“The Digital Slush Pile”

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I’m listening to the Sigler v Hendrix debate that took place a month back regarding, among other things, writing in the 21st C., getting noticed, finding a fanbase, etc…

I have a soft spot for Scott because I knew him way back when he slipped by my now defuntDelphi forum, The Overlook, to pimp and discuss his then self-published book EarthCore.

Howard Hendrix, a prominent sci-writer in his own right, staged his own etheral lynching by declaring that authors posting their works for free on the internet, via podcasts or digital downloads, created a “digital slushpile” of which editors and eventually readers would ignore.  He claimed he was trying to save us from ourselves.

Please.  Don’t.

I think what Mr. Hendrix fails to understand is that we are entering a new age of disseminating information, which is ironic for a Science Fiction writer.  The tried and true ways of marketing books no longer works.  There will always be die-hard readers