_As writers, the state of the writing world can’t help but interest us. On one hand, it’s a wonderful thing that someone can engage in an activity like writing, putting down their thoughts and ideas on paper and publishing it for the world to read and learn from. On the other hand there’s editors, agents, publishing houses, self doubt, rejection letters, worse writers getting accepted in your place and a slew of other mostly neurological, but no less daunting problems to face. So for a little writing advice, we at the Scene have turned to some of the brightest up and coming writers on the net to get their input into the state of the writing world. Today, we send our wonderfully designed questionnaire to Dennis Cass of Dennis Cass Wants You To Be More Awesome. Let’s see what he thinks:

Question 1: Who are you? What is your basic experience with writing, the writing world and the publishing world?

My name is Dennis Cass. I’ve written features for magazines like Harper’s, GQ, The New York Times Magazine, Slate and Mother Jones. In 2007, HarperCollins published HEAD CASE, which is a book about my crazy stepfather and the science of the human brain. Before all of that I worked for a literary agency. Recently I’ve started teaching creative nonfiction at Carleton College and blogging about writing and publishing. I’m also working on a novel.

Question 2: Obviously all writers want to get published and make a few dollars, but what do you really hope to accomplish with your writing? Do you want to change the world, or just get the movie deal?

If I could pick one word that governs both what I like to consume and what I like to make, it would be delight. Dickens is delightful. So is Hunter S. Thompson. So are the guys who made Sean of the Dead. Some artists just have this wonderful energy to their work, and it doesn’t matter if they’re being funny or sincere or important or trivial. It’s all propelled by delight.

Question 3: Writers are never solitary creatures, and the internet has (obviously) helped writers get in touch with one another. What are some of the trends that you’ve noticed among writers lately?

Since I started my internet experiment I’ve noticed a lot of generic writer blogs. Usually it’s someone who hasn’t been published yet and they catalog every word-count goal, every beta read, every rejection letter. My beef is that publishing simply isn’t that interesting. Stop telling me about your ups and downs and start telling me something I don’t know about the world, okay?

Question 4: Unfortunately for us writers, we are at the mercy of an entire network of agents and publishers. What do you think are some of the biggest problems with the publishing world?

It’s simple: too many books and not enough readers. Publishers need to reduce their lists by at least a quarter. At the same time, they need to work with authors, librarians, and parents to help cultivate the next generation of pleasure readers.

Question 5: Of course, it takes two to tango, so what would you advise other writers to do better? What do you think writers could do to help change the face of the publishing industry and influence what people read? Is there anything they can do?

Writers can do a lot to educate themselves about the business of writing, the basics of marketing and publicity, how the social media works, etc. but first they have to work on the work. Changes in publishing haven’t changed the fact that as a writer you are faced with a very, very, very long apprenticeship just to get you to mediocre. So get crackin’, dude.

Question 6: Time for some shameless plugs. What writers do you think are doing it right? Is there anyone out there who has really been successful at trying new approaches to the whole mess?

John Hodgman is king.

Question 7: The internet has provided us with an incredible tool. How can it help us reshape the publishing industry and bring it in to a more modern business model?

Read HERE COMES EVERYBODY by Clay Shirky. The internet isn’t reshaping publishing, it’s destroying it. What rises from the rubble is anybody’s guess.

Question 8: The internet: how can it hurt?

The internet hurts me every day. That’s why I swear by a program called Freedom. It allows Mac users to shut down only their computer’s wireless networking capabilities. Freedom = no internet = productivity.

Question 9: Imagine you have just built a time machine. You can go back in time only once to stop one book from ever being written. Which book would it be?

No way. I’m not playing that game. What happens if you ask the next person that question and they pick me?

Thanks for the insight, Dennis. Let’s put it up for discussion. What do you agree with, what do you disagree with? Anything (links, sites, writers) to add?

- Kid