Publishing

Whether it's on paper or on the Internet, there are advantages and disadvantages to having your work published for the world to read. Seeing your byline in print may conjure up feelings of accomplishment and excitement ... but with those feelings also comes a sense of responsibility: to the mode of publication, to your audience, and to yourself.

In print publishing, the target audience is pre-determined ... and you don't have to market your skills, since the publication does that for you. If you wrote an article for Esquire, you'd write about a topic of interest to middle-aged men (say, 35- to 55-year-olds), since that's the magazine's target audience. Whatever subject you cover, you have to put a fresh spin on it and have readers relate to the content. On top of that, many companies buy advertising space in the magazine, providing your article with the potential to reach an even broader audience. However, getting your article published is anything but simple.

Unlike newspapers, which try to cloak themselves in a blanket of objectivity, magazines are openly biased in what -- and even whose -- work they will publish. Most magazines aren't going to take a chance on a writer unless he / she can enhance the magazine's ideology through his / her work. Esquire readers aren't interested in reading about female beauty tips, but in looking at beautiful women and learning what makes them tick. In other words, your article has to simultaneously provide information and fulfill a need.

Magazines are also slaves to advertisers -- their revenue pays staff salaries and often makes or breaks a publication -- so whatever they publish can't offend an advertiser's sensibilities. This affects not only the content you can write about, but also the audience to whom your article is addressed. For example, can ESPN: The Magazine promise its readers that it will provide unbiased coverage about the Atlanta Braves, since the baseball team uses spring training facilities owned by The Walt Disney Company? And will readers be bombarded with ads promoting ABC programs like Lost, since the network is also owned by Disney?

When it comes to online publishing, your target audience is the world. Anyone with a computer can create a Web page and publish his / her writing. Likewise, anyone with access to the Internet can read your work. But the best part is there's no middleman standing between the author and the audience -- thus, no one can interfere with the exchange of ideas and feedback between the two parties. However, such freedom also has its drawbacks.

With a worldwide audience, you have to be careful about what you publish. Since your work always stands the chance of being read by the wrong people, you have to read your work through a critical lens. Your use of language must be generic, so readers in New York and New Delhi (and all points in-between and beyond) can understand it. Furthermore, controversial subjects like child pornography must be approached with caution, especially on unrestricted Web sites where children are likely to visit.

Another downside to online publishing is its limited availability. Unlike bookstores, libraries, and newsstands, not everyone has access to the Internet. In general, articles have a long shelf life; they're a snapshot of time preserved for generations. Hyperlinks don't have that luxury because Web sites are added and deleted at such a fast rate. What may be a great online literary work one day may be a dead link the next.

Speaking of dead links, the Internet is a wonderful information tool ... but it also has plenty of garbage. Making your work stand out from other Web sites involves a high degree of marketing savvy. This can be an expensive, time-consuming process ... and if you're just a writer, not a businessperson, it may detract from your work.

When it comes to these two forms of publishing, whether or not they're a grudge match or a match made in heaven depends on the writer's intentions. If your goal is to gain a wide readership and make some money, print publishing is up your alley ... but if you want total control over writing and marketing your work, online publishing is more suitable.