Institutions. They can take many forms and missions, but they all have something in common: they're collectives. They speak with the voice of many, while most of us speak with the voice of one. This matters if you're a writer.
The world is full of noise. I'm older than the internet, and I remember when getting published meant writing a letter, by typewriter, to a publisher, asking about your book. I got turned down in those days too, but it was a lot less competition. Now, unless you have an institution to vouch for you, you can't shout with enough decibels to get any notice.
Publishers are institutions. If you manage to get published, your voice automatically becomes louder. Even a small publishing house reaches more than most individuals.
If you teach at a college, you have an institution to speak for you. Putting the name of a school after yours can open doors for you. Credibility comes with the prestige of a university job.
Even clergy or professional athletes can get published more easily than John Doe. If you don't have an institution, it's an up-hill climb. I have a friend who works at a company that doesn't want its employees to write. They might damage the reputation of the business.
This same friend interviewed for a job once where he was told that he would have to discontinue his blog if offered the position. "It might confuse our readers," he was told.
The internet should offer people an opportunity to throw their voices out there in the hopes of being heard. There are, however, too many ventriloquists around these days. If your only institution begins with www and ends with .com, you're swimming up a mountain stream.
I've known people to get barely passable material published because they belong to an institution. People are funny that way. Those of us who are just regular Janes and Joes don't have much to say. Unless we're institutionalized.
Yes, those who fly over cuckoos' nests have a better chance of being published than just a normal person who has something profound or entertaining to say.
The world is full of noise. I'm older than the internet, and I remember when getting published meant writing a letter, by typewriter, to a publisher, asking about your book. I got turned down in those days too, but it was a lot less competition. Now, unless you have an institution to vouch for you, you can't shout with enough decibels to get any notice.
Publishers are institutions. If you manage to get published, your voice automatically becomes louder. Even a small publishing house reaches more than most individuals.
If you teach at a college, you have an institution to speak for you. Putting the name of a school after yours can open doors for you. Credibility comes with the prestige of a university job.
Even clergy or professional athletes can get published more easily than John Doe. If you don't have an institution, it's an up-hill climb. I have a friend who works at a company that doesn't want its employees to write. They might damage the reputation of the business.
This same friend interviewed for a job once where he was told that he would have to discontinue his blog if offered the position. "It might confuse our readers," he was told.
The internet should offer people an opportunity to throw their voices out there in the hopes of being heard. There are, however, too many ventriloquists around these days. If your only institution begins with www and ends with .com, you're swimming up a mountain stream.
I've known people to get barely passable material published because they belong to an institution. People are funny that way. Those of us who are just regular Janes and Joes don't have much to say. Unless we're institutionalized.
Yes, those who fly over cuckoos' nests have a better chance of being published than just a normal person who has something profound or entertaining to say.
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