Courageous Communication

Lots of great conversations in the blogosphere and beyond:

• Collin Kelley lifts the curtain off of poetry
• A terrific post by literary agent Mary Ann Napels on The New Author Economy
• Steve Almond talks about self publishing his latest book
  

There’s a common thread in all of these stories: the old publishing model experiencing a seismic shift before our eyes.

Poets and writers need to be responsive and reactive to the changes this new economy throws at us in a way we've never been called upon to do before. Yes, traditional book publishing is moving to fill online space. Yes, publishers want authors to do the work of promotion for them. But we have this great advantage of having courageous, authentic communications with our audience through blogs, Twitter, YouTube, Goodreads, Facebook, and dozens more new technologies we haven't heard of yet. This is a new competency for writers: deepening the intimacy and immediacy with the reader. The ones who can make real connections will reach audiences beyond the traditional readership—they are the ones guaranteed to have a longer shelf life.