A rant of my thoughts after this course

Our last class is tomorrow, and since I haven't posted on the blog in a while I figured - or Jae suggested (he's sitting across from me right now) - it would be fitting to consider what I have learned from this course. 

Reflecting back on course selection for this semester, I remember choosing to take this class because I'm a writer who would like to be published someday and a course entitled "Publishing in the 21st Century" was a likely place to begin thinking and learning about that process.

Since then it's been a wild ride. We blew through 16 chapters of family, company, and publishing history. We considered a number of book excerpts and essays on editing and the publishing industry. And we spent half our classes googling any relevant (however that word might be defined) material. We also had the opportunity to interview several people who are currently working in the publishing industry for their inside view on it. 

Throughout our course there has - of course - been the recurring theme of: "Is it any good? And will it sell?" When considering what material gets published and how. Another theme from the beginning of the semester that resurfaced in our last class is: "Does Literature last? Or does what lasts become Literature?" I think we've come to the consensus that the answer to all those questions is yes, but in varying degrees and situations. 

Another theme we've been considering more recently in class that has captured my interest is how the publishing industry will (hopefully) become more diverse. I especially enjoyed Sarah's project on the romance genre being used to effect change in this area. Professor Stockman's question of whether or not white people should submit less work to promote diversity in the publishing world also provoked interesting conversations. 

In my research for my final project on literary agents I also thought about this lack of diversity. Because agents' primary role is networking, after an agent establishes a strong network of editors, other agents, and editorial teams, he or she no longer really needs the support of an established agency to back his or her projects. As a result there are so many (and I mean SO MANY) small agencies started by agents who simply left their former agency to start their own business. The ease with which it seems people can (for lack of better words - and no pun intended I promise) have agency in this area, made me wonder if it would allow for more diversity in the publishing industry. If it is relatively easy for someone to just start their own agency, maybe we'll see more agents of color. With them joining the ranks of gatekeepers in the publishing industry the world of publishing would likely become more diverse. 

After more research, I realize that this does happen to an extent. It's still necessary, however, for people of color to be allowed into the industry initially in order to build their network. Once they do, though, they can begin to have an affect on the diversity of the publishing industry. I don't want to steal my own thunder, so I'll leave the rest to be said in my presentation tomorrow. 

As the course is coming to a close, though, I guess I can say that I have learned what I hoped to learn, and maybe it will come in handy someday.