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The New Book Business

By Arjun Basu | Published: September 15, 2012

Here’s the thing. Yes, every writer should be pleased to be free of the shackles of the publishing industry. If you consider the industry to be like a bunch of evil plantation owners enslaving the poor writers of the world. It’s not, of course, but it is an industry and as in any industry it’s […]

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Pretty sure this should be my epitaph

By Arjun Basu | Published: September 14, 2012

Because it’s a pretty good one. (Though truth be told, I’m going to be cremated….hopefully not anytime soon)

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The Week in Video

By Arjun Basu | Published: September 9, 2012

I did some video this week. The people at VYou asked me to respond to questions and I did. A lot of them. Perhaps 30. All of this on Monday night. After each video response was posted, I shot it to Twitter. That may have been a mistake. A few peeps wrote me to tell […]

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How Much is That Book Review in the Window?

By Arjun Basu | Published: August 28, 2012

A big kerfuffle after the New York Times published a story about a guy doing what every one in the world had to suspect at some point that every one was actually doing all along: he was paid to write reviews for books on Amazon. And some very big writers at Amazon were part of […]

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Books Need to Get Bookier

By Arjun Basu | Published: August 26, 2012

Look at these things. They are gorgeous. I would never have read….no, that’s not true. I would have read them in any form imaginable.  A Joseph Conrad novella (that I’d never read, from a series from Melville House that I’d never heard of) and F. Scott on booze! I found them at my neighbourhood bookstore, […]

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Think Before You Press Send

By Arjun Basu | Published: August 19, 2012

A lot has been written about the state of writing. Or, more specifically, about the state of the business of writing. Meaning the publishing industry. I’m not going to write about that here. I’ve been posting interesting stats and reports and blogs on my Facebook page (which you are free to visit and “like” in […]

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Two Weeks of Nothing: Random Thoughts After a Relaxing Vacation

By Arjun Basu | Published: August 6, 2012

Back from vacation. From possibly the most relaxing vacation of my life. You want to know what made it relaxing? Well, lots of things. But I stayed in a place with no cell reception. No internet. No internet will set you free. There was a television but I hardly watched any of it. I wasn’t […]

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Vacation Notice

By Arjun Basu | Published: July 20, 2012

Not that I’ve been posting much recently. Life really does get in the way. And I’ve said it before but I’m not going to post for postings’ sake. I don’t care what that does for my search or “findability” – those people that tell you to post to your blog regularly are giving bad advice. […]

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The Story of the (My) Novel So Far

By Arjun Basu | Published: July 7, 2012

I tried to hit a home run. In that sense, it’s hard to find blame. I perhaps should not have tried to swing for the fences. Maybe I should have settled for a double. A solid single even. But I tried to hit a home run. They’re so much sexier. What am I talking about? […]

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Mursi Mursi Me: On Blowback, Self-Interest, Idealism, Long Weekends, Pain. And Bourbon

By Arjun Basu | Published: June 25, 2012

The world is disappointing. It almost always is. Sure there is beauty but overall, it’s disappointing. (The human world. Let’s make that clear. The world itself is stunning. Most of the time. Except on the drive between Montreal and Toronto. That’s the world’s worst drive.) It’s more disappointing for optimists. Or most disappointing. It’s probably […]

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