in defense of trad publishing
+ why i'm taking a break
Newsletters on Substack often espouse that the end of traditional publishing is nigh. There is, of course, a sampling problem with asking writers on Substack about the future of traditional media. If they were fully committed to traditional media, they wouldn’t be on Substack; they would be behind the desks of said traditional media publications.
I always read these types of pieces with great interest, analyzing their arguments as well as rebuttals of those arguments. It is, I suppose, in my nature—I am always trying to predict the future, ensure I am preparing adequately for what’s to come. It is the same instinct which led me to value prestige so highly—I saw a distinct correlation between prestige and the probability of “being okay” in life. I wanted to be okay; I was sick of carrying the inevitable anxieties which immigrants carry in America.
As someone who is both on Substack (hi, hello!) and writing a book to be traditionally published (coming to you…