Zen and the Art of Publishing

% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.

There is a very common refrain that populates the Internet forums and social media comments that bemoans the woes of a reading populace gone awry. For many, the impetus of this trainwreck of change is the popularity of digital devices and the proliferation of small-time, independently published, digital novels and novellas that are not real novels. 

I have no interest in rallying against or attempting to change the notion of what a real novel is. However, I cannot help but wonder what the ballyhoo is all about. There were poorly written books before the advent and implementation of digital platforms and POD publishers. Really, there were POD publishers and self-published authors long before we programmed computers with punch cards.

I’ve decided to come up with a few writing and publishing koans:

• It’s All Temporary: the publishing model is an evolving process. It will, over time, look differently than it has at other points. Print is temporary, as the pages crumble and fade. Digital is temporary, for the lights will go out and power will fade. What lingers is the importance of storytelling and what it does to each and every one of us. 
• Importance Of Connectivity: the greatest gift of the written word is that we can briefly experience what it is like to be someone else. This gives us a sense that the world is a community much greater than we can imagine. Art brings the world together; it makes life worth living. 
• We Lose What We Cling To: hold onto anything too tight and you smother and destroy it. Hanging onto models of publishing that are unwilling to change ignores the constancy of change. Everything changes. Nothing lasts forever. There will always be a place for print books. But when we argue about which mode is right, we begin choosing structure over the love of the process. Hold onto telling stories through art and let it go when it is done. 
• Present versus Historical Perspective: we must process and appreciate, not endlessly compare. We must become self-aware critics who realize that we have opinions informed by how we want the world to be. Everything is personal to you, but realize that to someone else it is just an opinion. We can compare things to the way they were or understand how they are now. I choose creating art in the here and now. 
• Adaptability: adapt or die. We must observe the rules, but not become slaves to them. The only constant in this world is that were will be forced to adapt to circumstances. We make choices and they have consequences. Know why you are an artist and pursue your dreams; everything that happens in between informs your craft. 
• Art is Suffering: more aptly put, life is suffering. Things will be difficult. People will love you and hate you for what you do. Suffering makes for great stories and even better art. Form and structure are scaffolding. You need to fill the building in with rooms and people and experiences. Move forward.