My Long Tail
You probably remember Chris Anderson's breakthrough notion of the long tail, the idea that the future of retail lies in selling unique items in small quantities. Well, one week ago today, when the snow was thick and the sky was gray (again), I received the loveliest surprise: an email from a woman who'd been on the editorial staff at Quarterly West 15 years ago, when QW published my little flash piece, "In Theory."
Currently teaching college workshops in creative writing, she wrote: "I have managed to always keep a copy of that issue close-by so as to teach it, but somewhere in one of my moves, I misplaced my copy." She wondered if I had a spare I could send.
Who knew? You see, you might think your work falls into a pool and just lies at the dark bottom of the pond like littering leaves, rotting away, but somebody somewhere might have been teaching it for 15 years! You just gotta keep the faith.
Well, I made Sophia a pdf file of "In Theory" for her classes, and it's also now here on this website, available to all and sundry.
Thank you, Sophia, and hurray for the long tail!
Currently teaching college workshops in creative writing, she wrote: "I have managed to always keep a copy of that issue close-by so as to teach it, but somewhere in one of my moves, I misplaced my copy." She wondered if I had a spare I could send.
Who knew? You see, you might think your work falls into a pool and just lies at the dark bottom of the pond like littering leaves, rotting away, but somebody somewhere might have been teaching it for 15 years! You just gotta keep the faith.
Well, I made Sophia a pdf file of "In Theory" for her classes, and it's also now here on this website, available to all and sundry.
Thank you, Sophia, and hurray for the long tail!
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