XPost: rec.org.mensa, alt.writing, rec.arts.prose   
   XPost: soc.culture.usa, misc.creativity   
   From: phildoran@xtra.co.nz   
      
   "Gjergj Kastrioti"  wrote in message   
   news:9dc7329b.0401132309.13eb435f@posting.google.com...   
   > "geopelia"  wrote in message   
   news:...   
   > > "Gjergj Kastrioti"  wrote in message   
   > > news:9dc7329b.0401121904.2e2061c4@posting.google.com...   
   > > > > > > umberto eco asks:   
   > > > > > > >  > Will the new electronic media make books obsolete?   
   > > >   
   > > > i ask: will the abundance of books make books obsolete?   
   > > >   
   > > > cheers,   
   > >   
   > > Isn't it great to be able to read and write?   
   > > People from the past can give us their ideas, and we can give ours to   
   people   
   > > in the future long after we are dead.   
   > >   
   > > Of course, before or after a thousand years or so, translators will be   
   > > needed. Language changes.   
   > >   
   > > Geopelia   
   >   
   > o yes, it is a wonderful ability of humas to be able to transcend   
   > their knowledge by writing what they have learned, and by reading what   
   > others have found out...but, that is not the only way knowledge is   
   > conveyed...for example, you can write and you can explain an   
   > experiment through a book, but at the end, you need to do the   
   > experiment in order to reveal the mysteries of the experiment (which   
   > is, one sort of knowledge)...   
   >   
   > well, the question i asked was more related to the abundance of things   
   > that want to be books, but are not books...or, those things appear to   
   > be literature, but they're not...many things published are just rumble   
   > ramblings and nothing else...now, the challenge is: how to find a good   
   > book out there?   
   >   
   > cheers,   
      
      
   As far as new fiction goes, there are book clubs, newspaper reviews, radio   
   programs about books etc, and librarians can make suggestions. If I have   
   enjoyed a book, I look for others by the same author.   
      
   It is very difficult for somebody who writes a first novel to get it   
   published. The publisher wants to sell enough copies to cover all costs and   
   make a profit. This is easier to judge with an established author. I worked   
   for a publisher for some years, and saw how things work. (Usually in a state   
   of total chaos). It certainly cured me of wanting to write  "The Great New   
   Zealand Novel".   
   As far as rumble ramblings go, many would-be authors write books that are   
   hopelessly unpublishable. Of course there is always the vanity press,   
   publishers who are paid by the hopeful authors to print a few copies.   
      
   Non-fiction of course is different, and anyone who really knows his subject   
   has a better chance of publication. It helps to have some qualifications in   
   the field.   
      
   (Useful tip for those who want to make money from writing - produce a school   
   textbook that will be used in most schools year after year!)   
      
   Geopelia   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)