Michael A. Stackpole  (New York Times best selling author) is today's featured guest.

Topics: why print publishing is now in a severe crisis; how some literary agents have taken on a conflict of interest in their attempt to help their clients benefit from electronic rights; how the big book publishers will no longer publish any physical book if they can't get the far more lucrative electronic rights; when it is to an author's advantage to skip having physical books made at all, and just go with the more profitable ebooks; how much his agent gets from his ebooks; and his warning for writers about ridiculously bad ebook deals. He also gives book cover tips, and describes the Zapptek Legend Maker.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the May 18, 2011 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 33 minutes]. 

Michael A. Stackpole is a science fiction and fantasy author best known for his Star Wars and Battletech books. Begining in 1977, he worked as a designer of role-playing games for various gaming companies. In the 1980s he began designing computer games for Coleco and Interplay Productions, such as Bard's Tale III, Wasteland, Star Trek: 25th Anniversary and Star Trek: Judgment Rites. He also created the role-playing game Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes, which provided the game mechanics for Wasteland. In 1987 he began writing novels set in the BattleTech universe, and became one of the most popular authors in that genre. He was then selected to write a number of novels in the Star Wars universe. He is also a popular pocaster, essayist, speaker and has an asteroid named after him. 

Special Announcement: The 200th episode of The Future And You is only one week away. To commemorate this milestone I (your host) am asking every listener who will, to sit down and email me something I can read into the 200th episode.  

You can also email to me (as an attachment) an audio file.  This will be less work for me since I can just drop it into the show, and it will let everyone hear you speaking in your own voice.  If you do send an audio file as an attachment, please keep it short--no more than two minutes. 

Please send me: your prediction of what is to come in the future; or a trend you have observed which you think others have missed; or your assessment of what is good or bad about this show; or your notion of who was the best interview I've ever recorded and why. Or send me something I wouldn't even think to ask for, but you are certain everyone would like to know. 

Send it soon, because I start production of each episode several days before it goes public.  If you send it later than May 21, 2011 it might not be included. Send all these emails to: [email protected]  Or you can message me through my facebook account.