

Your favorite author, brought to you by a wealthy patron - pwg
http://www.salon.com/2011/10/05/your_favorite_author_brought_to_you_by_a_wealthy_patron/

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winestock
The purpose of "copyfighting" and undermining traditional publishing via
technology was to liberate writers from the establishment. Now it appears that
the real end result is to make writers dependent on wealthy patrons or on the
fickleness of the mob.

The author of the article points out:

> Many aspiring writers fantasize about the audience they’d find if
> interlopers like publishers and agents would stop coming between them and
> the reading public. Publishers, they complain, fixate too much on
> superficial assets like a mediagenic face or personality, influential
> connections, an established name or a promotional “platform” instead of just
> concentrating on literary merit.

> To judge by what works on Kickstarter, however, democracy won’t offer any
> improvement. Those flashy garnishes are exactly what the public cares about.
> The most successful book projects have an already-established audience, an
> attractive creator, a high-concept premise and/or an affiliation with
> someone famous. Above all, as Rob Walker observed in the New York Times, a
> stand-out video presentation is crucial to sealing the Kickstarter deal.

Every revolution eats its children. So it has ever been. So it shall ever be.

