Sunday, February 28, 2010

Lao and Certificates In Literary Publishing?

Looking through the Writer's Chronicle the other day, I spotted Emerson College's June program for a certificate in Literary Publishing.

I have to admit, with all of this talk we've been having in the community about establishing a larger number of Lao American publishing houses, the topics certainly seem like something I'd consider. Topics on finance, legal issues and management in particular, but also acquisitions and editing. At $995 the price really isn't that bad of an investment if it's done right. But I'd want to make sure that it's on top of the field as far as technology goes.

CSU in Chico also has a program but i much prefer the idea of a five-day intensive program at this point in my career. I think it would be of interest to other Lao Americans considering the publishing field rather than an extended program, which just isn't feasible for most of us due to budget and time demands. I guess I'll have to do research to see who else is offering anything similar.

I'd encourage other Lao to consider this kind of program, but I'd probably also warn them that as always, having a certificate and some sheet of paper is one thing, but it's taking it and applying it that really counts. Over time, we probably need to develop our own specialized program to address the unique issues that will emerge with the Lao and Lao American publishing industry.

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