Each of the major areas of e-literature - writing, publishing, and disseminating/preserving - has specific needs.   

Writing: Writers of traditional print poetry, short stories, and even books have long faced the "day job" issue.  Historically, few writers have made a handsome living at it.  

Poe, not the first and not the last of poverty-stricken writers. . . .

But in the age of information overload, writing seems to pay less than ever.  Initially, the WWW seemed to offer a solution in "pay by page" arrangements and "download" fees.  When it didn't work for Stephen King, however, the idea seemed to fold.  Moreover, the investment of an electronic writer in the technology and production of the material is significant.  [For a discussion of the technical obsolescence issue, you might want to consult "The Mirror of Simple Annihilated Souls" - a discussion of technical change and writers in the recent Currents in Electronic Literacy journal.]

Publishing: Publishers still need to identify their readers and construct a viable marketplace.  While we can already find a wide selection of titles, the e-book industry, in particular, has not succeeded in attracting a large audience to their products.  A view from the "bathtub" may explain why.

The Franklin E-book System.

Disseminating/Archiving: Short-term distribution of electronic literature is actually quite efficient.  The WWW is a remarkably fertile place for individual writers - they can simply build a home page and put up their material.  No printing, binding, distribution to bookstores.  But the middle- and long-term availability of literature - a function we trust to our libraries - is less clear.

The Horace W. Sturgis Library.

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© Marjorie Coverley Luesebrink // The Lore and Lay of E-land // Kessesaw State University, March, 2002