The Rise of Alternative Publishing

It wasn't so long ago that aspiring writers had to beat feet to bring a book from idea to the bookstore shelf. Thanks to the web and other technologies...that Faulkner-in-training can bypass all the filters and gates and instantly publish, whether it's through a blog, by podcasting, selling your story as an electronic book or on an mp3 copy. Many people have taken advantage of these alternative publishing methods to put some quality work out there, but far more have used it to muddy the waters with massive amounts of downright awful writing. We'll talk about the pros and cons of these new methods and see what mainstream publishers and writers think about this infringement on their once rarified air. Laura's guest is James Patrick Kelly, Award Winning Science Fiction Author and local Seacoast resident. Kelly recently published his short novel "Burn" by podcasting for free one chapter a week for sixteen weeks, putting the book online and then traditionally publishing the novel in paperback. Laura's other guest is Mark Timney, Assistant Professor of Communication at Keene State College. Mark has previously been a reporter, producer, anchor and freelance internet and magazine writer.