And the Publishing Beat Goes On

When I left GalleyCat a couple of years ago the prospect of covering the publishing industry on a daily basis had become something of a grind. There were other projects to pursue – some successful, others less so and hence never discussed publicly – that stuck closer to my beloved genre of crime fiction or flew further afield.

But a funny thing happened in the intervening years: I didn’t burn out on publishing. Far from it, as the convergence of a recessed economy, the rise of e-books (even if just in terms of how many stories are published about said rise) and the enthusiasm of many observers and insiders who want to mold publishing into a model that better fits the 21st century all make this a very exciting – albeit disturbing and not-so-occasionally depressing – time for publishing. Twitter helped keep track of that, and occasional stints hosting Publishers Lunch over the last year and a half confirmed I had too much of a personal stake to stay away.

Now comes a new gig: As of last week, I’ll be writing about the publishing industry for DailyFinance, AOL’s money and finance news blog. There will be short posts (like this and this) when news breaks and longer features every week or two. DailyFinance is a business-oriented site, and so too will my stories for them, which means I can cut loose on more stat-and-numbers geekery and learn more about the twin engines – technology and financials – that will drive publishing forward.

So a word of warning: between DailyFinance, my crime fiction columns at the LA Times and the Barnes & Noble Review and other freelance assignments – not to mention some larger projects in the works – Confessions will likely operate at a reduced frequency (aka when the mood strikes me.) Of course, the moment I announce such things, I end up blogging like a demon, which is how I’ve stayed at this for over six (!) years. But unpredictability is a wonderful thing, isn’t it?