Atwood Defends Authors' Cheese

PublishersLunch

At this morning's TOC conference Margaret Atwood showed how a great writer can craft an entertaining speech and even a swell powerpoint better than most technologists.
Her theme was "who is going to pay for the cheese sandwiches on which authors are known to subsist?" in this new digital age. While she didn't have grand answers to offer, she did come armed with charming illustrations and a delightful delivery.
 "I love the enthusiasm for new things. Forgive me for not being quite as hopped about it all as some people may be," Atwood began. "We've heard a lot about change. Change is not always good."

To fellow authors she advised, "Don't panic. If you do and run away, they will think you're prey. There are a lot of publishing tools. One of them is yelling; a very old one."
One thing Atwood is yelling for (metaphorically) is to protect authors' "slice of the publishing pie." She advised: "Helpful industry hint: never eliminate your primary source." (A humorous "example from biology" presenting a drawing of "a dead moose. Every dead moose maintains the food chain for at least 30 life forms." Another drawing depicted "a dead author. The author is a primary source. Everything else in the world of publishing depends on authors. They don't have to be dead. Though dead ones have been very lucrative."