Guy LeCharles Gonzalez

"Jeff Lemire's Essex County trilogy is highly recommended. Also, Orbiter, by Ellis & Doran; Bluesman, by Vollmar & Callejo; and, on the nonfiction side, The Influencing Machine, by Gladstone & Neufeld." - Guy LeCharles Gonzalez

"re: My tweet, it was in reference to Hugh Howey's ridiculous "bitch" post, not anything being discussed in this thread. You have to admit, though, that the past three years have seen some extremely self-righteous advocates for self-publishing who believe there is only ONE TRUE RING and vehemently berate any who suggest otherwise." - Guy LeCharles Gonzalez

"Turow is a perfect example of lose/lose, but put any writer in that seat and you have the same challenge, whether it's Bob Mayer, Amanda Hocking, or Seth Godin. No one writer can speak to the myriad authorial (is that a word?) experiences the way a trade publisher or tech startup can for their respective constituencies. Believe me, I struggled with that during my run at DBW, and even in the initial brainstorming phase for StoryWorld. A good publisher, editor or agent, can speak to the larger issues at play, while offering a broader perspective on the specific challenges authors face because they work with a wide range. That said, a follow-up roundtable of *only* writers, from a mix of media and genres would definitely be interesting." - Guy LeCharles Gonzalez

"I think Bob nailed a key part of this, and Jane somewhat alludes to it: writers who don't actively engage in other media are less likely to grasp the opportunities. Everyone's looking for the big Star Wars example to prove transmedia's viability, and ignores the various examples in comics and gaming, in particular. It's all about a strong IP; a deep, immersive setting; and, ideally, a writer who understands how their story might extend into other media. I don't know if J.K. Rowling knew the potential of the world she was creating, or was simply at an advantage because of the genre she was working in, but "transmedia" isn't some airy notion lacking concrete examples. It also isn't an opportunity for every author, and I don't know of anyone with a clue who argues otherwise." - Guy LeCharles Gonzalez

"I think the primary challenge with author involvement in a discussion like this is that it's ultimately a lose/lose scenario as authors are an even more diverse lot than publishers or cutesy tech startups. Exhibit A: Scott Turow You're also not giving Hunter due credit. While far better known for his more recent tech endeavors, he's also a writer, and that background informed the founding of Electric Literature which is explicitly focused on literary fiction and continues to offer a traditional print product. I've met him a few times and his passion for literary fiction is legit, not just some whimsical playground for technological disruption. As for expectations of authors, maybe I've missed something in my purposefully filtering out most of The Industry! The Industry! chatter of late, but is there really a notable demand for authors to become multidisciplinary artists, or is the gist really focused on awareness of the opportunities beyond the book, and caveats that those..." - Guy LeCharles Gonzalez