A Facebook friend linked to this hilarious and squirm-inducing column in the New Yorker on the new face of marketing in the publishing world.

Or maybe I shouldn't say face, as many of the barbs point to how faceless it has become. And how much many authors are cast onto their own resources to flog their work, such as Michael Perry, a longtime friend and occasional contributor to some of the titles I have edited. (Note: humorist Dave Barry calls it "strumpeting," and who are we to disagree?)