It was looking like a good week for wikinomics in terms of digital content – EMI headhunted Douglas Merrill, the CIO of Google, which a few years ago would have seemed as likely as Exxon headhunting David Suzuki. When the hiring was announced Douglas Merrill said “I have two passions. One is creating platforms and tools that make it easier for consumers to achieve their goals. The other is music.” If you mash up a decent platform with music… well let’s just say I like where this is going. Maybe, just maybe the music industry is really, finally heading in the right direction – and just in time, because if this article (Internet Piracy will drive authors to stop writing) is any indication some people in the book publishing industry are getting set to take their place.

Now the very notion that Internet book piracy will drive authors to stop writing seems patendly absurd. Let’s face it, the economics of trying to be an author have never been any good, as it has always been an extremely small proportion of writers that ever manage to really make a living. Seriously, look up the numbers – scary. There’s a few superstars, and a lot of waiters, waitresses, and part-timers – but people keep doing writing. And I don’t know about you, but I’d rather stick a fork in my eye then read a full book on my laptop, as the printed version is a vastly superior form on many levels. But no matter – the Society of Authors has declared that the Internet will ultimately drive authors to stop writing unless radical methods are devised to compensate them.

What are these radical methods? In the article Tracy Chevalier suggested four possible sources of income: government, business, rich patrons, and the public (here’s a challenge for you: try to think of another source of income that isn’t government, business or people. Pets bequeathed an inheritence from a deceased owner?). The idea she expanded on was government funding, taking the form of an “academy” of salaried writers. That sounds like a remarkably bad idea on so many levels that I can’t even count them – talk about heading in the wrong direction. Next thing you know investment bankers will be asking for the government to support them… er, never mind.

From what I’ve seen there’s never been a more exciting time to be a writer. While Chevalier complains that the “cookbook authors are really struggling”, I have to think that the bloggers behind Chocolate and Zucchini were pretty excited when their blog landed them a book deal to publish a cookbook. While she complains that short story writers are really struggling, I could point towards Anonymous Lawyer, this guy that knows what white people like, the British household rant woman, the Baghdad blogger, and many, many others who managed to establish themselves as bloggers (close to short stories, non?) and then used that noteriety to find themselves with a publishing deal. And my personal fave, I imagine the Bill Simmons doesn’t mind his journey from bartender to BostonSportsGuy (on the web) to having one of the most widely read sports columns on the web (at ESPN) complete with podcasts and other Web 2.0 stuff – or the book he published a couple of years back.

We’re talking about a truly amazing thing happening here – I just don’t see how there’s even a debate about the Internet when it comes to writing and books. If you have writing talent, the path from obscurity to success has never been easier to traverse. That doesn’t mean it’s easy – just easier. The financial rewards might not always be great, but that isn’t news to anyone that’s tried to be a professional writer the last few… centuries. There’s an extraordinary amount of competition which can make it hard to get your voice heard by the masses, but also an extremely long tail where almost everyone can find an audience, and the closest thing to a meritocracy there’s probably ever been. All the while, the published book form-factor advantage isn’t going away anytime soon – and if you can’t get past those pesky publishers you can just go to Lulu.com and publish your book by yourself. What more could writers realistically want?

Ms. Chevalier threw in that you can’t wait too long to act or the industry will just be gone – because That’s what happened to the music industry. But maybe the lesson she should really be learning from the music industry is don’t wait so long to go head hunting at Google.