This is a very good piece of writing. Ever since Ronald Reagan became Governor of California in 1967 the downfall of journalism started, and it's become worse and worse every year. What he introduced was the idea that making money was the be-all and end-all of human endeavor. Forget about making money. "I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love." Or maybe it started with Samuel Johnson. "No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Forget about making money, write for the pure joy of making a single good sentence, or two, or three...or a whole book of good sentences. That's the point of writing. Pure joy.
The real question that fuels this essay is not, 'When are they going to publish my novel ?' but, 'If the old model is broken, and the publishing houses have only their prestige and their money while we get substack + , what then of solidarity, what of joint efforts, what of the debate that fuels real writing ?' If it all takes place in cyberspace, then it is by nature, cool, distanced, ironic, superior, smug and only rarely leads to intimate connections of any sort - usually, in fact, the opposite. All artists need solidarity. How do we build it ?
Gerard, you make comments, for which I am grateful. I mean that. Most people can’t be bothered. It’s all free stuff to them, no labor involved, a thousand more available if they want, leaving the slightest trace in the form of a red-heart is just too fekking much. That’s a little murder, to steal a phrase from Feiffer. So you take the trouble and you leave a few words, appreciated. I enjoy what I do. It could be better. I’m working on it.
I'm really old. The government gives me plenty of free everything, money, food, healthcare, etc., so I don't have to write for money. But people who've liked my stuff have given me lots of money, too. I don't ask for it. I usually don't comment on anything...because it's stupid, but you have talent. Camus, I think, wrote a story that ended with the guy trying to decide whether something said solitary or solidary. I've chosen solitary. I please myself. Sure, it pleases me that other people like what I've done but I like it whether anyone else does or not. It all comes down to trust. Who can you trust? You find people here and there, but everyone's clamoring to be trusted, believed, and so many are just not trustworthy. I have a bugaboo about money. I think all anyone's trying to do is make money. I, therefore, don't trust them. Here's how I learned how to write:
Well. An American just walked in the room, jangling his spurs and flashing his money. Ain’t that a shock. Entertain us, Gringo. Why is your book so good ? Who published it ? What’s the print run ? Importantly, where can I find a piece written about it, not by you ? I’ve got an idea, Gerard Who Trusts No One. Take out a paid subscription to Continental Riffs. It’s 30€ cheap and that means you can leave comments on any article you like. You’d be doing good, keeping the cause of New Writing from becoming homeless. I only ask because you mention money in every single post. Up to you, pardner. Buy the readers a round here. We’re listening.
But Gerard, what happened to all that Free Everything you're always going on about ? Don't share ? "If it isn't free it's not worth finding." Home delivered, too, at no cost. A real bargain hunter, eh ? That's quite a philosophy. You might be cheating yourself, like the tourist who protests that 5 Euros for an espresso on the Champs Elysées is a a rip-off, with the best view in the world. See you @.
You asked to see reviews. I sent you some. Did you look at them? Everything I do is free. If I can sit on a bench and see the same view without a 5 Euro espresso, that's what I'll do. What's wrong with that? Why pay for something you can get for free? Things you have to pay money for are cheapened. The best things in life are free. I can see we're not going to hit it off. That's okay. Good luck with your quest for fame and fortune.
"This miserable bartering of fame, this coveting of it, fighting for it, tearing it from mouth to mouth...this continual talking about literature in ignorance as if it were some sort of commerce; this constant criticizing, denigrating, envying, self-praising, exalting people and writings that deserve contempt—all this depresses me to such a degree that if I had not got the refuge of posterity, and the certainty that in the course of time, everything does fall into its right place, I would send all literature to the devil a thousand times over."
This is a very good piece of writing. Ever since Ronald Reagan became Governor of California in 1967 the downfall of journalism started, and it's become worse and worse every year. What he introduced was the idea that making money was the be-all and end-all of human endeavor. Forget about making money. "I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love." Or maybe it started with Samuel Johnson. "No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Forget about making money, write for the pure joy of making a single good sentence, or two, or three...or a whole book of good sentences. That's the point of writing. Pure joy.
The real question that fuels this essay is not, 'When are they going to publish my novel ?' but, 'If the old model is broken, and the publishing houses have only their prestige and their money while we get substack + , what then of solidarity, what of joint efforts, what of the debate that fuels real writing ?' If it all takes place in cyberspace, then it is by nature, cool, distanced, ironic, superior, smug and only rarely leads to intimate connections of any sort - usually, in fact, the opposite. All artists need solidarity. How do we build it ?
Gerard, you make comments, for which I am grateful. I mean that. Most people can’t be bothered. It’s all free stuff to them, no labor involved, a thousand more available if they want, leaving the slightest trace in the form of a red-heart is just too fekking much. That’s a little murder, to steal a phrase from Feiffer. So you take the trouble and you leave a few words, appreciated. I enjoy what I do. It could be better. I’m working on it.
I'm really old. The government gives me plenty of free everything, money, food, healthcare, etc., so I don't have to write for money. But people who've liked my stuff have given me lots of money, too. I don't ask for it. I usually don't comment on anything...because it's stupid, but you have talent. Camus, I think, wrote a story that ended with the guy trying to decide whether something said solitary or solidary. I've chosen solitary. I please myself. Sure, it pleases me that other people like what I've done but I like it whether anyone else does or not. It all comes down to trust. Who can you trust? You find people here and there, but everyone's clamoring to be trusted, believed, and so many are just not trustworthy. I have a bugaboo about money. I think all anyone's trying to do is make money. I, therefore, don't trust them. Here's how I learned how to write:
https://vimeo.com/showcase/8961598
Well. An American just walked in the room, jangling his spurs and flashing his money. Ain’t that a shock. Entertain us, Gringo. Why is your book so good ? Who published it ? What’s the print run ? Importantly, where can I find a piece written about it, not by you ? I’ve got an idea, Gerard Who Trusts No One. Take out a paid subscription to Continental Riffs. It’s 30€ cheap and that means you can leave comments on any article you like. You’d be doing good, keeping the cause of New Writing from becoming homeless. I only ask because you mention money in every single post. Up to you, pardner. Buy the readers a round here. We’re listening.
I don't do paid subscriptions. If I can't find it for free it's not worth finding. GG didn't get many reviews. Here's all I got:
https://www.januarymagazine.com/biography/ginnygood.html
http://grumpyoldbookman.blogspot.com/2005/06/gerard-jones-ginny-good.html
http://www.independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=888
https://everyonewhosanyone.com/ggrev.html
But Gerard, what happened to all that Free Everything you're always going on about ? Don't share ? "If it isn't free it's not worth finding." Home delivered, too, at no cost. A real bargain hunter, eh ? That's quite a philosophy. You might be cheating yourself, like the tourist who protests that 5 Euros for an espresso on the Champs Elysées is a a rip-off, with the best view in the world. See you @.
You asked to see reviews. I sent you some. Did you look at them? Everything I do is free. If I can sit on a bench and see the same view without a 5 Euro espresso, that's what I'll do. What's wrong with that? Why pay for something you can get for free? Things you have to pay money for are cheapened. The best things in life are free. I can see we're not going to hit it off. That's okay. Good luck with your quest for fame and fortune.
"This miserable bartering of fame, this coveting of it, fighting for it, tearing it from mouth to mouth...this continual talking about literature in ignorance as if it were some sort of commerce; this constant criticizing, denigrating, envying, self-praising, exalting people and writings that deserve contempt—all this depresses me to such a degree that if I had not got the refuge of posterity, and the certainty that in the course of time, everything does fall into its right place, I would send all literature to the devil a thousand times over."