Sunday, January 6, 2013

A new year -- now what?

by: Joelle Charbonneau

HAPPY 2013. 

Another year is over.  The world didn't end.  And hey, guess what?  Neither did publishing.

Traditional publishing and self-publishing are still co-existing.  New bookstores are popping up.  Some are fading.  E-book readers are creating a new breed of reader for both traditional and self-published books even as some people I know have grown tired of reading on a screen and have decided to go back to buying paper books.  The circle of publishing life is spinning.  The only constant in the ever changing cycle of the business is that writers are sitting down in front of their computers and writing.

With ever new year, I see lots of posts that attempt to predict what will happen in the upcoming year.  In publishing, there are guesses as to what books are going to hit big.  There are also articles speculating on which publishers will merge, by what percentage print books will be supplanted by e-books, and how long it will be until publishing officially dies.

Every year someone is speculating that traditional publishing will end.  Why?  I have no idea.  Probably for the same reason that everyone was waiting for the world to end on Dec. 21st.  Because it is fun to speculate.

Which is why I'm giving you a chance to give me your thoughts on what you think will happen in 2013 - in publishing and otherwise.  Who do you think will win the World Series?  What actor is going to get arrested? Are you going to land a new job?  It is time to roll the dice, get out your crystal ball and place your bet on the upcoming 359 days.  What will they hold?




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