Launching a Book in the "Post-Empire" Era of Publishing

It's much less fun to release a book these days—with all the necessary Twitter and Facebook promotions—than when the novelist began.

Question: Are contemporary book launches more or less fun than
when you started? Bret Easton Ellis:  Oh it's less fun.  It's much less fun
because we're in the post-Empire world now.  I mean, book publishing
flourished in the Empire and I can... look I haven't done any kind of
touring or any sort of book stuff for about six years.  And even in
these past six years I can see a massive difference in terms of how it
works.  I mean, my Facebook and Twitter stuff are personal.  I mean, I
have my.. I have a Twitter account and I have a Facebook account are
solely mine and then there's like three or four or five others that are
there primarily to promote this new book and to get the word out there.
That I am semi hands on, semi. But a lot of other people are dealing
with those sites and maintaining them. 
I'm completely for it.  I had to like fight my publisher to, you know,
make sure that they were using these networks in order to, like, promote
the book and they came around.  I mean literally, they... I don't think
my publisher is even using Twitter five or six months ago.  And then I
was having a fit about it and said you have to use Twitter for contests
and information and all this stuff. And they came around and they
started to do it. 
But in terms of myself getting a lot of satisfaction or enjoyment from
it, I mean, sure.  I mean, I guess on a certain level but I'm also old,
you know, compared to the average person who uses those sites
extensively.  I have friends who are in their early- to mid-20's and the
way the way they use Facebook completely different from the way I use
mine.  You know, updating your status hourly and having eight different
chats going on at once, and it being almost second nature. I mean, to me
it's kind of amusing and a game but it's not something that I feel the
need to express myself with. Recorded June 23, 2010Interviewed by David Hirschman

Question: Are contemporary book launches more or less fun than
when you started? Bret Easton Ellis:  Oh it's less fun.  It's much less fun
because we're in the post-Empire world now.  I mean, book publishing
flourished in the Empire and I can... look I haven't done any kind of
touring or any sort of book stuff for about six years.  And even in
these past six years I can see a massive difference in terms of how it
works.  I mean, my Facebook and Twitter stuff are personal.  I mean, I
have my.. I have a Twitter account and I have a Facebook account are
solely mine and then there's like three or four or five others that are
there primarily to promote this new book and to get the word out there.
That I am semi hands on, semi. But a lot of other people are dealing
with those sites and maintaining them. 
I'm completely for it.  I had to like fight my publisher to, you know,
make sure that they were using these networks in order to, like, promote
the book and they came around.  I mean literally, they... I don't think
my publisher is even using Twitter five or six months ago.  And then I
was having a fit about it and said you have to use Twitter for contests
and information and all this stuff. And they came around and they
started to do it. 
But in terms of myself getting a lot of satisfaction or enjoyment from
it, I mean, sure.  I mean, I guess on a certain level but I'm also old,
you know, compared to the average person who uses those sites
extensively.  I have friends who are in their early- to mid-20's and the
way the way they use Facebook completely different from the way I use
mine.  You know, updating your status hourly and having eight different
chats going on at once, and it being almost second nature. I mean, to me
it's kind of amusing and a game but it's not something that I feel the
need to express myself with. Recorded June 23, 2010Interviewed by David Hirschman