Whether the medium is ready for consumers is better judged by those consumers. I sometimes read online – but not often. The stigma is attached to pay scales. Much online publication is no pay or small pay.

Meaning of the quote

The quote suggests that the success of new technologies, like online publishing, is better determined by the people who actually use them, not just the people who create them. The writer says they don't read online very often, and that many online publications don't pay writers much or at all, which can be seen as a problem. Overall, the quote is about the relationship between new technologies, consumers, and the challenges of making money in online publishing.

About Gene Wolfe

Gene Wolfe was an acclaimed American science fiction and fantasy writer known for his dense, allusive prose and the influence of his Catholic faith. He is best known for his acclaimed ‘Book of the New Sun’ series, which was ranked the third-best fantasy novel published before 1990 by Locus magazine.

More about the author

More quotes from Gene Wolfe

Whether the medium is ready for consumers is better judged by those consumers. I sometimes read online – but not often. The stigma is attached to pay scales. Much online publication is no pay or small pay.

Gene Wolfe

American science fiction and fantasy writer

Online publication is fine with me, in part because I hope to collect those stories later.

Gene Wolfe

American science fiction and fantasy writer

I don’t think anyone is more intrinsically holy. People experience God in many ways; and it seems to me that God does what the rest of us do: He chooses the means that best gets His message across.

Gene Wolfe

American science fiction and fantasy writer

My whole life experience feeds into my writing. I think that must be true for every writer. Clearly the Army and combat were major influences; just the same, you need to understand that many of the writers we have now couldn’t load a revolver.

Gene Wolfe

American science fiction and fantasy writer

Knowledge is soon changed, then lost in the mist, an echo half-heard.

Gene Wolfe

American science fiction and fantasy writer

You seem to think that the only genuine existence evil can have is conscious existence – that no one is evil unless he admits it to himself. I disagree.

Gene Wolfe

American science fiction and fantasy writer

A youthful American voice isn’t particularly challenging – I’ve been a young American, and they’re all around me. I can walk from my house to Barrington High School.

Gene Wolfe

American science fiction and fantasy writer

I have read only the first ‘Harry Potter’ book. I thought it excellent, perhaps the best thing written for older children since The Hobbit. I wish the books had been around when my kids were the right age for them.

Gene Wolfe

American science fiction and fantasy writer

Ambiguity is necessary in some of my stories, not in all. In those, it certainly contributes to the richness of the story. I doubt that thematic closure is never attainable.

Gene Wolfe

American science fiction and fantasy writer

He’s not rewarding us by talking to us. He’s talking to us because He has something to say to us directly, as opposed to the things He says to all humanity.

Gene Wolfe

American science fiction and fantasy writer