Today on the American Short Fiction blog, the web editor posed the question, “What does online publishing mean to you?” to literary luminary Rick Moody. Moody recently garnered much buzz with his Twitter story, “Some Contemporary Characters,” a series of tweets which appeared over 3 days for Electric Literature.  Though Moody clearly appreciates the possibilities and new directions provided by online publishing, he also still firmly believes in the power of print:

“Online publication, to me, is of interest because it’s cheaper and easier to produce, thus emboldening people who want to bring their vision out into the marketplace of ideas. But that doesn’t mean it’s better. Best of all is written on stone, and if that doesn’t work, whatever is nearly as long lasting as stone.”

What do you think? Do you agree with Rick? What do you see as the ultimate future of publishing as we know it?

Julia Henderson graduated from Vassar with a BA in History in 2001 and received her MA in writing and publishing from Emerson in 2006. She passes her days working as a support coordinator for online course production at a textbook… more »