Some of his advice is pretty standard: write every day, be self-critical, don’t worry about money when composing. But Moore also breaks out of the old adages and is frank about the publishing world as he perceives it, pointing out that many of the “famous, well-known” authors out there “have nothing to do with writing,” casting shade on popular works like Dan Brown’s and calling the industry a “mess.” So what’s a hungry writer to do? Self-publish, sayeth the wizard:
“Publishing today is a complete mess. I know brilliant authors who can’t get their books published,” Moore says, explaining that many publishing houses are afraid of taking risks on fiction. Moore’s solution? “Publish yourself. Don’t rely upon other people.”
It’s rare and refreshing for an established writer to promote the potential boons of self-publishing and be honest about their perception of what lies behind the industry curtain. Of course, we expect some eccentricity from Moore, but we prefer this earnest truth-telling over the grumpy old manperformances he’s given more recently. The video was recorded in 2011, which means we may be in need of a time-turning spell. More of this old Moore, please.
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See also: Why literature is no longer art.
[“BLA and GB Gabbler” (really just a pen name – singular) are the Editor and Narrator behind THE AUTOMATION, vol. 1 of the Circo del Herrero series. They are on facebook, twitter, tumblr, goodreads, and Vulcan’s shit list.]
“So the only reason why an A.I. would actually need to have a gender is to interact with humans — in fact, a gender presentation might appear to be a kind of user interface or plug-in for an artificial intelligence. To perform a particular gender is, in a sense, to compile a program in the physical world.” 