Are these responces fakes? The author of this article has written yet another article on something that everyone knows and has been covered before. I say that because its key to understanding whats wrong with books today. Its all been done and we have a million people farming out that material in one form or another. Years ago there used to be barriers to entry, mainly money, but also the political willingness of publishers to publish, market and promote. My point there is that it wasn’t talent. Talent is clealy often less important than the systems ability to make a book work for them. They knew that something would be at the top of the best sellers, thats a given. Books will sell, that is also a given. They then chose who took those slots with a bit of this and a bit of that. Do you really think the true conspiracy books ever got published? What we have today is a market where anyone can write, as this author has done in a competent fashion, but say nothing new at all. But now we have thousands of authors all competing for the limelight and fame. I think this becomes more apparent when you look at 80’s films, and others, but we were given these actors that were famous. They were not nessecarily good actors, but we accepted them as they were forced on us. They become people in our memory. The same is true of books today but the people have a wider choice but I would argue a greater awareness and they are choosing not to buy because they dont want to give a person that is doing exactly what they are doing the free ticket that they want themselves. I think I hit that nail on the head, but I’ll expand. If the harry potter author really that great? I dont think so. There are thousands of wannabe fantasy authors whose novels are comparable, all trying to get get some action but get nothing. Surely if the Harry Potter empire was split into 50 parts we caould have 50 similarly good empires out there? Authors making a living. So, people are preferring to read pirated material in order not to give a certain author money, because the authors work is no longer deemed genius as it was portrayed 20 years ago, but instead, the mundane workings of a competent author that has been given a green light into the market that many people dont have. I have sympathy for both sides. I am sick of celbrity authors that write stuff that is purile and yet make a living from it even though you get a sense that they dont live in a trailer park or sign on the dole but are actually already safe in a house with a nice family. Further, I am also an author and can see the easy money. And it is easy money if you can get that roll. There are thousands of drivers out there, taxi drivers, lorry drivers etc. They want to be authors, but the system wants them to stay drivers. People dont want others to succeed, and this sentiment is magnified in the book world. I assume the author has some success. However, I think that others like him should have some humility. Writing is a trash industry, especially now that anyone can do it. Why go out into the world when you can type crap into your laptop. Millions already do that. I will end by shedding some light on my own situation. I have 52 books on Amazon and made 360 euro last years. Thats nothing, but I hope to grow it. However, all my work is available for free on the web and gets about 800 readers a day, many of whom read for about 15 minutes and often much more. My point is that if what you read is good, it will get an audience, and if its not being read it should not be written. I have been involved in publishing before and am aware of vanity press. People printing books and getting 1000 copies and selling 10. It should be a crime. I would rather that all authors works were free until they had a following that simply had to pay for their products. If my work wasn’t free I might make a lot more money, but my words are being put to use EVERYDAY by HUNDREDS of people. This is for the good of people and the good of us all. I must admit that my sector is a bit sensitive and my arrangement is a self imposed one because of that, but I could essentially monetise the whole platform if I wanted. The implicit implication of this writer is that he needs to earn a living to write a bunch of words that will not exist in 20 years time other than in remenants. I know, I sell second hand books online and have thousands of books and often wonder what the authors were thinking and were they are now. I conclude that books are less eternal than people think and simply more a product of the hear and now. As such, if you cant earn from them, then you dont have a business. I hate to say it, but just like everyone else, authors need to address these issues and have a real world income. Millions of people have read my words and spelling mistakes and paid me nothing, but my works are in their minds, my time spent at the keyboard were not a vanity affair. Anyone can do what I do, anyone can write. Dedication and determination are other things. But when it comes to buying your work, what people are really doing is making a charitable donation to your existance and survival as a person that can do that instead of shifting boxes in a warehouse or driving a car, and they do that far less willingly than they will waste that money on other things.

I am sure CW Gortner is a successful author and that accolade will not now be taken from him. My asertions are broaders, but how long has it taken him to produce 12 books and who will even read them now, after the fury of the marketing and promotion is over when they are in a row of books in a second had store? I have tried to quickly find something on my shelves thats historical fiction but cant find anything other thatn Jane Auton and romance books. Theres no easy answers to this. I accept that in the traditional perspective that everyone should pay full price for a book if they want to read it. But when we are all competent writers, no one realy wants to read any one person, they want to read a book, like day time television. They might have a favourite, and they might even buy the DVD. why read CW Gortner when I hav ea load of William Faulkers on my bookshelf?

I have stuff to do. I wond if my comment will be published and whether it will stand out against the other 3 insightful comments?