I found a writer with an immersive web presence! He's science fiction author, non-fiction writer, and general astute observer of all things literary, John Scalzi.He has a "more-or-less daily" blog called Whatever, which he has been writing since 1998. He speaks candidly about his writing process, as well as the business-related intricacies and frustrations that go along with being a full-time writer.
A lot of people wonder why publishers are still relevant in a world where authors have such great direct access to their readers. He wrote a short play on the subject, and it's as astute as it is hilarious.
He has been very vocal about the dust-up between Amazon and MacMillan publishing, who briefly locked horns over the issue of e-book pricing. It's been dramatic and strange, and both companies are trying to figure out where the publishing world is headed, especially now that Apple aims to shake up the e-book world with its iPad.
Amazon's reaction to the pricing dispute? They made all MacMillan books unavailable for sale on their site. All books. Printed and digital. That's roughly one-sixth of their book catalog. It's unclear exactly what Amazon hoped to achieve by this, but they succeeded in making a lot of authors very, very unhappy.
Scalzi did a great job of covering the issue from the perspective of a writer who had his books removed from Amazon without warning or explanation.
I can't say it any better than he said it in his post, "All The Many Ways Amazon So Very Failed the Weekend". It's worth the read, if only to get caught up on the soap opera-like drama occurring in the publishing world right now. And then I recommend "A Call For Author Support" which discusses ways readers and fans can support their favorite writers by purchasing books from places other than Amazon while the spat continues.
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