Great insight and wisdom, Daniel. Thanks for this.

A work of art.

Awesome, Daniel. Congratulations!

Great stuff, Ron. When I describe intraverts in my classes, I see students light up. Some even get teary-eyed because they've been misunderstood for so long... and very few people affirm them just as they are. I've read that 75% of Americans test as extraverts... so that makes it super important for extraverted parents to understand how to bless and affirm their intraverted children.

God uses both, and when we work together, and affirm one another's passions, strengths, and preferences, it's a beautiful outcome.

Thanks for talking about a minority that often gets overlooked.

Bill

Let me toss a little conflict into the mix (isn't that what makes writing interesting?). Respectfully. Couldn't each of your four arguments apply equally to the other side?

1. Most authors can't get directly to their readers. True. But does traditional publishing change that? Aren't most mid-level authors lost in the marketing shuffle anyway? They're still not getting directly to their readers even after they've been traditionally published, because marketing resources are deployed to the big name authors.

2. Much content doesn't lend itself to alternative forms of distribution. Most books are published in multiple formats anyway, so alternative forms of distribution automatically come into play. Besides, hasn't serialization given us great detective novels? What about best selling author Sig Siglar, who gives his stuff away online first?

3. Most authors still need to monetize their content. Are today's advances for first-time and mid-level authors growing or shrinking? I've heard they're shrinking, and the odds of even getting an advance make it a longshot. For most authors, it will be a monetary toss-up, especially after they've invested their advance in marketing.

4. Most authors aren't prepared to set up an alternative publishing infrastructure. This is true. But most authors aren't prepared to set up the marketing infrastructure traditional publishers expect of them, either. Going w/a traditional publisher does not exempt an author from scrambling to excel at the part of the business that isn't writing.

Authors are like salmon swimming upstream. Of the hordes who start, only a handful makes it. This is as a should be, I think; much writing isn't worth reading. Publishers filter out the good from the bad, and make it great. However the industry might look in 10 years, I hope that there will be a vibrant Christian voice speaking into the church and culture at large through the well-considered words of Christ-centered people.

Bill Giovannetti
How to Keep Your Inner Mess from Trashing Your Outer World (Monarch/Kregel 2009). http://www.InnerMess.com

Northwest sider all my life... love Roma's (Cicero between Montrose & Irving)... great combos & delicious fries. Place at Grand Ave west of Harlem, but I forget the name. Jays on Addison and Naragansett. Lots of great places. Nobody ever heard of it in CA where I live now. We have Portillo's shipped, and it's like heaven. Thanks for this article! Great memories, and now i'm hungry.