Book publishers are experiencing a real crisis in this world of new media. The thing for publishers to remember, however, is most authors aren't. It's now easier than ever to get your ideas and content out to readers with or without help from publishing channels. Now there are writers who only write to see their names on a pulpy spine (and they will be disappointed), but on the whole, writers, authors, poets, etc. simply want to be heard. Being paid is nice, but it really isn't the priority.
What I'm most concerned with is that, having seen the publishing industry as the be all and end all for so long, writers may fail to see that they have other options. What are these options? We'll you're reading one. Blogs, websites, facebook, and youtube have revolutionized the way content is spread. Even folks like The New York Times are concerned with the future of publishing (for obvious reasons). Seth Godin, via the 26th story really hits the nail on the head: "First, the market and the internet don't care if you make money.[...] It's entirely likely that many people in the chain WON'T make any money. That's okay. That's the way change works."
We need to clarify that, for the most part, publishers are not worried about authors. Publishers are worried about themselves. They are the ones tied down to specific media outlets, and they are the ones who are currently being hurt by the shift from one outlet to another (or many others). Authors being worried about the publishers makes just as little sense. I did not become a writer to get published. I became a writer to share ideas. If I'm doing that (admittedly for little money) then I am doing what I set out to accomplish.
Bookninja quotes the segment of the New York Times article that references the coming era of mashups. Below is my comment to that post, and I think it shows pretty clearly what I think of the mashup market.
This chaotic sense of mashup seems like the type of center that cannot hold. I agree that, in many cases, authority is out the window. Writers (or in the spirit of this quote, content providers) who get into this business with hopes of being a big name are going to be disappointed. But most of the big names now are already unrecognizable to anyone outside of the industry in which they work. This is nothing new. I just don't see tumblr, twitter, youtube, and facebook really taking the place of Hemingway and Shakespeare. There is a sort of solidity to the written story, and in the widening gyre, sometimes solidity can be a much sought after phenomenon. For those who work knee deep in letters, times are and will continue to be tough, but if we are flexible enough to try new platforms while remaining founded in our belief in the quality of letters, we will find the audience coming around once again.
The publishing industry is changing, but as writers, it is foolish for us to be overly concerned. The way that our material is received is changing. Publishers can get on board or not. The need for our material, however, is not changing. It remains steadfast in the hearts and minds of the confused populace that is looking for answers—quiet, refined, and otherwise. There is always room for #1. If we write quality material, there will be quality readers around to find it.
—2008-11-24 09:08:56
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