We were just talking about how Joseph Bednarik caused a stir with an essay entitled "The Law of Diminishing Readership." Bednarik runs the poetry publishing house, Copper Canyon Press, and worries that we are producing too many writers for the market to support.
Naturally, readers over at Tom Kealey's MFA Creative Writing Blog had lots to say about this. One anonymous reader poo-pooed the whole problem quite elegantly:
"Of course MFA programs produce a lot of mediocre writers. So did 1920s Paris. So has every other age of writing. This is a terrifying thought for those of us who are working away at creative writing, and sometimes it makes me want to curl up into a ball and cry."
And then another anonymous reader chimed in with a slightly more business-like comment:
"I work in publishing, and yes I can confirm that the number of readers (individuals purchasing books) has declined in the past two decades, while, at the same time, the number of books published has increased (excepting this past year, where the number remained relatively flat)."
Finally, enterprising web consultant Andrew Seltz (and reader of The Publishing Spot) chimed in with this comment:
"Creative folks have always been doomed when it comes to finding and audience. Historically it's been difficult to reach an audience because of the costs involved in production and distribution. Now that it's cheap and easy to publish, it's hard to reach an audience because there is so much clutter."
What do you think? This is the rest of your life we're talking about...
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The writer never stops to consider if he's doomed because he's going to continue writing regardless. He has to. He knows he's already doomed.
A writer who worries about if "the number of readers (individuals purchasing books) has declined in the past two decades" was never going to do the thing anyway... he's just arranging blocks, playing at writer, growing a beard, moving to Paris and scribbling in notebooks, etc.
The rest of your life in this game hinges on one thing only: sitting down and typing words because you have to, or not.
And that decision has nothing to do with "The Law Of Diminishing Readership".
It has everything to do with the insane, unstoppable, unsafe, ridiculous, no guarantees, bloody and beautiful drive to create.
Posted by: Robert Bruce | May 26, 2006 9:12 PM | Permalink to Comment