Postscripts

This weekend brings us the Agents! Agents! Agents! & Editors Too! Conference, that annual fast-paced absorption of knowledge about the publishing industry put on by the Austin Writers' League. It's a fascinating thing to watch; writers, would-be writers, wannabe writers, they all hover around agents and editors like moths to light, seemingly searching for the epiphanic phrase or idea, or group of ideas, that will take them somewhere meaningful. It's all so earnest and eager, particularly during the Round-Table Discussions, when thedozen or so agents and editors and book industry experts are fanned out, one at a table, while participants sit and listen to their remarks and ask questions for about 10-15 minutes, until the bell rings and participants then flit to the next table and the agents and editors and book industry experts start their spiels all over again. Topics this year include "How to Stay on Your Publisher's Good Side," "Does the Book Advance Correspond to the Level of Marketing and Publicity That a Book Receives?," and "What Are Agents and Editors Really Thinking About When They Read Your Query Letter?" (Beware: I cannot find notification anywhere that the agent addressing this last topic is going to be forced to sign an oath before speaking.) My personal favorite is "Book Publicity 101: The Ins & Outs of Priceless Publicity." After sitting in on last year's conference and feeling rather overwhelmed by the intensity of it all, I had to go home and practice on my indolence, which all poets know is a fine tool for honing literary mastery. But hey -- if you're proud of your writing, there's no reason you shouldn't go out there and hustle to acquire what you need to get published. For more information about the conference, call 499-8914 ...

It's not right that that urgency should coincide with the equally urgent parting salvos the FringeWare folks have left on the storefront windows of their now-vacated store. Urgency is supposed to be absent during our narcotizing summers. "Temporarily closed for cultural remodeling," one of the FringeWare signs declares. That's a joke, of course, and so is the list of "FringeWare Things to Get," which include "Barnes & Noble applications," "Oprah Book Club membership cards," and "another new identity." Ah, sigh, the independent vs. chain issue rears its head again! It never ceases to strike me as odd that it should be bookstores that galvanize debates about independent vs. chain stores. The "Wal-Martization" of America receives a fair amount of press coverage, but would we read about it in the paper if a local jewelry store were pushed out of business by a national chain of jewelry stores? Or what about a local pet store that has to do battle with Petco or Petsmart? Isn't it true that wherever books are brought together people become attached to the place? Bookstores are places where we are encouraged to become passionate about material things because the material things in bookstores, the books, are full of thoughts and ideas that connect us to one another; perhaps that's why we get so up in arms when one closes. But then again, that seems a bit pious and a not entirely satisfactory explanation. Many of us, after all, love our pets and jewelry just as much as our books. On the one hand, it seems so strange when an independent bookstore closes -- and is perceived at being at the mercy of chain bookstores -- to attach political signifigance to that event, to what some would say is merely an example of capitalism running its orderly and perfectly reasonable course. On the other hand, that political reaction seems vital and necessary and salutary.