The whole book blogging community is buzzing about the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's decision to downsize their book review staff in an effort to cut costs at the newspaper.
Some bloggers cheer that this event marks the death of the paper-review and the rise of the lit-blog army. Others, like mystery novelist (one of my favorite contemporary pulp fiction writers, incidentally) Michael Connelly, feel that we will cripple the book writing business by removing newspaper reviews.
Better minds than me can debate what this means for the industry. I don't think anybody knows, truthfully. I think it's a rocky, thrilling time to be a novelist, and more than ever, you need to connect with your reading community on the web. No matter what happens to the book-reviewing business, these dedicated readers can sustain you.
But don't take my word for it, Sarah Weinman has a much better essay about the whole mess over at her blog. Check it out:
"I elaborate a fair bit in the comments section at Critical Mass, bringing up Connelly's support by independent mystery booksellers and how word of mouth led to increased readership ... in some ways genre fiction, especially crime fiction, gets off fairly easy in the critical coverage game. There are dedicated reviewers (and from the sounds of it, one extra fresh face, which is welcome news.) There is a strong, active community of fans, booksellers and knowledgeable people who want nothing more than to spread the love about books at signings, conventions and other events and get-togethers."
Be sure to read all her readers' comments below the fold. There are some passionate, insightful thoughts floating around...
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