Table Talk

I met up with a friend of mine tonight for coffee, who I haven't seen in months upon months, who was also an English major in a previous life. We started talking about literature and he was of the opinion that the Internet's easy access to publishing solutions is just going to lower the bar on everything, and create a world where "anything" can get published.

I, of course, have embraced the democratizing value of technology and the Internet. I find it much more liberating than the previously closed-off world where there are so few venues for good fiction, like The New Yorker being the only game in town. (Not to bust unfairly on The New Yorker, but just to use that as a symbol of the rarity of fiction markets in another age.)

Was hoping to get some discussion on this. Does anyone have an opinion? Will quality go out the window with so many venues? Will a glut of "published authors" lower the bar?

Thanks for reading,

LLB