In “Writing for a Living” Brandt examines the effects of the knowledge economy upon writing. Specifically, she looks at how having texts be commercialized raises the stakes for writers. The concept of a knowledge economy was interesting, if only because it reminded me of Lanham’s attention economy. From what I gathered, a knowledge economy arises when knowledge surpasses the value of other common assets (land, money, etc.). Since knowledge-intensive companies have accounted for about “40% of new economical growth” (166), Brandt makes the claim that we have recently crossed the threshold from whatever our previous economy was. I would’ve liked to know more about how our current economy compared to the economy of the past, but I suppose it wasn’t really the focus of this article.
As a writer myself, I definitely identified with the idea of the high stakes environment that follows writing. I’m not sure if it’s such a new conflict, however, since writers would often come under scrutiny in the past for writing something controversial. Perhaps I missed something there. I’m sure that, since I’ve never engaged in company writing, I might have some gaps in my own knowledge. The comparison of writers to tools was another thing that caught my attention. On page 176, Brandt writes that, “workplace writers can be likened to complex pieces of machinery that turn raw materials.” I think, traditionally, writing (and any art form really) has been seen as a very human profession, as it requires a lot of emotional and mental input, but there is certainly something mechanical in the texts that companies may put out. Especially within the process of having the text be published. As Brandt says, a single press release might have to go through a multitude of other people before it can even reach a news outlet. All around, this was an interesting reading, even if it was a bit dense in places. I liked the diagrams. It certainly put into perspective my possible career choices.
Writing and Money 