PUBLISHING IN THE NEW YEAR

"Write, if you have the right name or face," screams a headline of a daily I subscribe to.

The news story says:Publishers are reducing the number of books they release to concentrate on "big name" authors or "good looking" first-time novelists who are more marketable.

So if you're a struggling author, but not handsome, you're doomed! Your talent's not going to help you. It's as simple as that.

For quite a while, the publishing scenario is changing rapidly without a care for the discerning readers' tastes or sensiblities. The corporate honchos who're out to make money out of book business, are increasingly becoming more and more desperate as the business suffers and their audience falls in number. In an already degraded milieu, the current paradigm shift suggests the beginning of a black period for serious writers and readers.

Brace yourself: the market will be flooded with more trashes by Madonna-like writers targeted at lowest common denominator readers. If you're a serious or eclectic reader, you're left with no choice except to discontinue your reading habit.
MRINAL BOSE
bosenet@vsnl.net