O. J. Deal Cancelled But Judith Regan Remains

News Corp cancelled the O. J. Simpson interview and book. Good.

Judith Regan's status is unaffected. Bad.

I's like to think that this decision demonstrates a remaining shred or two of integrity on the part of Murdoch and News Corp execs, but I'm too realistic.

They made a fast cost-benefit analysis. Whatever amount of money this may have earned them (speculative) is outweighed by the damage (also speculative) the Simpson book-interview would do to the various News Corp properties.

Judith Regan concocted this fiasco, yet she is not held accountable for its failure. That's emblematic of the dysfunction of our corporate and governing elites.

Annie Leibovitz = Owen Wilson In Drag

Book Publishing Demystified

Author J. Neil Schulman taught an online class, "Book Publishing in the 21st Century," for The New School in New York, from April to June, 1991.

Schulman has made his entire course available for download, or you can read it online. The portion of the course that I consider essential reading for every writer is linked above and starts under the heading "I. Book Publishing Today." It is the most cogent and insightful analysis of how publishing really works that I've ever read. Here is how Schulman begins his essay:

What drives the process of publishing books today is not what readers wish to read or what authors wish to write, or even what editors wish to buy for publication.

Schulman proceeds to explain exactly how and why certain types of books are published and why others aren't as well as how books are marketed. This is a master course in publishing in a nutshell.