. Agents’ opinions, just like anyone else’s, are fair game for discussion and disagreement online. If we agents don’t like being held to account, then perhaps we shouldn’t blog. Otherwise – get used to it! >Agent's blog decrying Mary's blog aka a gossip session with no counter view: As a fellow agent, I find Janet Reid’s attitude baffling. Perhaps it’s just her style, I don’t know. But her approach seems full of condescension , even belittling. I do wonder how much she really likes authors. I would not want to be tarred with Janet’s brush in authors’ minds. She and I are as different as chalk and cheese – I do not believe she is typical. As I wrote in The Bookseller last week, the agent’s role is fundamentally changing. I think the dinosaurs of the business, while still active, are enjoying their last moments of sunshine. >I wish more people were brave enough to dive into this discussion. Mary’s piece opened the floodgates – the cat is out of the bag and cannot be re-bagged. I think more and more people will see this soon.

The Litopia Writers Podcast : Natasha Mostert - The Keeper

Fri, 1 May 2009 13:56:09 +0000

Couldn't agree more - she's the real deal! P.

The Litopia Writers Podcast : Jane's Resurrection

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:13:49 +0000

Sorry – I stand corrected! I was doing this live, and saw “Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award” which to my agent’s hyper-sensitized ears sounded like a pitch… it wasn’t! Look forward to talking!

The Litopia Writers Podcast : Litopia Daily 181: Last Time With Geoff

Mon, 6 Apr 2009 08:32:29 +0000

Drunken gutterdeath is def manly, of course... but I don’t know too many male writers who do the “Mrrrh” thing a lot... :)

The Litopia Writers Podcast : Litopia Daily 180: It’s All About Tone

Thu, 2 Apr 2009 11:45:31 +0000

Should be Ok now. I think you may have tried to listen just as it was being uploaded. We were a bit late today!

The Litopia Writers Podcast : Litopia Daily 177: Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 04:31:31 +0000

Geoff Dyer is a writer who has the courage/confidence to be himself – not easy in this age, and getting tougher all the time. I think it’s pretty inspiring...

The Litopia Writers Podcast : Litopia Daily 176: Pirates Ahoy!

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:07:48 +0000

Gibbet is too darn good for 'em. I'm sure we creative types can think of something more original... :) P.

The Litopia Writers Podcast : Litopia Daily 172: Copyright Theft Central

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:52:48 +0000

Very good question. SFWA did, apparently, try to do something - and immediately drew the ire of Cory Doctorow – and withdrew. http://boingboing.net/2007/08/30/science-fiction-...

The Litopia Writers Podcast : Litopia Daily 172: Copyright Theft Central

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:03:10 +0000

It’s an open (but very dirty) secret that Scribd’s massive traffic and consequently huge valuation is based on creating a system that enables users to steal authors’ copyright. Check out many of the (rather cynical) comments on tech sites, investor sites, etc and you’ll see that the wider community is very leery of Scribd’s “business model”: http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/06/04/scribd-banks... http://valleywag.gawker.com/5069274/startup-guru-... etc And yet – publishers can’t wait to get into bed with them. This is wholesale madness.

The Litopia Writers Podcast : Litopia Daily 169: Down With Facebook!

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:56:24 +0000

Yes, see what you mean! (about comments...) I don't really think Fbook is a powerful marketing tool for most authors, though. In fact, it could be a major distraction... a diversion of finite effort.