A Sharp-shinned Hawk face-planted in leaves

How dead is traditional publishing?

March 25, 20261 min read

Have y'all read the latest news? This comes after a recent previous giant layoff.

So the $64,000 Question is: Just how dead is traditional publishing?

A. "She's dead, Jim."

A dead female Northern Cardinal on the grass.

B. "She's dead, Jim...in the most gruesome way that will give you nightmares."

(Above: the lifeless, headless carcass of a Red-tailed Hawk wedged in a tree about 15-20 feet off the ground.)

C. "She's dead, Jim...oh, waaaaaitaminit...lawdy! Lawdy! It's a miracle!!"

(Above: This Sharp-shinned Hawk bashed into our glass backdoor and face-planted in the leaves.)

So what do you think? Is traditional publishing dead, but looks like okay on the outside even as it's bleeding out from the mouth? (A)

Is traditional publishing dead--missing its brain and completely gutted from the inside? (B)

Or, does traditional publishing just look dead at the moment but will rise from the ashes--or last season's leaves--and take off again with merely a mild concussion (so that it forgets its past mistakes and makes them all over again)? (C)

Tell me your thoughts in the comments!

Author and artist Teresa Robeson

Teresa Robeson

Author and artist Teresa Robeson

Back to Blog