With all the turmoil in today's publishing world, I feel safe in saying that there's only one thing anybody can say with absolute authority — nobody knows what the heck is going to happen.  It's true.  Anybody who tells you otherwise is full of it.  There are just so many variables — almost all of which comprise some human element — that to attempt a serious prognostication is to make gods laugh and mathematicians weep.

Besides, most of these predictions come with an agenda in the wings — good or evil, still an agenda.  That bugs me.  But what gets me most is that all these people drawing lines in the sand are doing just that — drawing lines in SAND.  Sand is impermanent, and so is the publishing situation.

The indie cheerleaders draw their lines saying we don't care about the traditional press anymore.  We're going it alone, and the hell with you.  The indie revolution has arrived and in a few years there won't be traditional publishers anymore.

Sounds great, right?  Who doesn't like a good stand against authority?  Only problem is that line is bunk.  The fact is that while some major publishers probably won't survive the changes that are occurring, the majority will.  They're already in the process of being in the ebook market and though they still have a lot to learn in regards to formatting and pricing (something readers will impact more than indie-publishers), they'll figure it out.

On the other hand, the traditionalists draw their lines all over the place — you have to do it their way or you aren't "legit" is a common one.  Another is that indie work is inferior.  But all the good work coming from indie moviemakers, indie bands, indie painters, indie clothes designers, small business owners, etc, etc, prove how viable they are.  Does indie produce bad work sometimes?  Sure.  I have to sift through a lot of indie music to find the gems I use for The Eclectic Review, but after almost 280 shows, each with 3 songs, I've found over 800 good tunes — actually many more.  Some good tunes I couldn't use because of timing in the song or lyric content.  Point is: there's good indie stuff and there's crap — just like in the traditional press!

Another favorite line is that when the traditional pubs finally get their act together, they'll destroy the indies for good.  Sorry, guys.  That genie's out of the bottle.  That ship has sailed.  When the trad-press finally makes a real effort to push out the indies, they will fail because the new distribution lines being used have proven to be effective.  Why would Amazon close down its indie market when they make a killing off it?  And if through some backroom deal, they agreed to do so, there are too many other outlets opening up — B&N, Smashwords, Apple, Kobo, etc, etc.  Any one of them would be thrilled to take the business Amazon would give up.

Get it?  Indie/Trad press — they are both here to stay, warts and all.  They both have good and bad points to them.  All this bickering is silly and stupid.  Because when it all settles down, writers and readers are the big winners.  They both get more choices, more ways to produce or find quality work.  And even the Traditional publishers win — they get to focus on the biggest, most successful authors.  They can use the indie world as their own minor league, and once they're willing to put up real money, they'll swoop in and take the winners rather than playing Russian Roulette all the time.

So, to my fellow readers, writers, and publishers, I say this: knock it off.  I'm tired of all the stands everyone is trying to take.  This sandbox is big enough for us all, and all those lines are just going to disappear anyway.