Literary Culture

» arterry - 425 bestsellers?

I'm one of those people who love books but know what? I'm also 65 years old and acquired the taste long before televison appeared. TV doesn't get deep - down where real emotion lives, but it's a pretty darn good substitute. So, isn't "good enough" what we're about in today's society?
Any sane writer working in print in today's world would aim their work at readers who are able - or likely - to buy. Who are these people? They're over 35. That goes without saying, and they're 75% female. But sadly, this "older generation" of Americans who possess the skills required to read for pleasure have a very bad habit of getting old and dying.
You report overall numbers falling. What do you expect: the audience is dying. This is also why independent publishers are getting bigger shares: they are more likely to take chances on the kind of story older readers want; the fledgling Edgar Rice Burroughs, Zane Grey, Louis L'Amour, Wilbur Smith, Harold Robbins and Grace Metallious, that kind of story. Today, they rise almost without exception from small publishers.
So, having drawn this dark scenario, let me pose a question: faced with an absence of readers, where will tomorrow's creative people find their outlet? Think about this! They will create virtual stories. Authors will associate with local theatre groups and produce audio versions of their novels. Old time radio? Better than that. These will be full-fledged productions of stories. Pure audio. Careers will be made for "voices", the highest prices paid.
The truth of things is this: vision is a wonderful medium, but it pales beside the so-called theatre of the mind. Many of these stories will be adapted for film, but writers will first write for audio production and in the case of extreme literary works, in episodes that will be sold to entertainment networks for later capsulization as videos. What I'd like to know is this: How do you plan to be aboard the first wave of this new revolution, and what can I do to become part of it?

-- posted by arterry