Short Story Misfortune

In The Millions, Paul Vidich wrote an article about the declining popularity of short stories in the publishing world. Because the world now offers so many other things to do like watch television or get real time information through the internet, people no longer subscribe to magazines and the short stories that are published in weekly magazines or in sections of newspapers are becoming the thing of the past. Thus, the prudent reason to not publish short story collections:

"Publishing executives today don’t expect collections to sell (because they haven’t in the past), so they aren’t marketed, and this cycle of low expectations and insufficient care creates a self-fulfilling outcome: collections don’t sell."


That is, unless the stories are written by someone who already has a well established writing career or popularity that would guarantee that his collection would sell. I am a bit disheartened to hear this plight of short stories, because I am afraid that it would give even less chance for new aspiring writers to get their works published. Writing a novel is both mentally and physically straining, and a difficult task to even the most experienced writers. I am convinced that writing shorter works might be a good stepping stone for aspiring writers to launch themselves into the writing career, or shall I say, get their feet wet. But, if rejection from the publishers is all they get for their first volume of short stories, simply because, regardless of the writing skill or content, the format of the book is a collection of short stories, then what kind of message are these writers getting? Some might not even attempt to write longer works, because they think that if they failed at short stories, what chance do they have with novels?


Short stories do have different form of narrative from novels, so maybe, you might be horrible at writing short stories but be the next Dostoevsky. (Or, you could be like Chekhov and refuse to write novels, because you are definitely the short story guy). But, it's scary to see that the world is restricting itself to certain length and form of literary works. Short stories, novels, plays, and poetry all offer something unique in their own form, and the extinction of one is like the extinction of a language. Just imagine that we all spoke the same language. How boring would such world be?

Somehow not complementary

I was introduced to the interesting and detail oriented world of permissions in publishing. It is definitely a hostile and possessive world, too, if the rule of thumb is that you can't make money off of someone else's idea or property. If you do, then it's most likely straight to a lawsuit. Of course, I understand the hostility; I mean, I would be more than a little peeved if someone took my idea and used it as their own. But, right after learning about permissions, reading a manuscript about caregiving and creating a goal that is catered toward others and not to yourself gave me a funny feeling. It was as if I was introduced to two jarring ideas.

Yes, permissions and thinking about others are two completely different things. And, you can act for the benefit of all while maintaining you rights and keeping the things that you have rightfully earned. However, in the idea of being a caring person, I don't quite the see the aggressiveness that we show in suing others or being possessive.

Then, I wonder, isn't the aggressiveness in defending ourselves and protecting our rights just a part of human nature? Like lions that bear their claws in order to protect their territory? But, wanting to be caring, gaining a sense of fulfillment in realizing that your actions take others into consideration is also a part of human nature. Our feelings seem to traverse the bipolar spectrum of "Me only" and "I love and am generous to everyone" and make us into paradoxical beings.

Who would have known that publishing would remind me once again of the iffiness of being human.

First Day

Hmmm, how do I put this eloquently...my first day at Berrett-Koehler Publishers was...

Information. Overload.

I am dead tired and ready to knock out at 9:00 p.m. But, it was just enough information to excite me and not overwhelm me. And Holly was a wonderful trainer, so I feel like I have a thorough enough background information to kickstart my role as an editorial intern for the summer. I am also sure that I will have a better handle on things after a couple of days. I do have many weeks to go after all and I am excited to get started!

But, because I have a personal ambition and pressure to be a good intern, I do have two (slightly exaggerated) concerns as of now. Because I love to exaggerate and savor unnecessarily dramatic situations, here are the worst case scenarios:

1. Considering that I am the type of person who forgets what he or she said five minutes ago, I am afraid that I might forget to do something crucial that Holly taught me. For example, I'll forget that I even have a bk email and will never check it for the entire summer. (Okay, that's too exaggerated and has a slim chance of happening. But, you get my point). Or, maybe I'll reject the proposals, but forget to record them. I would have rejected fifty proposals, yet the spreadsheet would look the same as it did three weeks ago.
2. I haven't attached all the names to the faces of their owners. So, maybe Jeevan will tell me to go see Kristen and I will go see Dianne or Cynthia. Or, I will be standing in the middle of the hallway looking pathetically lost, because I don't know which office is the marketing and sales office. And, maybe the other employees will look at me with kind but pitying eyes and worsen my embarrassment...

I guess just the usual concerns that come with the first day of training (and the usual exhaustion). I think the best cure for this is to dive into the work and see where it goes. I think it's going to be fun!!