Old Type Writers & Yesterday's Methods.

 Long ago and far away, in a world long forgotten, those who held a passion for the written word labored tirelessly over one of these. For the day it represented quite a leap in technology. Those who depended on it were thankful for innovation and all it represented. During that time most people didn’t earn much money, but that was OK  because things were cheaper then. Gas was a nickel a gallon and movies were only a dime.

While some refer to that era as “The Good Old Day’s” and nostalgia occasionally walks through the yesterdays all of our lives, if given the chance, no one would seriously consider going back. Yesterday is fun to ponder, the memories are sweet, but the fact of the matter remains, as compared, “The Good Old Day’s” left a lot to be desired.

Today’s recent shake up of the publishing industry serves as a point of reference. Those who finally walked away from the gatekeepers of antiquity have found a platform that’s given them a voice, as well as, an opportunity in this digital age. I’ve been tracking the shake up and fall out for a few years now and it appears the tipping point has arrived and the Dominoes are falling.

The detractors will fight until this rising tide eventually shifts and carries the antiquated out into a sea of obscurity, where arrogant cronies of an out dated system deny the facts and lament the losses, while hanging on to yesterday’s methods and still yearning for The Good Old Day’s.

While I’m by no means an authority on the matter, I’m left scratching  my head when considering  the Classic Works of literature that were self-published.  For instance, Charles Dickens Self-Published, A Christmas Carol which has become on of the best selling Holiday Classic’s in the history of print. James Joyce self-published Ulysses, as Beatrix Potter did with The Adventures of Peter Rabbit and Tom Peters with In Search of Excellence.

Did you know Upton Sinclair, Thomas Paine, Edger Allen Poe, Rudyard Kipling, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, e.e. Cummings, all self published at one time or another? That only represents a short list, there’s many more. It goes with out saying John Gresham got the last laugh when he persevered and pushed through the rejection letters and slush piles of  would be agents only to self- publish A Time to Kill . (Can’t you imagine those agents now? “Dang, I hate it when that happens.”

I love to read and have amassed a considerable library over the years. I enjoy walking into a book store and sitting down with a good read and a hot cup of coffee. I am not naïve enough to believe print will soon be gone, but I do maintain publishing as we know it has, is and shall continue to change. Soon, it will become obvious that  yesterday’s antiquated methods no longer suffice.

The time has never been better for a wannabe writer to throw caution to the wind and go for it. Come along…I’ll see you on the other side!

http://www.camdockery.com