Marrie Stone interviews Stephen Baker, author of The Numerati and Padma Viswanathan, author of The Toss of a Lemon

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(Broadcast date: October 1, 2008)

Has everyone been reading the paper, listening to the news and the online reports about the publishing biz?

My publisher, Harcourt, now merged with Houghton Mifflin to be Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, has a six month moratorium on buying new manuscripts. Whoa, Nellie,

There’s been a shake-up at Random House, too.

Publishing has been circling the drain for some time and the gurgles are becoming louder.

All this talk of bailouts–what about publishing? In my view, books are more important than cars and lots and lots of people are employed in the publishing industry. Why aren’t publishers going to Washington?

Maybe I just don’t understand politics. If I were a publisher, that’s where I’d be headed.

New books are more important (to me) than new cars.

An editor came on my show last year and said too many books were being published, but how could publishers stop publishing–it’s what they do: publish books.

If anything should slow down, it should be self-published books. Except for a rare few, I would venture to say no one reads self-published books, except family and close friends. I’m harsh, I know.

Yet, I’m still cranking, making progress on the umpteenth revision of my novel. I can’t stop because publishing looks dismal. When I’m writing, I keep those dire reports away.

When I was pushing ahead with Pen on Fire, agents told me writing books didn’t sell. Lots and lots of days and nights, sitting alone, being anti-social, writing and wondering if I would ever see the fruits of my labor. I’m here to say it was worth it. A pretty good deal, and a book that’s in the 7th printing.

Writers write. What a cliche that’s become. And yet it’s so very true. You’ve got to have hope. Writers are a hopeful lot. Without hope, you would put down your pen, close up your computer, and do something else.

Meanwhile, is anybody talking publishing biz bailout, and if not, why not?

An article in today’s New York Times puts things a bit more in perspective, especially after yesterday’s report in the Wall Street Journal that my publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, is putting a freeze on acquiring new manuscripts, for at least six months.

Roger and Becky, our next door neighbors are away (their daughter’s wedding in Australia) and gave us the key. Here’s where I’ve been getting a lot of work done. I love high ceilings, I find, and the lack of clutter and stuff that’s distracting–books, and well, books–is lacking. A great people watching corner.

In an Oct. 18 post, I linked to an article Susan Salter Reynolds wrote about Annie Proulx. I don’t know whether you read it, but even if you did, this bears repeating:

“Proulx believes the computer is ‘the enemy of careful writing.’ She prefers to write by hand, using the computer as ‘a joinery device.’

“‘There’s something about the rhythm of writing on the page with a pen,’ she says, ‘that is richly fulfilling–like drawing a picture.'”

Yes. I love my fountain pen, which now contains a cartridge with purple ink. My favorite ink is turquoise, though. Makes the writing process more colorful, all those turquoise lines and curls falling upon the page, page after page.

Here she is, interviewed by Charlie Rose, in 1999.

On Weds., my guest will be ASJA friend Sam Greengard, author of Finding the Work You Love: The Essential Guide to Reinventing Your Life (AARP). Click here. 9 a.m. Pacific, 88.9 FM or listen via iTunes at KUCI-FM, or online at www.kuci.org.

Podcasts of previous shows can be found here.