From TALKING AGENTS which is now a FREE e-zine sent directly to your mailbox when and as the spirit moves us. Here's part of one that appeared in the April 2008 issue. ******* How would you feel about getting paid for your gigs rather than your books? By which we mean earning your living as an author not from what you write but from the events you dutifully attend to promote what you write. That was the idea put forth by Charles Leadbetter, described as an "author and blogger," in a piece in The Bookseller, reporting on a seminar at the British Library billed as 'Authors and Publishers in the Digital Age.' According to the article, Leadbetter was responding to remarks made by the CEO of the Publisher's Association, who stressed that though he was "sanguine about the future," publishers needed to find new business models. Leadbetter's suggestion was that, "authors be paid not necessarily for their writing, but for what is scarce." Scarcity, he said was represented by the writers rather than their books. His suggestion: compensate them for live performances. Oh God. What are they going to pay for that talk at a Barnes & Noble in Pawtucket where eight people showed up and the three in the front row drifted off the moment you opened your mouth... Acting in her role as chair of the Society of Authors, bestselling author Tracy Chevalier (GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING) suggested that the current model of advances and royalties was fast becoming outmoded in a digital world. But her suggestions didn't sound very practical for Britain, and less so for the US. Chevalier, by the way, is an American who lives in Britain, so she can be presumed to understand both sides of the pond. Or - with all due respect - misunderstand both. Hands up everyone who thinks we can get the entire nation - US or UK - to pay annually for the right to read. Or that the government should sponsor a writers' academy. Lakeville CT 0603 Recent Articles (Free): Other Article