It's none of my business

This week, I was speaking to a handful of strong, smart writers who were on their way to publishing major books, but they were nervous about entering the Wild West World of the Internet. How were they going to handle the criticism they would have to endure?

One of the wonderful things about being on the Internet is the immediate interaction. Certain posts have an energy that careens and bounces, and we can be sure it will garner likes, tweets, retweets and shares. There is a certain satisfaction from getting such a quick response from writing. Writing is somehow intensely solitary and social. The social aspect used to be a delayed response, based on a publisher’s excruciating schedule. Now it doesn’t always have to be.

For many writers, there’s a certain alchemy in that digital currency. Please don’t misunderstand me. Aside from one or two, I don’t know any religious writers who are cashing in piles of gold, but when publishers look at how much you’re worth on the marketplace of ideals, our digital presence one of the many things they examine.