We Knew There Was a Reason We Only Read Magazines
From The Nation's review of Sean Wilsey's Oh the Glory of It All:
One of the open secrets of literary life is that it's easier to get a book deal for a first novel, or for a work of nonfiction, than it is to get a short story or an article published in a serious magazine. This is because book publishing now revolves less around the book itself than around the marketability of the author — physical appearance; ethnicity, race, religion or sexuality; media or social connections — while serious magazine publishing, for all of its shortcomings, is still about writing.
This prompts two thoughts. First: Oh, snap. You're gonna take that, publishing folks? And second: Lee Siegel just made us feel better about ourselves. How unusual.
