Crowdsourcing: The Book

I was telling a friend the other day that the nature of book writing had changed. Back in the day a writer would receive a commission to write a book, hole up for a year or so and emerge with a near-finished product. The book might be based on an article that originated in a newspaper or magazine, but the works were entirely discrete. Today an article can become the basis for a blog, which then drives further articles, all of which become fodder for the lecture circuit, feedback from which reappears on the blog. If the subject strikes a rich, deep vein, then all this informs a book, which itself is heavily influenced by a continuing discourse facilitated by the blog and further articles. This sounds way more fun than sequestering oneself away in a garret for 12-plus months. The point is that the medium isn't the message anymore. The message is the message, and the medium is merely a delivery mechanism.

Now it's time to put this grand theorizing to the test. I've been developing a book proposal on crowdsourcing for the last several months, a process that reached a happy conclusion last Thursday when Crown Publishing Group bought the rights to publish the book, which is slated to hit shelves in the Spring of 2008. It's my first book and I should probably be more nervous than I am. Instead I feel a sense of giddy anticipation, like the feeling I get when a big trout starts feeding on mayflies just within casting distance (there's surely a more universal metaphor I could use, but hey, this is what comes to mind). One of the immediate effects of the deal is that I'll have much more time to work on this blog, which has been a guilty pleasure up to now. Naturally, I'll be involving contributors to the blog in the writing process, although I'm still mulling exactly how that will take place. And just as naturally, I'll expect you all to give me ideas on that count. I'm sure I won't be disappointed. Thanks to you all, and keep reading ...