Self-publishing

The hard problem of politics, religion, advertising and literature

Vintage Benson Barrett ad, “How to MAKE MONEY WRITING..short paragraphs! promising “No tedious study. Learn how to write to sell, right away.”

Publishing is doing great

Publishing is doing great. Despite panic at the start of the lockdown, book sales were actually up during lockdown, as people turned to books to pass the time, joining online bookclubs and finding ways to support their local indie booksellers.

But authorship? Not so great.

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Pluralistic: 01 Jul 2021

Today's links

When the Sparrow Falls: Neil Sharpson's dystopian tale of an anti-AI hermit kingdom.
Exxon lobbyist confesses to his crimes: Keith McCoy thought he was talking to an executive recruiter.
This day in history: 2011, 2016, 2020
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

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Pluralistic: 09 Jun 2021

Today's links

Prisoners' Inventions: The unmissable new edition of a maker classic for a carceral nation.
This day in history: 2006, 2011, 2016, 2020
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

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Pluralistic: 08 Jun 2021

Today's links

Rabbits: PK Dick meets Qanon: Terry Miles's debut novel of conspiratorial madness.
Apple's manorial security: Works well, fails badly – think different?
Billionaires don't pay tax: Leona Helmsley was an unrecognized genius.
Google and France agree on ad-tech interop: Not the kind of competition we want.
This day in history: 2011, 2016, 2020
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

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Pluralistic: 12 May 2021

Today's links

Crooked Timber's Ministry for the Future Seminar: It is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.
This day in history: 2001, 2011, 2016, 2020
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

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Pluralistic: 11 May 2021

Today's links

Cyclopedia Exotica: Aminder Dhaliwal's cryptid history of our one-eyed cousins.
Let's eat all the cicadas: Harnessing the paperclip machine for good?
This day in history: 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2020
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

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Pluralistic: 27 Apr 2021

Today's links

Robot Artists & Black Swans: The fantascienza of "Bruno Argento" (AKA Bruce Sterling).
Klobuchar on trustbusting: She's just published "Antitrust: Taking on Monopoly Power from the Gilded Age to the Digital Age."
Pharma's anti-generic-vaccine lobbying blitz: A civilization-ending delusion about pools with "no-pissing" ends.
Unpack the court with judicial overrides: Consumer Protection and Recovery Act and beyond.
Lexmark's toxic printer-ink: Every pirate wants to be an admiral.
This day in history: 2011, 2020
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

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Pluralistic: 13 Apr 2021

Today's links

Jackpot: Inequality sucks…for everyone.
Bill Gates will kill us all: Elite philanthropy created vaccine apartheid.
What "IP" means: Control over customers, critics and competitors.
Data-brokerages vs the world: The public-private partnership from hell.
This day in history: 2006, 2011, 2016
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

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Pluralistic: 06 Apr 2021

Today's links

Podcasting How to Destroy Surveillance Capitalism: Part one of five(ish).
The real cancel culture: Multiple-choice union-busting.
Ad-tech's algorithmic cruelty: What technology does isn't as important as who it does it TO.
Folio Society publishes Philip K Dick's short fiction: Books as artifacts.
This day in history: 2011, 2016
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

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Pluralistic: 20 Mar 2021

Today's links

Department of Truth: What if reality was a democracy?
Support Amazon workers today: Events in 45 cities in support of the Bessemer, Alabama union drive.
This day in history: 2006, 2011, 2016, 2020
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Continue reading "Pluralistic: 20 Mar 2021"