Another take on Authorland

In this tough economy, where most books aren't doing well (romance books, though, are flying off the shelves!) here's a view of Authorland I came across the other day, and it isn't exactly comforting.

There's Pink Slip Mountain, where you climb a hill of rejections to emerge at the summit, only to be whisked to the bottom on the Sales Figures Slide. And the PR Tour, where you spend thirty minutes alone in a room with a stack of books no one wants signed. The Hall of Editors, where distorting mirrors reflect your original ideas into warped and twisted caricatures. The Blurbitorium, where the softest whisper is echoed back in an series of increasingly amplified shouts until you can't hear yourself think over the din. The Title Exchange, where good titles like Gone With the Wind are swapped for stupid "commercial" titles like Plantation Lust. The Discount Bin, where you can dive into a bottomless well of unsold paperbacks. Let's not forget the Envy Express, which transports you past scenes of wealthy authors entertaining celebrity friends in posh restaurants, visible through sheets of cloudy glass.

Something tells me Authorland isn't The Happiest Place on Earth.